Past is Prologue
Clint Schemmer writes about history, heritage preservation and the American Civil War. On Facebook: Past is Prologue On Twitter: @prologuepast Contact: Email Clint or call 540/374-5424.
Give a hoot for Gilbert; turn out today in Spotsylvania!
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The Marquis de Lafayette atop his statue’s pedestal in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
I urge anyone with the slightest interest in the United States’ beginnings to pay a visit to the Spotylvania County Museum at 11 a.m. Saturday — or Todds Tavern about noon — for a public reception and then the dedication of a Virginia marker honoring the Frenchman without whose sacrifice we wouldn’t have a free republic today — the Marquis de Lafayette.
He and his army passed this way in 1781; kindly pay them the honor.
The reception is free, and should be fun; there will be light refreshments, and brand-new exhibits of Lafayette artifacts at the museum. (Born in 1757, the Revolutionary War hero was christened Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier.)
Details below:
from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources:
State Historical Highway Marker “Lafayette at Corbin’s Bridge” to Be Dedicated
—Marker commemorates the 1781 camp near Corbin’s Bridge of Revolutionary War hero French General Marquis de Lafayette who commanded Continental soldiers and militia as they marched through present-day Spotsylvania County—
RICHMOND – A state historical marker issued by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to honor French General Marquis de Lafayette and his military campaign through Spotsylvania County in support of the American War of Independence will be dedicated September 15, during a ceremony hosted by the Mine Run Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The event begins at 11 a.m., Saturday, at the Spotsylvania County Museum, 9019 Old Battlefield Boulevard, Spotsylvania.
The dedication ceremony will feature remarks by historian Marc Leepson, author of “Lafayette, Lessons in Leadership from the Idealist General”; Terry Dougherty, executive director of the Spotsylvania County Museum; local historian Conway Richardson, a member of the Col. Fielding Lewis Chapter of Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution (VASSAR); and Judith Joy Surber, state historian, Virginia DAR.
Representatives of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors will also participate in the ceremony.
After the speakers’ remarks, the marker will be unveiled at its location at 9626 Brock Road, Spotsylvania.
The state marker highlights the site in Spotsylvania County where Lafayette and his soldiers camped on June 2, 1781. “Commanding more than 3,000 Continental soldiers and militia, Lafayette sought to move northward and link up with Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne’s approximately 1,000 Continentals who were heading south from Pennsylvania,” as the marker states.
Lafayette’s campaign was a crucial part of the broader effort in 1781 of Gen. George Washington and the American forces along with French troops under Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau to pin down the British army at its base in Yorktown, where it ultimately surrendered in October of 1781, ending the American War of Independence.
The “Lafayette at Corbin’s Bridge” marker was approved for installation by DHR’s Board of Historic Resources 2011.
The costs for manufacturing and erecting the marker were covered by the marker’s sponsor, the Mine Run Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
