1827
Writing in 1827, Lafayette’s personal secretary described a visit to Washington’s tomb, explaining that: "Lafayette descended alone in the vault, and a few minutes thereafter reappeared, with his eyes overflowing with tears. He took his son and me by the hand, and led us into the tomb... We knelt reverentially near his coffin, which we respectfully saluted with our lips; rising, we mingled our tears with his.”
The Nathaniel Currier print shown here is inaccurate, as Lafayette’s visit to Mount Vernon occurred thirteen years before Washington’s re-internment in the New Tomb which is shown in the print. Lafayette instead would have paid his respects to Washington at his original burial spot.