Lafayette: America’s Young Hero & Guest benefits Lafayette Bicentennial Celebration

Squire Cheyney Books' new release

May 8th, 2023

May 8, 2023

New book: Lafayette: America’s Young Hero & Guest

released to inform students and parents

of Lafayette’s contributions to America’s independence

Proceeds benefit Lafayette Bicentennial Celebration

 

          WEST CHESTER _ Members of the Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine Committee recognized the need for information on Lafayette for today’s students. Committee members collaborated with the American Friends of Lafayette to produce a book Lafayette: America’s Young Hero & Guest.

The book is released today by Squire Cheyney Books.

In 1777, 19-year-old Lafayette deified his king and left his family behind in France to come to America to fight for independence and freedom. He shed his blood during the battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. Brandywine marked the beginning of Lafayette’s becoming an American hero.

Lafayette became a trusted member of General George Washington’s staff. Indeed, Lafayette was treated as a son and Lafayette named his son George Washington Lafayette. America wouldn’t have defeated the British without the assistance of France and France would not have provided crucial supplies and troops without Lafayette’s insistence.

For Lafayette’s contributions to America’s liberty, President James Monroe invited Lafayette to be the nation’s guest in 1824 and 1825. For 13 months, Lafayette was honored with parades, dinners and special events.

The American Friends of Lafayette, a national organization, is recreating Lafayette’s tour of America. The organization established a Bicentennial Committee to commemorate the Farewell Tour of Lafayette. The committee consists of 300 individuals, representing the 24 states Lafayette visited during 1824 and 1825. “Our mission is to educate all people on the life and legacy of Lafayette, to celebrate the Franco-American alliance, and to enrich the public through meaningful programming and remembrances.”

The Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine Committee is organizing celebrations in Chadds Ford, West Chester and Delaware County. Lafayette had a grand dinner in Chester on October 5, 1824. His visits to Chadds Ford and West Chester took place on July 26, 1825. The modern celebrations will take place exactly 200 years after Lafayette’s visits.

“Our committee has many dedicated people organizing our tribute to Lafayette,” said Chair Bruce E. Mowday. “Ours will be a grand celebration. Lafayette deserves to be remembered and honored for so many reasons.”

The new book, Lafayette: America’s Young Hero & Guest, was written by Mowday and American Friends of Lafayette President Alan R. Hoffman. Original illustrations were contributed by Chadds Ford artist Shay Aubrey Allen. Mowday is the author of Lafayette at Brandywine: The Making of an American Hero, released by New York’s Barricade Publishing. Hoffman translated Auguste Levasseur’s Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, the first-hand account of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of America written by his private secretary. Allen is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Portions of the proceeds of the book will be donated to the American Friends of Lafayette’s Bicentennial Committee. The 74-page book costs $14.99. For copies, contact Mowday at mowday@mowday.com.

For more information on the American Friends of Lafayette Bicentennial celebration, see www.lafayette200.org. For information on the Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine Committee, see the Facebook page of Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine Committee. 

            “We are looking for people to join our committee and take part in our celebration,” Mowday said. “We have wonderful opportunities to lean about Lafayette, our nation’s history and to have some fun.” For more information, contact Mowday at mowday@mowday.com or send a message through the Facebook page.