Lafayette Tour Marker, Derry, New Hampshire (NH-30)
17 Nesmith Street
Derry, NH 03038
United States
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 sparked a renewal of patriotism. During the American Revolution, Lafayette’s intense advocacy of the American cause convinced King Louis XVI of France to send troops and ships, which proved crucial to the American victory at Yorktown.
On June 21, 1825, General Lafayette left Boston to tour New Hampshire on his way to the Maine capital. At four o’clock, he dined at Redfield’s, in Londonderry, N.H., before proceeding onward. The June 30, 1825 edition of Salem, M.A.’s Essex Register further details this leg of the journey: In passing through Londonderry last week, he [Lafayette] proceeded out of his course to call on an old acquaintance, our late townsman Gen. E.H. Derby, in the vicinity of whose residence he visited the Adams Female Academy, where about 100 scholars of that flourishing institution were presented and introduced. The scholars were dressed in uniform and made a beautiful appearance.
Learn about Revolutionary War Combat Strategy. Watch the Revolutionary War Animated Map. For a summary, read An Overview of the American Revolution.
