This guide is a shout out to a neighboring city, Lafayette, Colorado and the man indirectly responsible for it's name. Yes! That character in the hit musical, Hamilton named Lafayette. In 1824, both Congress and President James Monroe had invited the Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving Major General of the Revolutionary War to the United States, with the hope that his visit might reignite patriotic fervor in a politically divided America fast approaching its 50th Anniversary. This year, 2024, is the 200th anniversary of his tour and a good time to remember Lafayette and his contributions to both the United States and France.
From August 15, 1824 to September 9, 1825, Lafayette covered over 6000 miles by carriage, stagecoach, canal barge, and steamboat, traveling to all all the existing 24 states and “Washington City.” He was accompanied by his son Georges Washington Lafayette, named after George Washington, and his personal secretary, Auguste Levasseur. Everywhere he went, Lafayette was met with adoration and accolades as an American hero.
Who was the Marquis de Lafayette? Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (called Gilbert by his friends) was a French nobleman who, in 1777 at the age of 19, defied his king by sailing to America in to fight in the Revolutionary War against England. His bravery and leadership in the field, his loyalty to General George Washington, his generosity in spending much of his personal wealth on the American cause, and his success in persuading the French king to send soldiers and money were decisive factors in America’s victory. Lafayette successfully used an enslaved man, William Armistead, to gather intelligence against General Benedict Arnold and General Charles Cornwallis. Lafayette’s masterful command of the Virginia army enabled him to corner General Cornwallis at Yorktown, a battle that led to negotiations for peace, the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and the eventual establishment of the United States of America. Upon returning to France after the American Revolution concluded, Lafayette continued to fight for freedom.
In 1787, Lafayette was appointed to the Assembly of Notables in France which was convened in response to the French government's fiscal crisis. He was elected a member of the Estates General of 1789, where representatives met from the three traditional orders of French society: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. After the National Constituent Assembly was formed, he helped to write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen with Thomas Jefferson's assistance. This document was inspired by the United States Declaration of Independence and invoked natural law to establish basic principles of a democratic nation-state for France. He also advocated for the end of slavery.
After the storming of the Bastille, he was appointed commander-in-chief of France's National Guard. This appointment put him in charge of maintaining order in Paris, and he played a decisive role in the early days of the French Revolution. In October, when the people of Paris marched on Versailles, Lafayette was unsuccessful in stopping them from forcing their way into the palace and murdering the bodyguards protecting the queen’s apartments. He nonetheless succeeded in temporarily saving Marie Antoinette. He tried to save Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette from the guillotine but failed. In August 1792, radical factions ordered his arrest, and he fled to the Austrian Netherlands. He was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison.
Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte secured his release in 1797, though he refused to participate in Napoleon's government or fight in Napoleon's wars. After the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, he became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies, a position which he held for most of the remainder of his life. After his tour of the United States, he returned to France. During France's July Revolution of 1830, he declined an offer to become the French dictator. Instead, he supported Louis-Philippe as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. He died on 20 May 1834 and is buried in Picpus Cemetery in Paris, under soil from Bunker Hill. He is sometimes known as "The Hero of the Two Worlds" for his championing of liberty in both France and the United States.
Lafayette's legacy has been one of Franco-American comradeship. For example, during WWI, Lafayette Escadrille was a unit of volunteer pilots flying fighters. There is a memorial in France honoring the Americans who flew for France and serving as the final resting place for over 49 volunteer aviators. In 2002, Lafayette was made an honorary citizen of the United States. He is one of only eight people to receive this honor.
So if Lafayette Colorado wasn't named for the Marquis de Lafayette, who was it named for? Mary E. Miller settled in the Territory of Colorado in 1863 with her husband, Lafayette Miller. After her husband died, she founded the town of Lafayette, Colorado, named for her husband, who may have been named for Lafayette. Miller was called the "Mother of Lafayette. She was the first woman bank president in the United States (and maybe in the world), a philanthropist and an astute businesswoman. Mary Miller supported women's financial independence and helped out striking miners. The striking miners worked at the Columbine Mine, in a now extinct company town of Serene, Co. Read this article for more information about the history of Lafayette and the local coal mine strikes.