Lafayette Tour Marker, Tolland, Connecticut (CT-12)

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 September 4, 1824, General Marquis de Lafayette made a brief but memorable stop in Tolland, Connecticut, at Smith’s Tavern, located on the historic Tolland Green, near the Old Tolland County Courthouse. Communities like Tolland took pride in hosting the aging hero of the Revolution, then 67 and walking with a cane.

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