Lafayette Tour Marker, South Walpole, Massachusetts (MA-183)
2 Neponset Street
South Walpole, MA 02071
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.
As General Lafayette traveled between Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston, Massachusetts, he stopped in Walpole on August 23, 1824. His passage through Massachusetts was often delayed by celebrations in the smaller towns along the way, and Walpole was noted as particularly exuberant, prompting delays in his trip. Lafayette stopped at Fuller’s Tavern, where four companies of volunteer militia paid their salute to him, necessitating him to greet them before proceeding on to Dedham. The papers reported that “At every place he stopped, he was surrounded by a crowd of eager and ardent, but respectful visitants” Statesman, August 31, 1824
Learn about Revolutionary War Combat Strategy. Watch the Revolutionary War Animated Map. For a summary, read An Overview of the American Revolution.
