This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s return to and tour of the United States, and in light of this anniversary we would like to highlight a fascinating reference to him from late 1777, when Lafayette spent time with the Moravians in Bethlehem, PA, while recovering from a wound received during the Revolutionary War.

Born Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier in Chavanic[1], France, in 1757, Lafayette came from a prosperous noble family with a long history of military service. Orphaned by his early teens he followed in this tradition and in 1777 offered his services to the American Revolution, apparently motivated by both a desire for glory and belief in the revolutionaries’ cause[2]. Lafayette’s time with the Moravians came as a result of this service, he was wounded in one leg during the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and was amongst the soldiers who were sent to the Moravian community of Bethlehem to recuperate. On account of his rank of major general and a request from George Washington that the young man be treated as if he were Washington’s own son, Lafayette spent much of this time at the home of George Beckel, superintendent of Bethlehem’s farms, rather than with the other wounded soldiers.

The above page is from the diary of the Bethlehem Congregation, dated October 16th, 1777, and references Lafayette’s time in Bethlehem, stating:

“The Marquis de Lafayette, a handsome young man, with his adjutants, visited the Single Sisters’ House. He was shot through the leg on the Brandywine and since the 21st September has convalesced here in the inn.”

This page is from the same volume as the previous one but was from a separate series of reports intended to be shared with other Moravian congregations. Interestingly, these reports are typically shorter than the diary entries but in this case the report instead goes into further detail, reading:

“ The French Marquis, a handsome young man (who read the “Greenland History” [of the Moravian missions there] in English with much pleasure and said that the accounts of our missionaries are very pompous, but are simple and realistic) visited with his adjutants the Single Sisters House with particular delight, returned with General Woodford to the army on the 18th October.”

It’s not clear exactly why this report is more detailed but it likely reflects Lafayette having made a strong and positive impression on the Bethlehem community.

After the Revolutionary War, Lafayette went on to become an important figure in the French Revolution and the post revolution government and returned to the United States at the invitation of President Monroe on the previously mentioned tour, during which he visited each of the 24 states that existed at the time, before passing away in France in 1834.

Interested in learning more about Lafayette’s 24 state tour? Register for our upcoming lecture (9/24) on this topic, “On Tour with the ‘Nation’s Guest’: Lafayette in America, 1824–25,” to be presented by MAB Board President Diane Windham Shaw!

Register here —> https://tinyurl.com/2v6j36ys

Further Reading:

“Histories Headlines: Bethlehem played host to Revolutionary War here Marquis de Lafayette in 1777” WFMZ, October 8, 2019. Accessed 9/17/2024 https://tinyurl.com/2um9kb9a

RLB. “Marquis de Lafayette” Monticello, October, 1996. Accessed 9/17/2024 https://tinyurl.com/4dw4wk59

[1] Now Chavaniac-Lafayette, the community having been renamed in his honor in 1884
[2] Lafayette requested no reward for his service, his only stipulation was that he would return to France if his family or king requested it.