Today's Date:

In North Carolina

Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the first city in the United States to have been baptized with the Marquis’s name in 1783. During his stay in the United States in 1825, the French hero of the American Revolution stopped for two days in Fayetteville. On the occasion of the commemoration of the 250 th anniversary of the Marquis’s birth, the town planned several events:

March 1: David Clary, author of Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette and the Friendship that Saved the Revolution, hosted a conference sponsored by the municipal library.

March 2: An “Airborne & Special Operations Museum Rec eption” in Fayetteville received French citizens from Saint-Avold, Lafayette’s sister city.

March 3: In early afternoon, the Sons of the American Revolution paid homage to the tomb of Osham Blake, one of Marquis de Lafayette’s bodyguards in Yorktown. At the end of the afternoon objects that were part of Lafayette’s personal collection, particularly letters, were presented at the Davis Memorial Library.

May 28: Under the theme, “The Revolutionary War: Honoring our Military Heritage & Heros,” the town celebrated Marquis de Lafayette all day. The day’s events included bicycle races, tours around the town in classic automobiles, exhibits featuring objects from the Revolution, the presentation of Michael C. Hodges’s book, A Doctor Looks at War : My Year in Iraq, official military commemoration of Memorial Day with the placing of the GERBE before Lafayette’s statue, an apple pie competition, concerts…

September 6: Cake and ice cream tasting in Lafayette-era attire.

September 8: Open air concerts, theatrical performances in Lafayette-era costumes and guided visits of the tow n of Lafayette conclude the commemoration of the 250 th anniversary of the birth of Marquis de Lafayette.

Please note: Several places throughout the town evoke the memory of Lafayette and his visit in 1825. Among these places are the Clarendon Bridge by which Lafayette and his son arrived, the tomb of Isham Grave, the Marquis’s bodyguard at Yorktown, the town hall where Lafayette addressed the crowd, the Lafayette hotel where a ball was held in honor of the illustrious host, and the the Phoenix Masonic Lodge that Lafayette, the Freemason, visited in 1825.

On the occasion of the national celebration, the Consulate General of France in Atlanta will celebrate the 250 th anniversary of the birth of Marquis de Lafayette.

Saturday, July 14
InterContinental Hotel Buckhead
Venetian Ballroom
3315 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta GA 30326