by Evan Johnson
On the warm, sunny morning of June 13, 1825, the residents of Worthington, Massachusetts (pop. 1,200 or so) were up and about, clearing brush from their yards, trimming trees, even painting a house in one case. This unusual activity was spurred by an impending arrival. The Marquis de Lafayette was expected that afternoon and would be spending the night at Pearce’s Tavern. But why was the town so abuzz with the news? To answer that question, we must return to September 6, 1757, in Auvergne, France, where a child christened Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette was born.
Born to wealth, Lafayette lived a relatively normal country life for his first two years. However, on August 1, 1759, his father, an officer in the French army, was killed in Minden, Germany, in what became known as the Seven Years War. Lafayette’s mother, living on the farm owned by her husband’s family, was devastated. She immediately bid the family goodbye and moved to her father’s palace in Paris, leaving the young Lafayette in the care of his paternal aunts. There he would remain, visited by his mother only for short periods in summer until he was eleven.
In 1770 Lafayette was summoned to Paris to live with his mother in the enormous palace owned by his maternal grandfather. Although he missed his aunts, he was pleased to be reunited with his mother. Sadly, just two years later, both his mother and grandfather died, and the trajectory of his life would change once again in dramatic ways. As the only male heir, the boy inherited the fortunes of both his mother’s and father’s families. In addition to enormous sums of money, he took possession of vast tracts of land, including his grandfather’s palace.
The wealthy orphan immediately attracted the attention of those wishing to take advantage of his riches. He was quickly taken under the protection of the Duc de Noailles, a Parisian nobleman who commanded a regiment of guards for King Louis XV. Soon Lafayette was living at the Noailles home, studying martial subjects in a Parisian military academy, and enlisting as one of the King’s musketeers. But the Duc had broader plans – he was already scheming to have Lafayette marry his daughter, Adrienne. On April 11, 1774, when Lafayette was 16 and Adrienne was 14, they were wed. Two years later she was pregnant.
Lafayette’s young life coincided with the buildup to war in the American Colonies. The fledgling country understood that the European powers, especially those opposed to Britain, were essential to the cause. To that end, the Continental Congress sent Silas Deane to France in search of soldiers, weapons and money. The Marquis was soon introduced to Deane through a series of connections, including the brother of England’s King George.
For the young Lafayette the draw to the American Revolution was threefold. His father had died at the hands of the British. Concepts of liberty and honor had been instilled in him by his aunts. And he was a young military man with no war to fight. As he listened to Deane sing his praises, he knew what must be done. Knowing that young Lafayette was among the richest boys in Europe, Deane told him that he was now a general in the Continental Army and should report for duty. But there were a few problems.
Lafayette met with King Louis XVI, who forbade him from fighting in America. The Duc learned as much and told his son-in-law that he could not leave. And Lafayette’s wife was pregnant with their first child. But he was 19 years old and one of the richest people in France, with a commensurate sense of entitlement. Lafayette bought a ship, hired a crew, and convinced many of his young friends to join him for the adventure of a lifetime. Against the King’s orders and with a troop of soldiers searching for him, he slipped into Spain on April 20, 1777, and sailed for America.
The ship landed in Charleston, South Carolina, and Lafayette and his fellow soldiers hired a wagon to take them to Pennsylvania, where he was told his hero, George Washington, would be found. However, Lafayette was the last person Washington wanted to see. Deane had sent dozens of French soldiers to the Colonies and Washington found most of them lacking. Fame and fortune seemed to be their goal, and barely any spoke English. Washington assumed nothing more from Lafayette when the 19-year-old presented his papers of introduction to the Commander.
Most of the Continental soldiers thought this young, brash, finely dressed boy would be gone in a matter of days. But two weeks later they were startled to see the “boy general” riding behind Washington as he inspected the troops. It’s not known exactly what Washington initially saw in the Marquis, but his writings speak of a deep love for the young man who became the son he never had.
