Lafayette Tour Marker, Rowley, Massachusetts (MA-185)

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. 

On August 31, 1824, General Lafayette was traveling north from Boston to Newburyport, Massachusetts. He passed through Marblehead and Salem, where a banquet was held in his honor, and then he continued on to Ipswich and Rowley. He arrived in Ipswich around 7 or 8 pm, and then Rowley sometime around 9:30 pm. As he passed through Rowley and Newbury Old Town, the homes along the way were illuminated in his honor. He arrived in Newburyport around 10:30 pm.

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