Celebrate General Lafayette’s

visit to Poughkeepsie, NY

Monday, September 16, 2024

On September 16th, 2024 we have big plans in the Hudson River Valley.  Please see details below regarding this important event at the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York.  

This event costs only $20 and you can register online by clicking: HERE

The most powerful way to celebrate Lafayette is to celebrate the achievements of the American people who have invoked his name or were inspired by his example in their effort to create a more perfect union: a government of, by and for the people. Since 1776. The program consists of a 30-minute talk followed by a short performance over lunch. Complimentary access to the library’s special exhibition, Black Americans, Civil Rights and the Roosevelts on September 16. $20 will cover the cost of lunch.

Lafayette: How an Uncompromising Commitment to Truth Created American Liberty’s Enduring Ideal

Bill Jeffway, Executive Director of DCHS, will help us understand why Lafayette’s name has been invoked across three centuries and remains so visible today locally in the name of a hamlet, a town, streets and roads, all sorts of organizations, and personal names. Indigenous peoples. Enslaved and free Blacks. General Pershing in WW1. Women suffragists in 1918. Congressman Hamilton Fish during the Cold War. These are some of the examples that allow us to better understand why Lafayette endures and is relevant today.

Journeys. A short play, conceived by DN Bashir.

Inspired by, and dedicated to, Dutchess County’s Lafayette Williams who died serving in the US Colored Troops in the Civil War. September 16, 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of Revolutionary War Major General Lafayette’s visit to Poughkeepsie, part of what turned out to be a 13-month, late-in-life national tour by the last living Major General of the American Revolution. Lafayette’s rock-star like reception drew the largest public crowds in history up to that time, revealing his broad and diverse appeal. To appropriately recognize the profound importance of the anniversary, we have commissioned DN Bashir, a NY theater-maker, to conceive a theatrical work.

Journeys is a story about the American journey toward a more perfect union. July 4, 2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States’s founding on the principle that all are created equal. This is the first in a series of events and publications by the Dutchess County Historical Society (and partners) that celebrate the achievements of the American people in bringing that promise to life — as a way to honor the anniversary and those individuals.

Based on the true story of a Dutchess County free Black couple, Tom & Jane Williams, who named their son Lafayette Williams shortly after that historic visit, DN Bashir’s work captures the anticipation and feelings of both Lafayette and the young couple, who, despite their very different starting points, journey to a convergence point at the Poughkeepsie Hotel. Lafayette’s words and actions inform us that he, and Tom & Jane Williams, were keenly aware that New York State remained a slave state at the time of the visit. The young Williams couple walked through the Town of Freedom, which was in the process of changing its name to LaGrange in honor of Lafayette’s home in France. The story reveals how Lafayette and the Williams, despite the vast difference in their origins, are mindful of freedom and each other in their journeys. Lafayette Williams is buried in a national cemetery in Virginia.

This event costs only $20 and you can register online by clicking: HERE

**This event is a collaborative effort by the Dutchess County Historical Society (DCHS), FDR Presidential Library & Museum, American Friends of Lafayette Dutchess Tourism, Inc.**

Bill Jeffway - Commitee Chair in Poughkeepsie, New York

Chuck Schwam - National Committee Chair

13 Months, 24 States, 6,000 Miles 

Special Events in Albany, NY

September 17, 2024

Lafayette Comes to Troy, NY (Again)!

Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Lafayette’s Farewell Tour 

Special Events in Troy, New York Wednesday, September 18, 2024 

Join us in Troy to commemorate the Marquis de Lafayette’s historic visit 200 years ago. Congregate at River Street and First Street, Troy at Troy House Site of Lafayette’s Official Welcome

10:30 AM Arrive by 10:15 AM We will gather at 1st and River Strets in Troy, New York to be welcomed by the offices of Troy’s Mayor and Rensselaer County Executive, the Troy Committee and American Friends of Lafayette.

Special “historical moment” and recognition of the Lafayette Trail Marker.

Proceed down First Street to Sage College Campus.   

Free event, but pre-registration (due by 9/12/24) is required by clicking: HERE

11:00 AM Guided Walk to Russell Sage College campus, site of Lafayette’s meeting with Emma Willard at her innovative school for young women, the Troy Female Seminary.  

Free event

11:20 AM Arrive at North Gate at Sage Park.

Welcome by Offices of the President of Sage Colleges, Emma Willard School and The Women’s Institute, Russell Sage College.

Special “historical moment.” Laying of Wreath commemorating the visit of Lafayette and Emma Willard at her statue. 

Free event

12:15-1:15 PM Guided Walk to Hart Cluett Museum ($10.00) for Museum and Special Lafayette Visit exhibits.  

Registration (by 9/12/24) is required.

Please see the registration form by clicking: HERE

Optional Lafayette Visit Box Lunch available ($25.00 per person) OR lunch on your own. 

You may select and pay for lunch (due by 9/12/24) by clicking: HERE                                 

1:30 PM Arrive at Bush Center – Welcome by Shelly Calabrese, Executive Director, The Women’s Institute, Russell Sage College and Stacy Pomeroy Draper, Troy Committee Chair. 

Premiere of Julien Icher’s new Follow the Frenchman Blog Troy episode.

Keynote Lecture by Jennifer Burns, PhD, on Abolition and Troy’s Black population at the time of Lafayette’s visit based on her ground-breaking research. Q&A session follows.

Free event, but pre-registration (due by 9/12/24) is required by clicking: HERE

2:45-3:30 PM Reception and light refreshments at Sage’s Lafayette Courtyard/The Women’s Institute Garden. Thanks, and Closing Remarks. 

Free event, but pre-registration (due by 9/12/24) is required by clicking: HERE

For further registration information please call 518-272-7232 x113 or go to www.hartcluett.org/events

PLEASE NOTE: Rain location will be Bush Center on Russell Sage College Campus. 

For information on other Bicentennial Events go to www.lafayette200.org

Stacy Draper - Troy Commitee Chair

Chuck Schwam - National Committee Chair

13 Months, 24 States, 6,000 Miles