Washington also became quite protective of Lafayette. When the British invaded Pennsylvania just three months later, Washington insisted, despite Lafayette’s pleas, that he stand back and observe the clash from the back of the lines. This conflict, the Battle of Brandywine, was a nearly complete rout of the Continental Army, leading to a quick retreat. From his rearward position Lafayette begged Washington to let him assist in the safe withdrawal of troops, and reluctantly the general agreed. With his young American friend James Monroe and a few others, Washington distracted the redcoats while the Americans retreated.
As Lafayette began to leave the field he felt a stab in his leg. Ignoring the pain, he stayed on the field until the withdrawal was complete. Only then did he collapse from a loss of blood from a bullet to his thigh. Monroe carried him from the field and helped transport him to a hospital where he would recuperate for two months.
When Lafayette finally returned, Washington was overjoyed and made him a true brevet general in the Continental Army. The marquis would distinguish himself in two additional battles in New Jersey, where his troops engaged a British regiment under the command of the famed Lord Cornwallis. When Lafayette asked for his next orders, Washington had a very different idea for his newest general. Knowing that Adrienne had given birth while Lafayette was in America, he ordered him back to France to see his wife and meet his new daughter. More importantly for the United States, he was asked to meet with French nobles and the King to ask for money, weapons and, most essentially, the assistance of the French navy.
While in France Adrienne became pregnant once again, and the Marquis wisely remained home until his son, Georges Washington Lafayette, was born. Upon his return he gave Washington the glorious news that the French would make another loan to America and their navy would soon follow.
Lafayette finished his Revolutionary service with his regiment in Virginia, chasing Cornwallis and trapping him in Yorktown. The French navy ultimately defeated the British at the Battle of the Capes, and Lafayette, along with the troops of Nathanael Green and “Mad” Anthony Wayne, captured Cornwallis following a prolonged siege. Lafayette himself stormed one of the redoubts in the final surge on the Yorktown fort.
In December 1781 the young general returned to France a hero, knowing that the Revolutionary War was all but over. He was now beloved by the monarchy, Parliament, and the common man for his exploits in the New World. Sadly, Lafayette lost his revered status during the French Revolution, as he tried to pass on what he learned in the Colonies with little success. Much of Adrienne’s family was put to death by guillotine, and Lafayette, Adrienne and their third daughter spent several years imprisoned by the Habsburg Austrians in Olmutz under atrocious conditions.
Things might have been much worse for Lafayette were it not for the U. S. Ambassador to France, James Monroe. Owing to their strong relationship during the war, Monroe used his influence to extricate Georges Washinton Lafayette to safety in the United States. In 1797 Lafayette and his family were freed from prison, partly due to pressure from the United States and European sympathizers.
Lafayette returned to the farm of his youth, together with his son, who came back from the U.S. Together they brought the farm back to its former prominence, with the help of a loan from Monroe and the financial talents of Adrienne. Sadly, Adrienne did not have long to appreciate their success. At midnight on Christmas night, 1807, she died surrounded by her family at the age of 48.
In 1824 the bond with Monroe would once again change Lafayette’s life. Monroe’s presidency coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the nation. By then Lafayette was the only living major general from the Revolutionary War, and Monroe thought it fitting for him to help America celebrate the event. Lafayette gladly agreed and, with his son Georges, his diarist, Levasseur, and his valet, Bastien, traveled to America for what was supposed to be a two-month celebration.
They arrived in New York City on August 15, 1824, to a hero’s welcome with 70,000 people in attendance. From New York they traveled to the White House to stay with Monroe for the final events. However, the Marquis received word that many of his Freemason friends wanted him to visit them in Boston. During his stay there, a group of Bunker Hill veterans informed him that the fiftieth anniversary of Battle of Bunker Hill fell on the following June, and they invited him to lay the cornerstone for the new monument.
Lafayette could not resist. He returned to the White House, where Monroe helped him plan his tour of America, timing the itinerary for his appearance at Bunker Hill on June 17, 1825. Over the next thirteen months, with an interlude for a winter break, his trip in a horse-drawn carriage with his three companions would cover over 6,000 miles and bring them to all 24 states in the Union. Along the way enormous crowds would appear wherever they travelled. They were feted with galas, balls, and lavish meals, and his travels generated an entire industry of Lafayette souvenirs, many of which still can be seen today.
