Marquis de Lafayette US Connections

• In 1824, the French artist Ary Scheffer presented to the House a full-length portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, the first foreign dignitary to address a joint meeting of the Congress.
• Lafayette was shot in the leg at the Battle of Brandywine and taken to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he was nursed by Moravian Sisters. After he recovered, he was with Washington at Valley Forge the winter of 1777/78 and was successful in foraging attacks on the British. The marquis was with Washington at the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey in June 1778.
• When he arrived in Philadelphia on September 29th, Lafayette was greeted by a long parade that included 160 Revolutionary War veterans drawn in large cars (wagons). After Lafayette left Philadelphia by boat, he arrived at Chester at dusk on October 5th and was entertained by the ladies of the town, who cooked and served the meal. The next day, at Chadd's Ford, the marquis visited Brandywine Battlefield where he had been shot in the leg.
• On 2 November 1824 Lafayette stayed with former President Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. At a banquet at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, the marquis was seated between former presidents Jefferson and James Madison. Lafayette was Jefferson's guest for nine days, then he visited Fredericksburg, where a parade and dinner were held in his honor.
• It is interesting to note that Marquis deLafayette knew and supped with the first seven presidents of the United States--with Washington during the Revolutionary War, and on this trip with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and the future president Andrew Jackson.
• When General John J. Pershing arrived in France with the American Expeditionary Army during World War I, he exclaimed: "Lafayette, we are here!"
• The U.S. flag has been flown over his grave continuously for over 160 years, repeatedly replaced when tattered. When the Germans took Paris during World War II the U.S. flag over Lafayette's grave was not disturbed.
• Lafayette died on 20 May 1834 at age 78 and was buried next to his wife in the little Picpus Cemetery in Paris. The soil he had brought back from Bunker Hill Monument was poured over his grave.
• "For those present who have water, coffee, or tea, please raise your cups or glasses in a toast to that hero who fought for our independence, suffered under the Holy Roman Emperor for his love of liberty for the common man, and won the hearts of the American people. LAFAYETTE!"