Lafayette Tour Marker at Camden (SC-48)

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. 

After arriving in Camden, Lafayette was escorted to the Kershaw Masonic Lodge #29 for a banquet and afterward retired to the Camden Hotel. The following morning, he attended a ceremony for the removal and reinterment of the remains of Major General Baron DeKalb. DeKalb was a French military officer who served in the Continental Army and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780. Lafayette laid the cornerstone of a monument dedicated to his mentor.

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