About the Book
Against the backdrop of a tumultuous election, a beloved hero of the American Revolution returned to the United States for the first time in forty years. From August 1824 to September 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette traveled throughout the new country, welcomed by thousands of admirers at each stop along the way. Although the tour brought him to each state in the Union, the majority of his time was spent in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. This fascinating new publication allows readers to walk in the footsteps of the Marquis de Lafayette as he made his historic final trip through the young United States.
Public historian Elizabeth Reese traces Lafayette’s route throughout the National Capital Region, highlighting the locations and people the famous Marquis held closest to his heart.
About the Author
Elizabeth Reese is a public historian whose work is focused on the American Revolution and Early Republic. In addition to receiving the 2015 Scott Hartwig Public History Fellowship at the Civil War Institute, Elizabeth has spent over a decade as an interpreter at federal historic sites, including Hamilton Grange National Memorial and the United States Capitol. Throughout her career, she has developed programs on civil rights, women's history, and Founding America.
Elizabeth is the Associate Manager of Marketing at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House. She is also the chair of The American Friends of Lafayette Bicentennial Committee for Washington, D.C. She is currently working towards the completion of her Master of Arts in American History from Gettysburg College where her research is focused on the Early American Republic, especially as it pertains to relationships between men and women & public memory.
About the French Digitization
This event will serve as a launch for the Washington Library’s French Digitization effort. With assistance from a generous grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, the Washington Library has partnered with institutions and individuals in France to digitize the papers of François-Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux and Antoine-Charles du Houx, Baron de Vioménil, French Major Generals of General Rochambeau's staff, who fought alongside American forces during the Revolutionary War. The Vioménil Papers will be available as a website hosted by Mount Vernon featuring transcriptions and translations of key documents as well as interpretive essays contributed by Dr. Iris de Rode. The Chastellux materials will be available on-site for interested researchers.