Lafayette’s 1824 Visit to the United States: Return of a Revolutionary War Superhero

Whether an exactly true account or not, the above dispatch from Boston reported in the Richmond Enquirer is just one small example of the extensive newspaper coverage of Lafayette’s massively popular return to the United States.

Two hundred years ago, in 1824, and 40 years after his impactful participation in the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the fledgling United States for a final visit because of an invitation from President James Monroe.¹ When he arrived, Lafayette was joined by his son, George Washington Lafayette – a name too good to be made up – and Lafayette’s secretary, August Lavasseur.

During the tour of the States that spanned from August 1824 to September 1825, the French nobleman succeeded in his plan to visit all 24 U.S. states and met with many surviving friends and colleagues, including visits to Mount Vernon, Richmond, Yorktown, and Monticello. The Marquis also spent time with James Armistead, an enslaved man who served as a spy on Lafayette’s behalf around Yorktown.

At almost every destination, the Marquis was met with throngs of excited well-wishers, many seeking the opportunity to gaze on a real-life Revolutionary War hero, a figure whose stature had grown to superhero status during his 40-year absence.

Newspapers such as the Alexandria Gazette and Advertiser, the Richmond Enquirer, the Genius of Liberty, and the Virginia Herald (among others) provided ample coverage to the returning hero.

Beyond the usual reporting, Virginia newspapers and publications throughout the U.S. printed poems, songs, and other unabashed expressions of love and appreciation for Lafayette.

We’ll keep our focus on the newspaper coverage of Lafayette’s American visit, and more specifically, his tours of Virginia. Lafayette spent a great deal of time here, which is understandable given that his greatest revolutionary victory was at Yorktown and one of his closest surviving friends was Thomas Jefferson.

At the time of Lafayette’s tour of the U.S. and Virginia, we see a growing and evolving newspaper industry – and the public’s only dependable source of news – eager to report and promote a major news event. Newspapers reported on every detail of the tour, from the extravagant parades and galas to the mundane planning and resolutions by various “Committees of Arrangement” that organized the processions, dinners, and other public and private spectacles to fete Lafayette’s tour of the U.S.

Read other elements of newspaper reportage of Lafayette’s tour:

The celebrations bring crowds (including “a thousand of the daughters of the mountains”) and danger!:

At formal dinners, toasts abound and the Governor’s health is commented on:

Full-page spreads appeared, like this one from Richmond’s Constitutional Whig of September 10, 1824:

Full Page Insert Constitutional Whig 09101824

Celebrations of the Marquis came at a cost. The Virginia Legislature, for example, had to provide funds to pay for the many events that occurred around the Commonwealth.

We encourage readers to dive into Virginia Chronicle for Virginia coverage and Chronicling America for national coverage to find your own stories, to learn about early-19th century customs and hospitality, and to read about the many celebrations during this remarkable visit. Truth is, Lafayette’s visit can be considered a major media event when such a thing barely existed, to the extent that it came complete with its own oft-used tagline, “The Nation’s Guest.”

Helpful search hints: if you’re searching Virginia Chronicle about Lafayette’s visit, you can limit your search to the years 1824 and 1825. Newspapers also used two spellings of his name, “Lafayette” and “La Fayette.”

Provided are the dates of some of Lafayette’s stops in Virginia:

Arlington: October 15, 1824
Mt. Vernon: October 17, 1824
Petersburg: October 18, 1824
Yorktown: October 18-19, 1824
Williamsburg: October 19–22 , 1824
Norfolk: October 22, 1824
Richmond: October 26-31, 1824
Albemarle County and Monticello: November 4-15, 1824
Fredericksburg: November 20-22, 1824