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Feb. 24-26 marked 200 years since Marquis de Lafayette stopped in Suffolk during his American Farewell Tour, when he was invited back to the U.S. 41 years after fighting with American soldiers during the Revolutionary War.  

In order to commemorate the occasion, the American Friends of Lafayette (AFL) established a Bicentennial Committee. The committee is made up of over 300 people from each of the 24 states Lafayette visited during his tour. 

In Suffolk, four events were planned during January and February to honor and remember Lafayette. 

A Lafayette memorabilia exhibit was on display for five weeks at the Center for Cultural Arts from Jan. 23 to March 1. The exhibit, titled “Celebrate Lafayette: Soldier, Statesman, Champion of Human Rights,” featured artifacts from the Farewell Tour and depicted a detailed map of the route Lafayette took.

On Feb. 23, there was a welcome ceremony planned, but due to the winter storm, it was cancelled. The event was meant to formally welcome Lafayette, portrayed by Mark Schneider of Colonial Williamsburg, as he shared experiences from his Farewell Tour and the American Revolution.

The largest event was on Feb. 25, when the banquette Lafayette attended in Suffolk was duplicated. The evening was portrayed as if it was 1825. During the reception, the Mayor’s Proclamation of Lafayette Days was read, and Lafayette, portrayed again by Schneider, was welcomed. The dinner began with the 13 original toasts given to Lafayette at the original banquette 200 years ago.

A final event was planned for Feb. 26, but was also cancelled. This event was going to be held at the Washington Smith Ordinary in Somerton. This is the only building that still remains in Suffolk that Lafayette visited during his original tour. 

Schneider recurrently portrayed Lafayette during the Suffolk bicentennial events, which he said is an “honor and privilege.”

“He’s an incredible person,” Schneider said, mentioning how Lafayette has been dubbed as “America’s favorite fighting Frenchman.” 

He said Lafayette did more than just fight in the Revolution, he was also fighting for human rights. He was fighting against the institution of slavery, and strongly supported the Native Americans.

As for planning the events, Schneider said the AFL in each state are the experts on what Lafayette did while he was visiting 200 years ago.

“We’re going to try to painstakingly recreate what occurred so we can make that commemoration a little bit more special,” he said.

Frank Womble, a local member of AFL, said in order to accurately portray events from that time, they rely on newspapers because they covered Lafayette’s visit in “excruciating detail.”

Speaking specifically about the 13 toasts given to Lafayette at the commemorative banquette, Womble said the Norfolk and Portsmouth Herald published them verbatim when they were originally given in 1825.

“The primary source data is extensive,” Womble said. 

He continued to say Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette’s private secretary, kept detailed daily notes while on tour and eventually published them in a book after they returned to France.

“Nothing’s 100% accurate, but it is still a very important primary source document of the Farewell Tour,” Womble said.

Schneider has been portraying and researching Lafayette for over 20 years. With a French mother and an American father, he said he was always fascinated by France and general military history.

In college, he majored in history and minored in education. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Army, not only because he believed in serving his nation, but also because he felt it was important for him to truly know what it means to be a soldier if he was going to write about it.

The very first time Schneider played Lafayette, he was doing a prepared stage act. After his 15 minute monologue, he said an audience member asked him a question about where his pistols and cutlass were.

After a moment of confusion, wondering if he missed an entire part of Lafayette’s history where he was a pirate, Schneider realized the person was probably confusing him with pirate Jean Lafitte.

“So once I realized that, I said, ‘I think you have me confused for Jean Lafitte,’ and that broke the ice, and after that it’s been good,” he said.

Even after thousands of performances, Schneider said he still gets nervous before he goes on stage. He said he uses the phrase “first time, every time” to remind himself every performance must be treated like it’s going to be the performance of a lifetime.

“You know these people, they no longer have a voice today,” he said. “Yes, we have that primary source documentation, but it’s our responsibility as historians to convey them in the way they were, to better tell that story, to educate the public. So that’s important for me.”