General Lafayette Returns to Massachusetts After 200 Years!

Dear MLS member:

I have just returned from the Farewell Tour Bicentennial kick-off in New York City and starting August 23, General Lafayette is returning to Massachusetts after an absence of 200 years.

Starting on that date and continuing on August 24th and 25th, on August 30th and August 31st and on September 2nd and 3rd, there are approximately 25 separate events to choose from. Most - over 20 - are free and open to the public.

These events include:

The parade on the Boston Common on August 24th, Lafayette [Mark Schneider] reminiscing with John Adams on August 25th, the lecture by historian Manisha Sinha at Newburyport on August 30th, Lafayette in Salem, MA on August 31st, the reenactment of Lafayette's [Ben Goldman] arrival on Lexington Green on September 2nd [Labor Day], and his arrival in Worcester on September 3rd.

To learn about each of the events, you need only to go to this website: Lafayette200.org. Once there, click on Events to read about each of the 25 events in Massachusetts or go to the list of towns and click on a city or town that you have a particular interest in.

If you have any questions, you may email me at arhesq@aol.com.

Don't miss this once in a century experience!

Best regards,

Alan R. Hoffman, President, Massachusetts Lafayette Society

REMEMBER LAFAYETTE DAY!    

       UPDATE: Lafayette 1825 Trail from New York order through Massachusetts is complete! See the article by clicking here.

Prior News: The Governor of Massachusetts signed the bill extending the Lafayette 1825 Trail from Western Massachusetts to the New York border. Click here to see the legislation, Chapter 267 of the Acts of 2018. Click here for information, maps, and the proposed legislation!  

Tracking Lafayette's New England Trail presented by Julien Icher, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon

        Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in 1824-1825 is a major milestone in the long-standing friendship between France and the United States. As the bicentennial commemorating this event draws closer, the Consulate General of France is committed to creating a historic trail out of Lafayette’s footsteps in New England. Julien Icher, a graduate student at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and Project Manager for the Consulate General of France in Boston, has documented Lafayette's farewell tour through New England with a physical trail and a web-based application. A major component of the project involved developing a web-based application  implemented on a virtual platform. Click HERE to explore this historic trail.

Massachusetts Tourist Bureau Hails Lafayette Trail

     The Massachusetts Tourist Bureau published an article about the Massachusetts Lafayette Trail developed By Julian Icher.  Click here for the article. 

Welcome

The Massachusetts Lafayette Society is dedicated to celebrating the French-American Friendship from Lafayette to the Heroes of the Liberation of France. 

Lafayette Day

In 1935, a law was enacted mandating the Governor of the Commonwealth to issue a proclamation on May 20 each year declaring that day to be the Massachusetts Lafayette Day. May 20, 1834 was the date of Lafayette's death. One of the principal functions of the Massachusetts Lafayette Society is to conduct the Massachusetts Lafayette Day exercises each year to educate the public about General Lafayette and the role of France in the American Revolution.

"Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country. "