Two hundred years ago Marquis de Lafayette was America’s guest.
For 13 months, the French war hero, who helped the colonists win the Revolutionary War, visited 24 states, a trek of 6,000 miles, almost all of it in a horse-drawn carriage. Had there been rail travel, it’s unlikely Lafayette would have scheduled an overnight stay in Suffolk. He might never have set foot in modern-day Hampton Roads at all.
That’s a part of history William Cole is committed to preserving and sharing.
“Celebrate Lafayette: Soldier, Statesman, Champion of Human Rights,” is on view through March 1 in the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts’ TowneBank Art Gallery. Artifacts in the exhibit are courtesy of Cole.
The collection includes ceramic plates, a French children’s book, a poster celebrating the bicentenary of Lafayette’s birth, a silk mourning ribbon pinned to clothing after Lafayette’s death, and artwork.
Cole, a Yorktown resident who worked for 23 years at Colonial Williamsburg, refers to himself as a lifelong accumulator rather than a collector. Each object tells a story. Asking him to pick a favorite is like asking a mother about her children. He’s particularly fond of a $1 bill that shows Lafayette standing next to a pillar that reads “Yorktown 1781” and a painting by French artist Noel Le Mire showing Lafayette and a village in the distance.
“That village is Lafayette pointing to Yorktown,” said Cole, who once operated a bed and breakfast there.
Frank Womble, who is on the governing board for the American Friends of Lafayette that helped with the exhibit, credits the Frenchman for giving rise to the modern souvenir industry.
“Everyone wanted something with an image of Lafayette,” Womble said.
A replica of Lafayette’s favorite self-portrait – the original hangs beside the rostrum of the House of Representatives – greets visitors to the four-part exhibit.
In addition to Cole’s memorabilia, a map created by a Mary Washington University professor and a student detail Lafayette’s path; eight interpretive panels chronicle Lafayette’s legacy and artwork depicts him in stages of his life.
The map includes Lafayette’s Feb. 25, 1825 stop in Suffolk, which included fellowship at an ordinary, or tavern, in Driver and a procession to the Castle Inn in downtown (the inn burned in the Great Fire of 1837). Lafayette left the next morning to meet a North Carolina delegation in Somerton.
Lafayette’s visit to the states resonates with Cole and others who want to educate the public about the history. Lafayette’s farewell tour was meant to recognize the anniversary of the war, but it was also a unifying mission. After eight years under Monroe, the nation was divided following the election of John Quincy Adams in 1824. Patriotism was low.
Sound familiar?
“Lafayette was the last surviving major general of the war, the last living connection to George Washington,” said Robert Kelly, vice president of the American Friends of Lafayette. “The 1824 tour was all about unity. Lafayette really was an inspiring figure, always promoting liberty and freedom for all.”
The bicentennial commemoration of Lafayette’s farewell tour began Aug. 16 in New York and concludes September 8 in Washington, D.C.
To learn about more free events related to the Lafayette exhibit in Suffolk, visit Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts online.
