Submitted by Leona Baker, Historical Society of Salisbury Township

Some information for this article came from https://about.lafayette.edu/mission-and-history/the-marquis-de-lafayette and http://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/marquis-de-lafayette.

On Thursday, July 4, we will celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. But we must not forget those long years of war that followed. Considerable diplomatic effort by Benjamin Franklin and his cortege persuaded many in France to help the cause of freedom. The Marquis de Lafayette, a wealthy aristocrat, was one of those who came to the aid of the struggling army led by Gen. George Washington.

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was born in France in 1757. Though of an old aristocratic family, he developed a fascination with the Colonial conflict brewing in America. He explained in a letter to his wife, "The welfare of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; she will become the respectable and safe asylum of virtue, integrity, tolerance, equality, and a peaceful liberty."

In 1777, he sailed across the Atlantic to aid that cause for freedom. Shortly after arriving, he became a member of Washington's staff. Because of his "bravery and military ardor" at the Battle of Brandywine in Chester County, Congress soon gave the Frenchman command of his own division. Washington and Lafayette were close companions throughout the war.

After the American Revolution, Lafayette returned to France to fight for liberty and equality "for all mankind." As a statesman, he befriended Native Americans, defended the rights of French Protestants and Jews, backed national revolutions in Europe and South America, spoke out against capital punishment and became an international advocate of the antislavery movement. In 1789, with some input from Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette co-authored the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a preliminary step to a constitution for the Republic of France.

As the United States prepared to celebrate its 50th anniversary, President James Monroe invited Lafayette to return to the United States for a grand tour of America from 1824 to 1825. At every stop on the tour, people greeted the last significant surviving general of the American Revolution with cheers and celebrations. When touring through Lancaster County, the marquis stayed at Amos Slaymaker's White Chimneys in Salisbury Township. He later presented Amos with a carved gold-headed cane.

Lafayette died in Paris on May 20, 1834, and was buried in Picpus Cemetery with soil from Bunker Hill, the Boston site of the first shot fired in the American Revolution.

Lafayette College in Easton is the only college in America to bear his name. Lafayette's sword, taken from him when he was captured in Austria in 1792, is one of the most precious artifacts in the Marquis de Lafayette collections at Lafayette College. It is brought out during commencement and other special ceremonies at the college.

On Aug. 7, 2002, an Act of Congress made Lafayette an honorary citizen of the United States, an honor that has only been afforded to eight individuals.

Extraordinarily, Lafayette will return to these shores in 2024 to 2025 and Salisbury Township will be part of the Lafayette 200 celebration. The Lafayette re-enactor and his entourage will stop at that same White Chimneys for a high tea and further celebration in July 2025.

Lafayette 200, which will begin on Friday, Aug. 16, in New York City, will follow Lafayette's exact route through the 24 states he visited. The celebration is being organized by the official American Friends of Lafayette's Bicentennial Project. Salisbury Township Historical Society is already preparing for its part in this event, looking for the loan of artifacts of the 1760 to 1850 era to exhibit in July 2025.