City of Havre de Grace to dedicate a historical marker honoring Major General Marquis de Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of the United States.

    On November 6, 2020, at 3:30 PM, the City of Havre de Grace will dedicate a historical marker honoring Major General Marquis de Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of the United States. The ceremony will be held at David Craig Park and will include guest speaker Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford. The public and press are invited to attend. 

    The City of Havre de Grace is the recipient of a beautiful marker, a gift of The Lafayette Trail, Inc. and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, as part of a commemorative sign network honoring the Marquis de Lafayette and his Farewell Tour of the United States in 1824 and 1825. During his 13-month tour, Lafayette visited all 24 of the then United States as a ‘Guest of the Nation.’ At the time, he was the last surviving general of the American Revolution. During that visit, he laid the cornerstone for the monument at the Battle of Bunker Hill on the event’s 50th anniversary. He briefly visited Havre de Grace on July 29, 1825, as he passed from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Port Deposit, then to Baltimore aboard the steamboat ‘Norfolk.’ The decorative marker will be placed behind the statue of Lafayette located at Legion Square at the intersection of Union Avenue and St. John Street, the gateway to the City’s downtown and National Register Historic District.  

    Lafayette played a pivotal role in ensuring the independence of the United States by offering his services and much-needed monetary resources to the Continental Army. He put his own life on the line in the Battle of Brandywine and returned to France to lobby and secure French military expeditionary forces –both land-based and naval – under Comte de Rochambeau and Admiral de Grasse. He was critical to the success of the Yorktown Campaign, where he and his forces cornered the British by land while the French fleet prevented their escape by water. Lafayette’s generosity of mind and spirit paved the way for the long-term friendship between France and the United States that exists to this day.

    As stated on The Lafayette Trail, Inc. website, www.thelafayettetrail.org:

    The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is incorporated in the U.S. State of Maryland as a nonprofit organization under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS code with the missions to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of France and the United States; to raise awareness about Lafayette’s critical contribution to the founding of the United States, and to document, map, and mark Lafayette’s footsteps in the United States during his 1824-1825 Farewell Tour.