Lafayette Tour Marker, Old Lyme, Connecticut (CT-45)

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 the morning of August 22, 1824, Lafayette was hosted for breakfast at the home of Richard McCurdy on Lyme Street. The McCurdys were staunch patriots, and the house served as General Washington’s headquarters on April 10, 1776. After breakfast, Lafayette took a stroll down Lyme Street to the South Green, a site historically used to billet Revolutionary troops.

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