The community is rallying in preparation for extensive celebrations surrounding the Bicentennial anniversary of Revolutionary War General, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour of America. Lafayette’s original tour spanned 1824-1825 and took him through various cities in 24 states, including Fayetteville. A series of celebrations held on March 4 and 5, as well as preceding events, will give community members the chance to follow in Lafayette’s footsteps.
In February of 2022, under the direction of Hank Parfitt who serves as Chair, a planning committee was formed to plan the Bicentennial Celebration. Parfitt said much of the first year was spent team-building, inviting community members to participate, and building a framework for upcoming events. They’re basing the reenactment of events off a contemporaneous report of Lafayette’s visit to Fayetteville published in the Carolina Observer, now the Fayetteville Observer, that described Lafayette’s time in the city.
Currently, Parfitt says there are nearly 20 organizations involved in the committee, including individuals from the city and county government, local art museums, and historical organizations. “It represents a wide cross-section of the city,” Parfitt explained.
He said the committee also spent time making sure that the celebration was beneficial for all the organizations involved and aligned with their particular vision.
“As you can imagine, there's a lot of work in that,” he shared.
As a Frenchman who fought in an American uniform, Lafayette was the last surviving American Major General of the Revolutionary War. Fayetteville was the only namesake city he visited during his final tour. Parfitt noted that the tour took place during a time of deep division.
“The nation was deeply divided over the economy, over the issue of slavery, and there were political problems with the election of 1824.”
Yet, Lafayette was universally admired despite the vitriol, and it’s estimated that 6 million of the then 9.5 million American population saw Lafayette during his tour.
According to Parfitt, Lafayette was grieved that the country he helped found on the basis of equality and freedom was enslaving a large percentage of its inhabitants. He became a great supporter of emancipation.
“He was a shining light of liberty and national self-determination,” Parfitt explained.
The upcoming Fayetteville celebrations organized by the Lafayette Society are part of “Lafayette 200,” a 13-month long, 24-state-wide Bicentennial celebration organized by The American Friends of Lafayette. According to their website, the AFL is a historical and patriotic society dedicated to the memory of Lafayette and to the study of his life and times in America and France.
Together with the American Friends of Lafayette, Fayetteville is one of many principal cities Lafayette visited that are taking the opportunity to host a celebration.
“It is a celebration of our community's history and serves as a reminder of the ideals that Lafayette stood for, which are still so relevant today, such as justice and freedom,” said Anna Meyer, Executive Director of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.
Meyer is one of several sub-committee chairs helping coordinate upcoming events as part of the planning committee. She is focusing on marketing the events and coordinating a dinner-theater performance. She described an abundance of community collaborations behind-the-scenes working to bring the events together.
“The celebration is truly community-centric, and many people have stepped up to make it possible.”
Parfitt shared that organizations and institutions involved in the planning committee include the Lafayette Society, Fayetteville Museum of History, Museum of the Cape Fear, The Arts Council, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, The Gilbert Theater, Cumberland County Library, Distinctly Fayetteville (Convention and Visitors Bureau), Sons of the American Revolution - Marquis de Lafayette Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution - Liberty Point and Col. Robert Rowan Chapters, Colonial Dames, The Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Methodist University, Cumberland County, City of Fayetteville and Cumberland County Schools.
They’re working together to coordinate a series of ticketed and free events including Regency-era dance workshops by Charles Steplively (Jeremy Gershman), a Lafayette Lecture by Dr. Lloyd Kramer, and eventually the two-day celebration on March 4 and 5 which will include the following events: Mini Tours of the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Carriage, Lafayette’s Procession and Welcome, Explore Lafayette’s Legacy in Fayetteville, Farewell Tour Ball, and Farewell Tour Dinner with live music and theater-in-the-round.
Parfitt said that the committee members are outstanding, with groups such as the Colonial Dames handling the Farewell Tour Dinner and the Daughters of the American Revolution handling the Farewell Tour Ball.
“Each individual event now has a strong co-chair in charge who shares the vision and has the determination to accomplish the mission,” he said.
Meyer encouraged community members to join in the festivities and said she thought it would be a “memorable celebration.”
Parfitt lauded the committee and anticipated the same.
“They’re doing a really fantastic job to make sure this is an event that our city can be proud of.” Learn more at lafayettesociety.org

(Photo: The Fayetteville Independent LIght Infantry will be part of the celebrations for the Bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette's return to Fayetteville. Photo courtesy of the Lafayette Society)