Lafayette Tour Marker, Chelsea, Massachusetts (MA-11)

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. 

General Lafayette made a day trip to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Aug 31, 1824. On his way, he stopped in Chelsea.The Concord Gazette and Middlesex Yeoman, published September 11, 1824, provides additional details surrounding the visit: This morning, just after 7 o’clock, the General arrived on the high ground, in the centre of Chelsea; where nearly the whole population had been assembled for two hours, waiting to see him and to greet him with their salutations. A line, ornamented with flags, was passed over the road. The Mechanic Light Infantry of Salem, having on the preceding night encamped in the immediate neighborhood, united with the military company of Chelsea, to pay a passing tribute of honor to our country’s illustrious Guest. Two field pieces, by thirteen discharges, announced his approach. The cavalcade and carriages having stopped, the Rev. Dr. Tuckerman delivered an appropriate address. The procession then immediately moved on; and the hearty cheers of the assembly were followed by discharges of musketry from the military companies, and by another round of thirteen from the field pieces. The General was not detained here longer than three minutes.

Learn about Revolutionary War Combat Strategy. Watch the Revolutionary War Animated Map. For a summary, read An Overview of the American Revolution.