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Editor’s Note: This year marks the Bicentennial, 2024-2025, of Lafayette and his farewell tour, “Guest of the Nation”, which took place August 15, 1824-September 7, 1825. To commemorate the occasion, this is the first of four contributed columns by Richard Ingram, a longtime resident of LaGrange and Chair of Friends of Lafayette.

August 12-August 19, 1824

He was an unlikely celebrity:  5’9”, gimp left leg, toupee, hard of hearing, 66 years old.  He was the last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary War, a walking reminder of the ideals that launched the idea of America.  Invited by President James Monroe, by resolution of Congress, to be The Nation’s Guest, Lafayette arrived at Staten Island on Sunday, August 15, 1824.  Not wanting to disturb the Sabbath, he ferried to Manhattan the next day.  Boats taxied alongside, filled the harbor; thousands packed the “Canyon of Heroes.”  Before the Beatles, before Lindbergh, there was Lafayette.  Every afternoon at City Hall, no matter the length of the line, he greeted Americans who wanted to see the “Hero of Two Worlds.”  His ready smile and instant greeting electrified New York, James Fenimore Cooper and Samuel F.B. Morse among them.  Planned for four months, this Farewell Tour turned into thirteen months, 6000 miles, all 24 states.  America loves Lafayette.