200 years ago, Beaufort greeted famous Frenchman with 13-gun salute. City still starstruck
During the American Revolution, French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette, still a teenager, became a hero after he was injured fighting for the Continental Army against the British. He even served alongside General George Washington during Valley Forge in 1777 and the Battle at Yorktown in Virginia in 1781.
Years later, when the famous Frenchman was 67, he returned to the country where he shed his blood on the battlefield for a tour of several states. In Beaufort, he was greeted with a 13-gun salute and reportedly stood on the steps of the Verdier House, which still stands today on Bay Street, greeting townspeople.
Two centuries after he stepped foot in the state’s second oldest city, Beaufort residents are still starstruck by Lafayette and they’re preparing to welcome his “return.”
Lafayette interpreter and U.S. Army veteran Mark Schneider will reenact Lafayette’s visit on March 18, the same day Lafayette arrived in Beaufort in 1825.
For 25 years, Schneider has worked at Colonial Williamsburg portraying the French aristocrat who arrived in America at age 19 to help lead the battle for independence.
A procession through downtown will culminate with a colonial ball in the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park reminiscent of the ball held for Lafayette when he arrived in Beaufort 200 years ago.
The reenactment is one of the several events that the Historic Beaufort Foundation and others are planning to mark the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s Lowcountry visit.
Cynthia Jenkins, HBF’s executive director, calls the anniversary “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to see history come alive.
“Lafayette’s visit 200 years ago has always been revered by Beaufortonians as one of the most important events in the city’s history,” Jenkins said in a news release.
Lise Sundrla, HBF’s assistant director, noted that Lafayette commanded the troops in the decisive siege of Yorktown in 1781, the final major battle that secured American independence, and he is remembered as a “Hero of the Nation,” Sundrla said.
“We started our research and preparations almost two years ago, knowing it would take our full community to pull together a commemoration worthy of Lafayette’s return 200 years later,” Sundrla said.
Lafayette, who died in 1834, was born in France to a wealthy noble family. When he was 2, his father was killed in battle against the English. Resentment over his father’s death reportedly inspired a 19-year-old Lafayette to join the side of the Americans in their fight against the British in the War of Independence where his exploits on the battlefield helped him to become America’s favorite fighting Frenchman.
In August 1824, Lafayette began his “Farewell Tour of the Nation” in Staten Island, N.Y. At the time, he was the last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary War. His tour included 24 states, ending Sept. 6, 1825, in Washington, DC. where he celebrated his 68th birthday at a White House banquet with President John Adams.
His stops in South Carolina included Cheraw, Camden, Columbia, Izzard’s Plantation north of Charleston, Charleston and Edisto before concluding in Beaufort, where he arrived to a 13-gun salute by the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery and mounted officers from the St. Luke’s Guard. Carriages then carried Lafayette and his family through a triumphal arch for a welcome address by the Beaufort mayor. Shortly after, a reception and ball ran into the early morning hours.
Though little documentation exists, historic anecdotes persist that Lafayette greeted Beaufort townspeople from the steps of the Verdier House on Bay Street, according to HBF. The not-for-profit, created to protect the city’s historic sites, plans to erect a marker in front of the Verdier House.
“The 200-year anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to Beaufort reminds us of how long Beaufort and the Lowcountry have been an important feature in the history of the United States,” Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer said.
This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 1:06 PM.
