Lafayette Tour Marker, Camden, South Carolina (SC-48)

President James Monroe invited the Marquis de Lafayette to visit the United States, his adopted country. Lafayette’s tour of all 24 states in 1824 and 1825 drew large crowds and renewed patriotism. During the American Revolution, Lafayette’s strong advocacy for the American cause convinced French King Louis XVI to send troops and ships, which proved crucial to the American victory at Yorktown. 

After arriving in Camden, Lafayette was escorted to the Kershaw Masonic Lodge #29 for a banquet and afterward retired to the Camden Hotel. The next morning, he attended a ceremony to remove and reinter the remains of Major General Baron DeKalb. DeKalb was a French military officer who served in the Continental Army and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780. Lafayette laid the cornerstone of a monument dedicated to his mentor.

Learn about Revolutionary War Combat Strategy. Watch the Revolutionary War Animated Map. For a summary, read An Overview of the American Revolution.