Lafayette Tour Marker, Middletown, Pennsylvania (PA-201)

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 had convinced French King Louis XVI to send troops and ships, which proved crucial to the American victory at Yorktown. 

On January 30, 1825, General Lafayette was traveling from York to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette, as well as his secretary and a committee to escort him from York. Lafayette was met in Middletown by the Harrisburg reception committee and stopped for dinner with them there at about 2:30 pm. The group continued on, and at about 5 pm they arrived in Harrisburg.

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