By Alan R. Hoffman
On Sunday, August 25, at the Bunker Hill Monument, the Bunker Hill Monument Association, the National Park Service, the American Friends of Lafayette, the Massachusetts Lafayette Society, and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company will commemorate Lafayette’s 1824 visit to Bunker Hill.
The 11:30 am ceremony at the Monument will include:
• Presentation of the Colors by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
• Singing of American and French National Anthems
• Welcome by AFL President Alan R. Hoffman
• Introduction of Lafayette descendants
• Remarks by National Park Service
• Setting the Scene, by AFL President Hoffman
• Reenactment of 1824 welcome of Lafayette and his reply, featuring interpreter Mark Schneider
Don’t miss this important event!
On August 15, 1824, Lafayette arrived in New York City for what turned out to be a 13- month victory lap through all 24 states. As soon as he was able, he rushed to Boston, arriving in the late evening of August 23 at the Governor’s Mansion, the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury.
He stayed there overnight as Governor William Eustis’s guest. The following morning, in a procession of 70,000 people, he arrived at the Boston Common and was greeted by Boston’ schoolchildren. His formal reception to the Commonwealth was the speech by Governor Eustis at the State House, to which Lafayette made a gracious reply.
On Saturday, August 24, 2024, we will commemorate Lafyette’s arrival in Bostron with a parade led by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. The parade will begin at 11:30am at Faneuil Hall and proceed to the Common, where there will be seating for 100 people under a tent. There, the American Friends of Lafayette will reenact the State House speeches from 1824 with Mark Schneider, Lafayette interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, and a descendant of the Eustis family.
Special guests will be decorated World War II veterans and descendants of Lafayette’s son, George Washington Lafayette who was with him during the Farewell Tour in 1824.
As noted above, on Sunday, August 25, 2024, Lafayette will arrive at Bunker Hill at 11:30am for ceremonies commemorating his 1824 visit to Charlestown.
Much better known is Lafayette’s visit to Charlestown on June 17, 1825, the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, when Lafayette was the special guest in laying the cornerstone of the monument. June 17, 2025 is the 250th anniversary of the battle and the bicentennial of the cornerstone-laying ceremony. The National Park Service and the Bunker Hill Monument Association are already planning a magnificent program to commemorate these important historical events in Charlestown and American history.
On his initial Farewell Tour visit to Bunker Hill on August 27, 1824, Lafayette was informed about the proposed commemoration at the 50th anniversary of the battle in the following year. Lafayette told former Governor John Brooks and other Directors of the recently formed Bunker Hill Monument Association that if he were still in the United States, it would be his earnest desire to be present. Ten months later, after a whirlwind tour around the country, he returned just in time to lay the cornerstone.
Alan R. Hoffman is the President, American Friends of Lafayette President, Massachusetts Lafayette Society