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.
Lafayette traveled aboard the steamboat Natchez, accompanied by a delegation from Louisiana. A messenger was dispatched to notify Governor William Clark that Lafayette would arrive in St. Louis the next morning. On April 28, 1825, General Lafayette arrived by steamboat around 9:00 A.M. near Carondelet, Missouri, just south of St. Louis, where he spent the night before his grand reception at the Mansion House Hotel in the city the following day. Lafayette rode in a four-horse carriage through the city, accompanied by a military escort and a parade of dignitaries. While in St. Louis, Lafayette toured Governor Clark's museum of "indian curiosities," a collection of artifacts from his westward expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
Learn about Revolutionary War Combat Strategy. Watch the Revolutionary War Animated Map. For a summary, read An Overview of the American Revolution.