"Celebrating Lafayette: Loudoun Museum Exhibit Puts Spotlight on 1825 Visit to Leesburg"
- Loudoun Museum
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
by Norman K. Styer
Leesburg, Va — Two hundred years ago, the Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving major general of the American Revolution, returned from France to tour the country he fought to create.
During his 14-month farewell tour starting in July 1824, he visited all 24 states, receiving a hero’s welcome along the way. One of his last stops in that journey was in Loudoun County where he met with friends including former President James Monroe who lived south of Leesburg at Oak Hill, and Ludwell Lee, his former aide-de-camp who lived east of Leesburg at Belmont.
Over the course of three days here, Lafayette was honored at several events, including an elaborate dinner on the courthouse lawn. Many of those events will be celebrated and recreated during special programs in August, but a new exhibit at the Loudoun Museum sets the foundation for that work.
“He was celebrated everywhere he went and Loudoun—and Leesburg in particular—rolled out the red carpet. We really put on a massive welcome for him,” Museum Executive Director Carrie Christoffersen said.
The museum exhibit highlights his impact on the American Revolution and traces the activities of his visit.
“You get lots of detailed information about what we did, what happened here, what people were involved, how they responded to this opportunity to welcome America's favorite friend, which is the way he's referred to in one instance, and as the nation's guest, which is how he was referred to throughout the tour. He made his way all around Leesburg, culminating with a really celebratory dinner on the courthouse lawn attended by many luminaries, and famously with 50 toasts being given in his honor,” Christoffersen said.
Much of the information is documented in the detailed reporting published in the Aug. 16, 1825, issue of the Leesburg Spectator newspaper, a copy of which is included in the display.
The exhibit includes items on loan from the American Friends of Lafayette as well as period pieces from the museum’s own collection and local sources to help tell the story. Among those is an 1820s Freemason’s apron and certificate—highlighting the brotherhood Lafayette shared with Monroe and George Washington. There is a sword likely to have been carried by Aldie’s John Moore as he joined local military escort for Lafayette. And there are commemorative cups and saucers and other trinkets that were sold as souvenirs during Lafayette’s tour.
Lafayette’s legacy continued to be celebrated in American long after his death in 1834.
“We've got a whole bunch of legacy pieces—a coin that the U.S. minted in as part of our participation in the 1900 World's Fair in Paris that has Lafayette and George Washington on it and postage stamps that were that were created in 1957 at the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s birth,” Christoffersen said.
And that continues today with the display of several pieces created by Loudoun artist Claudia Rivera, including a jean jacket painted with images of Lafayette and Monroe and a pair of shoes painted with images of Lafayette and his wife.
“It just really sort of shows how you can get inspiration from this guy and what he's meant to America. The American Revolution might well not have resolved the way it did were it not for Lafayette,” Christoffersen said.
The Loudoun Museum, located at 16 Loudoun St. SW in Leesburg, is open Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other exhibits on display at the museum include information on life in Loudoun during the Civil War, in the early 19th century and War of 1812 period, and its agricultural heritage. Learn more at loudounmuseum.org.
Details about the special events in August commemorating Lafayette’s visit will be announced soon.
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