The state joined the union on June 25, 1788 – State No 10/13
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia
Capital: Richmond, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia
A resolution designating March 14, in 2015 and in each succeeding year, as a “Day of Honor for the Marquis de Lafayette” in Virginia.
On March 14, 1781, 23-year-old Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette, arrived in Yorktown to start a military campaign against the British that would culminate in their defeat on October 19, 1781.
(Only 3 US States have a « Lafayette Day » – Virginia, New Hamshire, Massachusetts)
TOPIC I (T1) – OUTDOOR SCULPTURES IN VIRGINIA
Statues, Busts, Monuments, Memorials… Historic Parks and Places…
Yorktown, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown,_Virginia
« Lafayette Memory Spaces »
2021 – YORKTOWN, VA – NEW STATUE UNVEILING
Riverwalk Landing 331 Water Street
In another testimony to the Franco-American alliance (1778) that led to victory during the Revolutionary War, a fourth statue was unveiled Monday, October 18, 2021. The public was invited to witness this addition to the waterfront in a historic step toward fulfilling York County’s original intent to honor the four great leaders of the Yorktown campaign: Lafayette, Grasse, Washington, and now Rochambeau.
NEW STATUES AND PLAQUES
On October 18th, 2017, when the Lafayette statue joins Washington & de Grasse on the Yorktown waterfront, two new plaques will now be in place at their feet.
Below is the text from these plaques which the AFL and York County drafted.
General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette traveled to America on board L’Hermione in April 1780 with the news that General Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau and the French Expeditionary Force would be dispatched to America to assist the allied ground forces commanded by General George
Washington. Having entrapped General Charles Cornwallis and his troops in Yorktown during the Virginia Campaign in the summer of 1781, Lafayette and his troops participated with Washington’s Northern Army and French forces under Rochambeau in the siege of Yorktown, with assistance by the French Fleet commanded by Admiral François de Grasse. Lafayette met with de Grasse aboard his flagship, Ville de Paris, twice – on September 26, 1781, and again, with Washington, on October 21, 1781. Lafayette saw the Yorktown Campaign as a victory in the continuing international struggle for what he called the “Rights of Mankind.”
This tribute to Lafayette was made possible by members of The American Friends of Lafayette with special thanks to The Celebrate Yorktown Committee of the Yorktown Foundation, The County of York, The Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, and members of the Ordre Lafayette. (GC Nota Members from USA, France, and Canada). Sculptor – Cyd Player, York County, VA
Two of the most significant Revolutionary War leaders at Yorktown were General Washington in command of the allied ground forces, and Admiral de Grasse in command of the French Fleet controlling the nearby waters. While the Washington-commanded allied ground forces, with assistance from General Lafayette’s troops and French forces commanded by General Comte de Rochambeau, laid siege to General Cornwallis and his troops, de Grasse and his French Fleet blockaded any escape by water. While Washington and de Grasse were closely linked by their leadership roles, they met only twice. Both meetings were held on de Grasse’s flagship, Ville de Paris. The first was on September 20, 1781, to complete planning for the attack on Yorktown and the other was on October 21, 1781, after Cornwallis’ surrender on October 19, 1781, to explore future operations in the south.
This tribute to Washington and de Grasse was made possible by the Yorktown Foundation with special thanks to The Celebrate Yorktown Committee, The County of York, VA, Ms. Margaret Cook, Yorktown, VA, and Dominion Virginia Power. Sculptor – Cyd Player, York County, VA
*This Gun was taken by General Lafayette in person of the redoubt #10 at Yorktown in 1781. It is exposed in the Battlefield Visitor center of Yorktown.
*The French troops took the redoubts #9.
TOPIC II (T2) – MANY PLACES…
Town, city, village, county, township … may refer or are named for
General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette or La Grange, « Home » of Lafayette
Lafayette, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette,_Virginia
– a city close to Elliston, Montgomery County
Lafayette Park and Lafayette River
https://www.norfolk.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Lafayette-Park-36
https://www.norfolk.gov/index.aspx?NID=2360
(entirely in the city of Norfolk, VA)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk,_Virginia
In 1892, the City of Norfolk purchased the 114 acres (0.46 km2) of land near Tanner’s Creek for a park. It was named Lafayette Park in 1899. Soon after, Tanner’s Creek was renamed as Lafayette River in honor of the Marquis de La Fayette Today the Lafayette River is a 6.2-mile-long (10.0 km) which empties into the Elisabeth River Norfolk, VA.
Lagrange, VA
TOPIC III (T3) – STREETS, ROADS, SQUARES…
Parks, places, sites …
Richmond, VA – State Capital
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia
Lafayette St.
Lafayette Ave.
Williamsburg, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Virginia
Lafayette Blvd.
