By Tom Ayres, Senior Staff Writer
Two hundred years ago this week, the communities of Woodstock, Hartland, Barnard, and Windsor welcomed a very special guest: Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, commonly known as the Marquis de Lafayette.
The great French general and ardent supporter of the American quest for freedom from British tyranny was on the final leg of a nearly year-long, 5,000-mile, 24-state tour of the United States, undertaken at the invitation of President James Monroe and Congress to mark the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution and the founding of the Union. Lafayette’s 13-month “Farewell Tour” commenced in New York in August 1824. When he reached Vermont late the following June, it marked the last of the then-24 states to which the French general sojourned. Significantly, Lafayette’s visit to the Upper Valley and other Vermont communities came in the immediate wake of the great champion of democracy’s journey to Bunker Hill in Boston, where he laid the cornerstone for the iconic monument at that legendary Revolutionary War site.
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Throughout the day this Saturday, June 28, residents and visitors in Upper Valley communities will mark the bicentennial of the French diplomat’s visit with a day of celebration that commences in Cornish, N.H., and Windsor at 7:30 a.m. and then proceeds to Hartland, Woodstock, and Barnard, before concluding the Upper Valley segment commemorating Lafayette’s farewell-to-America journey in Royalton at 1:15 p.m. The Lafayette celebratory tour will then touch down in Brookfield, Barre and Montpelier for the remainder of Saturday, before moving on to Waterbury, Williston, Essex Junction, Winooski and Burlington throughout the day this Sunday, June 29.
The Vermont celebration is an integral part of the multistate commemoration of Lafayette’s historic journey, coordinated nationally by the American Friends of Lafayette. The mission of that nearly 100-year-old organization is to educate people about the life and legacy of Lafayette and to celebrate the historic Franco-American alliance over the past 250 years. The programming for the commemorative tour, including this weekend’s events in Vermont, includes an opportunity for attendees to interact with an actor portraying Lafayette, other historical reenactments, and a variety of other experiences.
Here is a look at what will be going on in each of the local communities where programs celebrating Lafayette will take place on Saturday. All events are free and open to the public.
Windsor. The Windsor and West Windsor Historical Societies have collaborated with the American Friends of Lafayette to commemorate the very first visit to the Green Mountain State by Lafayette on June 28, 1825. Events in Windsor on Saturday will include reenactors, local descendants of Revolutionary War heroes, and volunteers, all hard at work recreating the events of two centuries ago.
The day will begin with a procession from Cornish, N.H., to Windsor. A carriage carrying a Lafayette reenactor will journey across the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge and up Main Street to the Old South Church cemetery. “We invite (the public) to gather along the route and gather in designated areas to witness this symbolic crossing, welcoming General Lafayette,” the two historical societies in Windsor and West Windsor said in a joint statement issued last week. “Look for people distributing French and American flags to wave. Make a sign or banner of welcome and bring it along.”
Immediately following the Cornish-Windsor procession, there will be a wreath laying at the Old South Church cemetery, commemorating Windsor’s Revolutionary War heroes, coordinated by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The ceremony will include brief remarks marking the bicentennial of Lafayette’s visit to the community.
The Windsor portion of the Lafayette celebration will culminate with an open community breakfast at 8:15 a.m. at the Windsor Elks Lodge at 156 Main Street, where diners will have an opportunity to interact face-to-face with the French general and Revolutionary War icon. Lafayette will depart for Hartland promptly at 9 a.m.
Hartland. On the Upper Valley leg of his journey to Vermont, Lafayette used a carriage provided by David Sumner of Hartland. Sumner was a prominent local businessman who built a beautiful home where local historians speculate Lafayette may have stopped to pay his respects to his benefactor during the French general’s trip from Windsor to Hartland. On Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m., the current owners of the Sumner Mansion at 4 Station Road in Hartland will sponsor a reception honoring Lafayette’s visit to the town exactly 200 years ago to the day.
“Please come celebrate and reenact history with us,” the organizers of the Hartland celebration offered in a flier shared by town selectboard chair Phil Hobbie last weekend. “Exactly 200 years ago, Hartland welcomed Gen. Lafayette as he traveled throughout Vermont on his farewell tour. He returned to America at a time of great political turmoil to reignite love of Liberty, Equality, and Freedom. We invite you to a reception to commemorate this historic event.”
Woodstock. Events marking the life and legacy of the Marquis de Lafayette will get underway in Woodstock at 11 a.m. sharp on Saturday. “Exactly 200 years after Lafayette visited Woodstock, we will once again be celebrating his service to our country and his many humanitarian contributions,” Woodstock History Center officials said in a statement last week.
The celebration in Woodstock will begin on the Woodstock History Center’s front lawn at 26 Elm Street in the village center. DAR representatives and history center staff members will host a session with brief speeches based on the 1825 exchanges between Lafayette and Woodstock resident Titus Hutchinson, an interactive Q-&-A with “Lafayette,” volunteers bedecked in period garb, crafts for children, cookies, candies and gingerbread made from Martha Washington’s original recipe, said to be a favorite confection of Lafayette’s.
At 11:45 a.m., Lafayette will stroll down Elm Street to the First Congregational Church in Woodstock, where he will greet and interact with guests, followed by an informative session on the history of the church’s Revere bell and other architectural features of the historic house of worship.
Barnard and Royalton. Carrying on with stops at spaces of historical significance, the Lafayette “farewell tour” will pay a brief visit to the historic Aiken Stand, a former tavern at the junction of the Royalton Turnpike and Sayer Road in East Barnard. “Lafayette” will be on hand to greet visitors to the historic site from 12:45-1:15 p.m.
The reenactment tour will next head next to Royalton, where two centuries ago Lafayette was met by more than 100 members of the Tunbridge Cavalry Company, who escorted the French hero into town. Royalton community organizers offer that they will meet reenactment day participants at the current Lafayette commemorative marker on Route 14. In the event of inclement weather, all Lafayette events will be moved indoors at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.