THOMASVILLE- The October meeting of the Thomasville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) featured a program by Dr. Richard Ingram about the life and times of the Marquis de Lafayette. The meeting was presided over by Chapter Vice Regent Michelle Kimbler. The speaker was introduced by Chapter member Fran Puryear.

Ingram is the founder and chairman of the board of the Lafayette Alliance, an organization founded in 2017 in LaGrange, Georgia which seeks to inspire, illuminate, and unite the spirit of Lafayette with its annual celebrations. Ingram completed his fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has been with LaGrange Internal Medicine since 1984. He is a volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation.

Lafayette was born on September 6, 1757, about 300 miles South of Paris, France at the Château de Chavaniac. Lafayette was just two years old when his father died at the Battle of Minden and was age 12 when his mother died. As an orphan, he inherited a lot of money and was one of the wealthiest men in all of Europe. He was raised by his paternal grandmother Marie Catherine. She ran the Chateau and was admired by the peasants who worked on the land since she treated them with respect. His two aunts Margaret Madeline and Louise Charlotte also told him stories. His family fought with Joan of Arc at the Battle of Orleans.

Lafayette became a Captain in the French military and was stationed at Metz in northeast France. On August 8, 1775, at a gathering, he heard about merchants and farmers fighting for their independence and freedom in America. He wanted to fight alongside Americans for their independence. He bought his own boat “La Victoire” to set sail for America.

After arriving in America, Lafayette became friends with George Washington and they bonded. Washington loved the smiling, affable Lafayette. He fought at the Battle of Brandywine where he was wounded in the left calf. He also fought at the Battle of Gloucester, the Battle of Barren Hill, the Battle of Monmouth, and the Battle of Rhode Island. Then, he commanded the Baltic right wing at Yorktown with Alexander Hamilton under his command and attacked Redoubt No. 10.

Lafayette was one of the richest men in all of Europe. He owned land, had a wife and children, and was in politics in France during the time of the French Revolution. Lafayette thought France and its people were old in their ways and that a popular monarch with republican institutions was needed. He was vilified for his views and was ordered to come back to Paris to face charges of treason. Instead, he escaped into Austria where he was captured and held as a prisoner of the state for five years. His ideas were thought so radical that they could undermine the monarchy. All of his accounts, land, and homes were confiscated and he was now bankrupt. One month later, his wife Adrianne was also imprisoned and in the queue for the guillotine. She was saved by American ambassador James Monroe who told the French government if this happened, they would lose the United States.

While in prison, Lafayette decided that he would dedicate his life to the idea of liberty and he knew the Declaration of Independence. He was dedicated to the idea of liberty, equality, and justice. He was allowed books and studied agriculture because France’s economy was based on agriculture, but he wanted to make things better. He was released from prison after five years. Napoleon sent word to France with the Treaty of Campo Formio that he would release Lafayette since he was a French citizen and he was told to not come back to France. He was in exile for two years, but returned after his wife reclaimed the family’s property at Chateau de La Grange.

Ingram said, “Lafayette had a sense of purpose, resilience, courage and he was full of gratitude.”

On February 24, 1824, Lafayette received a letter from James Monroe by way of Congress inviting him to come back to visit. It would be a Farewell Tour as America would like to see him one more time. Lafayette was the last living Major General of the American Revolutionary War. He was thrilled and arrived at Staten Island on August 15, 1824. On Monday, August 16, Lafayette came to Manhattan and was the first one to go up on The Canyon of Heroes. The people turned out in droves to see Lafayette. The “Farewell Tour of America” was planned for four months, but he received so many invitations that it lasted 13 months, 6,000 miles and all 24 states. America loved Lafayette and he loved America. He had a gold frame with a copy of the Declaration of Independence on a crafted cabinet at his home.

Lafayette caught a cold in February of 1834. He was 66 years old. He got better, but the cold came back with a vengeance and he died on May 20, 1834.

Ingram said, “Lafayette is the image that we can present to young people about purpose, about courage, about resilience, about gratitude. It makes a difference.”

Ingram said there are different ways that the Lafayette Alliance presents the story of Lafayette to citizens and visitors in LaGrange. They include “Pop-ups” which are five-minute narratives performed by young people at businesses, downtown bookstores, and restaurants. The pop-ups are recorded and then posted on social media. Ingram writes lyrics and recruits people to compose the music with the goal of having an orchestra perform the songs in concert for the community. Podcasts about Lafayette and his Farewell Tour are created and posted at lafayettelagrange.org. Ingram also writes a weekly column in the LaGrange Daily News. The Lafayette Alliance would also like to create pageantry with a parade to celebrate Lafayette’s birthday, September 6.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 190,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. More than one million women have joined the DAR since it was founded. To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org. For more information about the Thomasville Chapter DAR, visit thomasville.georgiastatedar.org or facebook.com/ThomasvilleChapterNSDAR.