From the Office of Historic Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, VA-October 16 marks the 200th anniversary of Alexandria’s reception for the Marquis de Lafayette upon his return to the United States in 1824. It was his first visit since returning to France after the American Revolution. Lafayette was on his way from Washington City to Yorktown for a commemoration of the Battle of Yorktown. By this time, he was the only living Revolutionary War general. Lafayette accepted an invitation from the City of Alexandria for a reception on Saturday, October 16, 1824. He crossed the Potomac Bridge and rode a carriage into town with a military escort.
The procession entered town on Columbus Street, went right on King, left on Fayette, left on Prince, left on Cameron, and ended at Washington. Alexandria erected three arches across Washington Street, and as Lafayette went through them, there was a gun salute in his honor. One hundred girls and one hundred boys aged 7 to 12 formed lines that led the General to the Reception Room of Clagett’s Hotel, where the mayor and the City Council greeted him. Lafayette’s carriage arrived after the ceremony and took him to his quarters on St. Asaph St.
At 5 p.m., Lafayette attended a public dinner in his honor at Clagett’s. Among the guests were Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. The dinner concluded with 33 toasts. Lafayette toasted to “The City of Alexandria: May her prosperity and happiness more and more realize the fondest wishes of our venerated Washington.” The next day, he boarded the steamship The Petersburg to visit Mount Vernon and left the day after that to Yorktown.
Fifty years later, Benjamin Hallowell wrote in his autobiography about Lafayette seeing Hallowell and his wife on their wedding day and tipping his cap to them while waiting on Mrs. Lee. This doesn’t match contemporaneous reports on Lafayette’s location and the schedule that newspapers reported. It seems that the December visit with Light Horse Harry Lee’s widow was his only visit to her. Local legend held that Lafayette stayed at 301 S. Saint Asaph for a month in October. Newspaper reports and Lafayette’s secretary Auguste Levasseur’s journal state that Lafayette only spent the night of October 16 in Alexandria.
Lafayette enjoyed his visit to the United States so much that he stayed well into 1825 with his son and Levasseur. The tour went as far north as Montpelier, Vermont, and as far south as New Orleans, Louisiana, covering all 24 states of the United States.
The City of Alexandria celebrates the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit with the following events:
October 5 & 6: Walking Tours
Old Town Alexandria, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m.
$15 / $30 includes book
Join public historian Elizabeth Reese, author of Marquis de Lafayette Returns, A Tour of America’s National Capital Region, on a 90-minute walking tour retracing Lafayette’s steps from his 1824 visit. The tours are coordinated by the Alexandria-Coen Sister City Committee.
October 16: Lecture and Book Signing
Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum, 7:30-9 p.m.
$15 / $12 for Historic Alexandria Members & Volunteers
Join Elizabeth Reese for a lecture followed by a reception and book signing.
October 17: Period Dinner
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
$150
Join the Marquis de Lafayette for a dinner and reception. Learn about his life and time in Alexandria in 1824. Co-sponsored by American Friends of Lafayette.
The 2024 Historic Alexandria Christmas ornament commemorates Lafayette’s visit to Alexandria. Later this year, the ornament will be available at alexandriava.gov/shop and Historic Alexandria Museums.
Find out more about these events at alexandriava.gov/historic.
