Greenland’s Dedication to General Lafayette’s Visit in 1824

Greenland State Representative Dennis Malloy dedicates a marker commemorating a visit by Gen. Marquis de Lafayette to the town in 1824.

On May 3, 2021 local, state and national dignataries gathered in Greenland, NH across from the “local hotel” and dedicated this Post Road marker to General Lafayette’s 24 state tour.

In 2016, founder and president of the The Lafayette Trail Julian Icher, proposed the idea of a cultural trail to a French diplomat stationed at the Consulate General of France “to increase the mutual understanding between the peoples of France and the U.S,” and was master of ceremonies at the dedication that also featured remarks by Select Board Chair Steve Smith, State Senator Tom Sherman, Senator Shaheen, Representative Chris Pappas and Greenland Historical Society Chair Karen Mason.

At least 175 signs will be placed in municipalities that Lafayette traveled to throughout the then-24 states in the union. Icher said that NH will have the most and said that Lafayette was more than a key player in America’s fight for independence. He was an abolitionist and a “unifying figure” after the “divisive” election in 1824. General Lafayette has a great legacy and the country is very divided right now. We could use somebody that can rally people and widen the middle ground so that Americans from the left and right can speak to each other (and) celebrate what they have in common.

Lafayette was at Gen. George Washington’s side from the harsh winter of 1777 at Valley Forge through to the 1781 battle at Yorktown. In 1779, he named his only son after Washington, naming him Georges Washington de Lafayette.

Lafayette, who led troops into Revolutionary War battles such as the decisive siege of Yorktown, was a uniting figure at the time he came through the United States in 1824, according to Icher. While political factions were forming in the 1820s, Lafayette was met by days-long celebrations in cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia. He was greeted by people including veterans of the Revolutionary War who fought alongside him.

Lafayette maintains a timeless hold on our state as the inspiration behind many street names, buildings and even a mountain in New Hampshire. He contributed so much to our revolutionary cause and his tour of the country in the 1820’s was an opportunity for citizens of a grateful nation to express their appreciation. General Lafayette represented a very real connection to the ideals of unity, freedom and equality that brought them together a half century earlier His efforts are also the foundation of a long-lasting friendship that our two countries enjoy to this day, and it’s a bond that we cherish in a state with such a strong Franco-American heritage.