Have an event we should know about? Please Contact Us
- This event has passed.
Greenwich Historical Society: 200th Anniversary Marquis de Lafayette Celebration
August 19 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Join Greenwich Historical Society, DAR Horseneck Chapter and Alliance Française Greenwich for the Marquis de Lafayette “Victory Lap Through Greenwich” 200th Anniversary Celebration. Hosted at the Greenwich Historical Society, with the support of the Town and several local dining establishments. The celebration will feature:
- Meet & take photos with a Marquis de Lafayette re-enactor
- Keynote remarks by Chuck Schwam, Executive Director of the American Friends of Lafayette
- Descendant Virginie de Lafayette
- Proclamation by Fred Camillo
- Period music
- French pastries
- Student exhibit
- A film
- Archival information on Lafayette’s tour in Greenwich
The Marquis de Lafayette was a young man when he left France to fight in America’s Revolutionary War. Decades later, in 1824, he was invited back by President James Monroe to see the nation he helped create, including a swing through Greenwich, which was the first stop in Connecticut on his ‘victory lap’.
From July 1824 to September 1825, Lafayette travelled 6,000 miles to every state by stagecoach, horseback, canal barge and steamboat and was enthusiastically greeted by thousands of citizens at every stop. Lafayette’s visit came at an important time as the country reconfirmed its allegiance to the ideas of the Founding Fathers and the memory of the war which gave the nation its liberty and independence.
FREE
Monday, August 19
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