Yorktown, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown,_Virginia
Lafayette Rd.
Alexandria, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria,_Virginia
– Lafayette Dr.
Bealeton, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bealeton,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Bowling Green, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Green,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Chantilly, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantilly,_Virginia
– Lafayette Center Dr.
Charlottesville, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottesville,_Virginia
– Lafayette St.
Colonial Beach, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Beach,_Virginia
– Lafayette St.
Colonial Heights, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Heights,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredericksburg,_Virginia
– Lafayette Blvd.
Hampton, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton,_Virginia
– Lafayette Dr.
Hanover, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover,_Virginia
– Old Lafayette Rd.
Henrico, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrico,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Manassas, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manassas,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Martinsville, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsville,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Mechanicsville, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanicsville,_Virginia
– Old Lafayette Rd.
Norfolk, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk,_Virginia
– Lafayette Ave.
Palmyra, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmyra,_Virginia
– Lafayette Dr.
Petersburg, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersburg,_Virginia
– Lafayette St.
Rhoadesville, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoadesville,_Virginia
– Lafayette Dr.
Roanoke, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke,_Virginia
– Lafayette St.
Stafford, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford,_Virginia
– Lafayette St.
AND DIFFERENT SITE IN VIRGINIA
Richmond, VA
Lafayette Gardens Apartments
Williamsburg, VA
Lafayette High School
Lafayette apartments (Lafayette square/ Lafayette Blvd)
Alexandria, VA
Lafayette Apartments
Charlottesville, VA
Lafayette School
Norfolk, VA
The Lafayette Apartments
TOPIC IV (T4) – INDOOR OBJECTS, MUSEUMS …
Pictures, busts, Exhibitions …
(No information found)
TOPIC V (T5) – LAFAYETTE AND FRANCE
THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
They played a key role in the American Revolution (1765-1783)
and during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
Between 1778 and 1783,
44 177 French soldiers and sailors fought aside the “American Insurgents”,
5 040 gave their lives for their independence.
Between 1776 and 1783, France spent 1.3 billion French pounds. A huge debt for the time that drained the Treasure of the Kingdom.
Road markers, places, objects…
The 13 English colonies
The 13 states involved: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts (South and North), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia.
LAFAYETTE INVOLVEMENT DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR
He enlisted as a volunteer without pay alongside the « Insurgents » of the 13 English colonies in America who declared independence unilaterally July 4, 1776
Marquis de Lafayette as a Major General of Continental Army in 1779.
Portrait by Charles Willson Peale
*Lafayette: First military campaign: from June 1777 to January 1779
*Lafayette: Back in France to plead the cause of the “Insurgents”: from February 1779 to March 1780
*Lafayette: Second military campaign: from April 1780 to December 1781
Lafayette’s Virginia Campaign 1781
Historic road and location markers identify a few of the sites of the ‘1781 Campaign’. Very few original structures remain.
Two New Historic Markers (2015)
French Troops
On September 2, 1781, 3,000 French troops from the West Indies landed at Jamestown and camped in this vicinity on their way to the siege at Yorktown. Consisting of the Gatinois, Agenois and Touraine Regiments, they were commanded by General Saint-Simon. At the battle of Yorktown, Gatinois soldiers captured strategic Redoubt Number 9. Following the allied victory, French soldiers of the Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment, who also participated in the Redoubt Number 9 attack, established winter quarters near here from October 1781 to July 1782 before returning to New England with French General Rochambeau and General George Washington.
The French troops commemorated in the marker were from the West Indies. They camped at the open-air site — now the home of Jamestown Settlement and the open fields surrounding it — first in September 1781 when they were on their way to the siege at Yorktown.
Lafayette Visit
During his Farewell Tour of all 24 states in 1824 and 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette departed from this vicinity on his way to Norfolk, having visited Williamsburg. President James Monroe had invited him to tour his adopted country. Near here, during the Virginia Campaign, General Lafayette led American troops at the Battle of Green Spring July 6, 1781. Beyond military exploits, his intense lobbying for the American cause in France in 1779 and 1780 was a major factor in the French decision to send troops and a portion of the French fleet here both in 1780 and 1781. There would not have been a victory at Yorktown without this support.
(Col. Philippe Roux of the French Army and Alain Outlaw of the James City County Historical Commission pose next to the new historical highway markers. – Gregory Connolly/WYDaily)
Siege and battle of Yorktown, VA September and October 1781
The Gun exposed in the Battlefield Visitor Center of Yorktown was taken by General Lafayette in person. of the redoubt #10 at Yorktown in 1781.
The French troops of Rochambeau took the redoubts #9.
