Several communities across the state are celebrating the 200th year anniversary of a French general’s farewell tour through North Carolina, now through next month.
General Marquis de Lafayette was invited by President James Monroe to tour the U.S. because he felt his presence would help revive American patriotism in the 1800’s. Lafayette was the last surviving major general of the Revolutionary War. Lafayette volunteered for General George Washington and commanded American troops in the Siege of Yorktown — a decisive victory for the Americans.
Experts say when he arrived in the U.S., Lafayette started in Virginia and then traveled down to North Carolina. Frank Womble with the Board of Governors for the American Friends of Lafayette said Lafayette stopped in Halifax and Rocky Mount before heading to Raleigh.
“Lafayette traveled west, 50 miles, about the limit of a day’s journeys by carriage and spent the night at Colonel Allen Rogers tavern at Rogers crossroads,” he said. “This is Eastern Wake County.”
Womble said the tavern no longer stands, but the family home of Col. Rogers does and is one of the oldest homes in Raleigh.
During the farewell tour, Lafayette also visited Fayetteville, which is named after him. Hank Parfitt, the president emeritus of the Lafayette Society of Fayetteville, said Lafayette remained true to his ideas and beliefs while visiting North Carolina.
“Abolitionists said Lafayette was a true abolitionist, because he not only believed that slavery was wrong and that all men should be free, but he also felt that men of color should have equal rights,” said Parfitt.
The next event celebrating Lafayette’s tour will be held at the Mordecai Visitor’s Center in Raleigh. Other areas celebrating his farewell tour include Rocky Mount, Fayetteville, and Halifax.
