Alan Hoffman Lecture on General Lafayettes Tour of America 1824-25
Sunday, March 11th, 2:00-3:30PM
at the Somerville Museum, One Westwood Rd, Somerville, 02143
Alan Hoffman
Lafayette and the Farewell Tour:
Odyssey of an American Idol
Join us for a talk and book signing by the author of theUnabridged English Translation of Lafayette en Amérique en 1824 et 1825 – published in 1829 by Auguste Levasseur, Private Secretary to General Lafayette during his trip.
Alan Hoffman is the President of the American Friends of Lafayette and President of the Massachusetts Lafayette Society. Lafayette came to Charlestown (later Somerville) during his tour of America in 1824 to lay the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill monument. He was greeted by Col. Samuel Jacques, one of the most colorful gentleman farmers of his time and dined with him at his home on Bow Street. Come learn more about Lafayette and his extraordinary reception throughout this country.
“Alan R. Hoffman has made a very great contribution with his translation of Levasseur’s Journal.”
“What a terrific account of America in the 1820s! How fortunate we are that Levasseur kept this journal and that Alan R. Hoffman found and translated it.”
Meet a superstar of the 19th century, closely acquainted with the first six US presidents, and beloved by rich and poor alike.
Though French, Lafayette was made an American general at 19. He became the “Hero of Yorktown”.
Trace his steps as he travels through a young America, 50 years after the Revolution.
Learn details of Lafayette’s private visits with the Founding Fathers.
Discover Lafayette’s enlightened views on slavery and the plight of Native Americans
Auguste Levasseur’s Lafayette in America is a journal of General Lafayette’s 1824-1825 Farewell Tour of all 24 United States. In this book, Lafayette’s private secretary describes how the now 67-year-old hero of the American Revolution and apostle of liberty in Europe was welcomed in an adoring frenzy by the American people. Lafayette was the sole surviving major general of the Continental Army. With its panoramic view of the young country — its burgeoning cities and towns, its technological innovations like the Erie Canal, and its industrious people — this book captures America on the cusp of its jubilee year.
Levasseur also chronicles Lafayette’s affectionate visits with his old friends John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, and his encounter with Senator Andrew Jackson. A keen observer, Levasseur gives us a sense of the characters of these men who, with Lafayette’s paternal friend George Washington, led the United States through its first six decades.