FRANCE INVOLVEMENT DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Louis XVI – King of France and Navarre
1768-1777 – France secretly helps the American Insurgents
1768: Baron de Kalb a Bavarian-born French military, traveled to America on a covert mission (to determine the level of discontent among colonists) on behalf of France.
1775-1776-1777: France secretly sent military supplies. During these three years, France had been sent secretly to the American rebels over five million Frenc pounds “livres Tournoises” of aid.
1778-1782 – France officially and fully aids the American Insurgents
1778 (February) – Franco American Treaty
(Later Spain (in 1779) and Dutch (in 1780) became allies of France)
*1778-1779 – 1st “French Expedition” under Comte d’Estaing
*1780-1781-1782- 2nd “French Expedition” under Comte de Rochambeau
*1781- The French Navy under Comte de Grasse joins the Franco-American ground Forces in Yorktown, VA
TOPIC VI (T6) – LAFAYETTE VISIT (August 4 to December 22, 1784)
Road markers, places, objects…
The United State 1783-1803
In 1784, Lafayette visited America, where he enjoyed an enthusiastic welcome; he visited all the 13 states except Georgia.
The trip in Virginia included a visit to
Washington’s farm at Mount Vernon, VA on 17 August.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vernon
-Lafayette received a bust from the state of Virginia.
-Lafayette addressed the Virginia House of Delegates, where he called for « liberty of all mankind » and urged emancipation of slaves.
Virginia also granted him citizenship.
TOPIC VII (T7) – LAFAYETTE’S FAREWELL TOUR (1824-1825)
Road markers, places, objects…
The United States in 1825
The 24 states visited : Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine (ex-Massachusetts / North part), Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia. Plus Washington D.C.
Detailed Timeline
October 1824
(Arriving from Philadelphia PA)
• October 6 – Wilmington/Delaware
• October 12 –District of Columbia.
• October 15 –Arlington House, and Washington/D.C. at night
• October 17 – In Virginia, Lafayette visits Mount Vernon, VA, and George Washington’s tomb.
Lafayette at the Tomb of Washington by Nathaniel-Currier-1845
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vernon
• October 18–19 – Lafayette arrives by steamer in Petersburg, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersburg,_Virginia
for visit to Yorktown, VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown,_Virginia
for festivities marking the 43rd anniversary of the battle.
Nelson House Yorktown village -Lafayette reception in 1824
While touring Yorktown, he recognized and embraced James Armistead « Lafayette » a free « negro » who adopted his last name to honor the Marquis (he was the first US double agent spy); the story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer.
James Armistead Lafayette (Dec-10-1760-VA / Aug-09-1830-VA)
• October 19–22 –
Lafayette visits Williamsburg, VA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Virginia
The College of William and Mary conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. (October 20, 1824)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_William_%26_Mary
Peyton Randolph House Williamsburg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyton_Randolph_House
– Lafayette residence in 1824 and Rochambeau Headquarter in 1781
Raleigh Tavern (reconstructed)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Tavern
– Lafayette reception 1824
• October 22 – Lafayette arrives Norfolk/Virginia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk,_Virginia via steamer from Petersburg, VA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersburg,_Virginia
and spends four days there and in Portsmouth/Virginia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth,_Virginia
• October – Lafayette arrives in Richmond/Virginia: on a steamer from Norfolk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia
Edgar Allan Poe is in the youth honor guard in Richmond that welcomed him when he arrived.
November 1824
• November 4 –Monticello/Virginia: Lafayette visits former President Thomas Jefferson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello
View of the West Front of Monticello By Jane Pitford Braddick Peticolas. c. 1827.
Lafayette bust in Monticell0 residence
• November 8, 1824 – Charlottesville/Virginia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottesville,_Virginia
Lafayette attends a public banquet at the University of Virginia in nearby Charlottesville https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia
…/…
• January 1, 1825 – Washington/D.C. (Congress)
This private house, today located at 301 S. Saint Asaph Street – Alexandria, VA is known as the « Lafayette House » as it is believed to be where General Lafayette spent time during his visit to Washington DC area (December 1824 and January 1825)
• January 19 – Baltimore to Norfolk and Richmond/Virginia
• January 31 – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Perseverance Lodge #21)
February 1825
• February 23 –Suffolk/Virginia and Halifax/North Carolina (sandy « Lower Road » from Richmond to Raleigh)
• February 25 -Lafayette granted Poulson’s Advertiser an interview.
• February 26—Murfreesboro/North Carolina (first overnight in NC)
• February 27 – Northampton/NC (now the town of Jackson) and Halifax NC
…/… March to August 1825
• Late August 1825 – Lafayette returns to Mount Vernon/Virginia
…/..
late september
washington DC
Marquis de La Fayette – Memory Spaces 