President James Monroe invited the Marquis de Lafayette to visit the United States, his adopted country. Lafayette’s tour of all 24 states in 1824 and 1825 drew large crowds and sparked a renewal of patriotism. During the American Revolution, Lafayette’s intense advocacy of the American cause convinced King Louis XVI of France to send troops and ships, which proved crucial to the American victory at Yorktown.
Roberta did not yet exist in 1825 (it was founded in the 1880s), but Lafayette’s Federal Road route passed directly through the area that would later become the town. Lafayette spent the night of March 29, 1825, at the U.S. Indian Agency on the Flint River—today located in Crawford County, just south of modern Roberta, Georgia. The Agency was the headquarters of Benjamin Hawkins, long‑serving U.S. Indian Agent to the Creek Nation and a member of George Washington's staff during the war. Hawkins died in 1816 and is buried on the grounds. Lafayette had known Hawkins personally during the early Republic, so the stop carried emotional and symbolic weight.
Learn about Revolutionary War Combat Strategy. Watch the Revolutionary War Animated Map. For a summary, read An Overview of the American Revolution.