Lafayette 200

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, the Sons of the American Revolution will conduct a ceremony to commemorate the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to the Arsenal in Lawrenceville. The formal ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the site of the old “Powder Magazine,” now encompassed by Lawrenceville’s Arsenal Park. The ceremony will be preceded by a musical prelude of patriotic tunes.

In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette—the last living general of the American Revolutionary War—began a Grand Tour of the United States at the invitation of President James Monroe. The tour, which was conducted in anticipation of the upcoming national 50th anniversary, would extend for 14 months and cover 24 states.

Along the way thousands of Americans greeted Lafayette. In Western Pennsylvania, the Marquis on May 25, 1825, stopped in Uniontown, where one of the Lafayette Trial tour markers presently reads: “On May 26, 1825, General Lafayette was welcomed at the courthouse by Albert Gallatin. He returned May 28 en route to Pittsburgh.” The next stop, in Allegheny Country, is commemorated today by a marker with this inscription: “On May 29, 1825, General Lafayette was welcomed in Elizabeth. He embarked on a barge & proceeded downriver towards Braddock’s Field.” On the same date Lafayette stopped in Braddock, staying the night at the Wallace Mansion before leaving for Pittsburgh on May 30.

On May 31, 1825, accompanied by a troop of light dragoons, the Marquis visited the U.S. Arsenal located in Lawrenceville, where he had breakfast with the commandant and then conducted a review of the public works.

In commemoration of his visit, the Sons of the American Revolution Pittsburgh Chapter will preside over a formal awards ceremony on the exact date that marks the 200th anniversary of the Marquis’s arrival here. Participating in the color ceremony will be several SAR Color Guards carrying historic flags, reenactment units, and several Boy Scout troops. The units will present the U.S. National Colors and the French Tricolor along with musical renditions of “La Marseillaise” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

In 2002 the 107th Congress posthumously conferred honorary United States citizenship upon Lafayette—one of only eight foreign nationals to have attained this distinction. During this spring’s Lawrenceville ceremony, the SAR chapter will posthumously award the Marquis the Sons of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Medal. The Honorary French Consul, Marcel Barlet, will receive the award on behalf of Lafayette, the French nation, and the local French community.

The Marquis de Lafayette as portrayed by Ben Goldman will address the group. Mr. Goldman is a renowned Lafayette interpreter who has been engaged by the American Friends of Lafayette Bicentennial Committee to help recreate the 1824 tour. The ceremony will conclude with the placing of memorial wreaths and the sounding of “Taps” in recognition of the long-standing alliance between the people of America and France.

Dignitaries attending include Pennsylvania State Senator Wayne Fontana and Pittsburgh Councilmember Deb Gross. In addition to the Western PA Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, other invited guests are members of the French Alliance and the French cultural community, and representatives of the University of Pittsburgh’s French Nationality Rooms. Along with the Lawrenceville Historic Society there will be other civic, veteran, and patriotic groups present.

—Information provided mainly by the Sons of the American Revolution Pittsburgh Chapter (SAR), with additional material by Sarah Vowell, Greg Suriano, the Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org), and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation (wgpfoundation.org).