In early June of 1825, Lafayette arrived in Buffalo near the end of his tour. From there he was the first celebrity to travel the full, 175-mile length of the newly constructed Erie Canal, arriving at Crittenden’s Hotel in Albany on June 12, just five days before the expected cornerstone laying. Very early the next morning they set out for Worthington.
In his diary Levasseur reported, We left Albany before sunrise, on the 13th of June, and some hours afterward we had already crossed the Hudson, and advanced rapidly towards Massachusetts, whose western border is traced parallel to that river at about twenty-five miles from the left bank; we still had to travel one hundred and fifty miles before reaching Boston, but the excellence of the roads insured us a rapid journey, and hence General Lafayette was certain of arriving in time to fulfill his engagements. Nevertheless, he determined to stop only for such time as was absolutely necessary for repose. We therefore entered Boston on the 15th at a little before noon.
This was not good news for Worthington, or most of Massachusetts west of Boston. Levasseur had the General on a hard march for Boston at the expense of the rest of the Commonwealth. Considering the length of Levasseur’s diaries, this 170-mile stretch is among the least documented section of his entire journey.
But Worthington was still ahead. Levasseur had booked the four of them into Pearce’s Tavern at Worthington Corners, at the bottom of Buffington Hill. Though Worthington was small, it had the only post office between Pittsfield and Northampton, and thus was a regular stop on the route to Boston.
Lafayette’s party made a brief stop in Lebanon, New York, lunching at Kerr and Hull’s Columbia Hall and viewing the medicinal springs. They crossed into Massachusetts in Hancock and were met at the Pittsfield border by a mounted guard, which escorted their carriage to the Congregational Church in Park Square, where Lafayette made a brief speech. Afterward, they crossed the street to Merrick’s Coffee House (Patrick’s Pub today) for what was intended as a brief lunch. Nineteen toasts later, Levasseur finally maneuvered his group back into the carriage, intent on getting to Worthington with 22 miles to go and night fast approaching.
Dalton was not a stop on their itinerary, but a large group had gathered and their carriage was waylaid. Protests unheeded, they were obliged to briefly visit Nelson’s Coffee House, still 16 miles from Pearce’s Tavern.
Meanwhile, arrangements continued in Worthington. Colonel William Rice, hero of the War of 1812, had gathered forty young men to form a mounted guard to escort Lafayette into town, much like in Pittsfield. The riders, each carrying a lantern, had cleaned their horses diligently, polishing the brass on the harnesses and setting out to a cheering crowd late that afternoon along Lindsay Hill Road towards Peru.
As the riders made their way up Buffington Hill, the daily stagecoach passed in the opposite direction for an evening stop at Pearce’s Tavern. Seeing the crowds in town, the passengers were startled to learn they would be sharing the tavern with the famous General Lafayette. From the stagecoach, groups of children were seen picking up rocks so that Lafayette’s horses wouldn’t stumble and the marquis would have a smooth arrival.
By six that evening a huge crowd had gathered at Pearce’s. By eight he still hadn’t arrived, and most of the women and children had left, as was the custom of the times. Sometime before nine a bugle call rang out from the top of Buffington Hill, signaling Lafayette’s arrival and cueing “Uncle” Noah Pearce, the tavern owner, to throw steaks on the grill. Hundreds lined the approach and chanted Lafayette’s name as the yellow coach pulled by four white horses descended the hill.
Flanked by Rice and his riders, the carriage arrived at the tavern. The Colonel reported that they finally reached Lafayette near the center of Peru, then directed the carriage down Pierce Road in Peru to Bashan Hill, Parish, and Lindsay Hill Roads to the top of Buffington Hill. Rice told the crowd that windows were lit with candles all along their route, with one house on Lindsay Hill displaying over three hundred.
Lafayette and his entourage stepped from their carriage around nine, shaking a few hands before Levasseur announced to the disappointed crowd that the General was hungry and tired and would not be lingering to socialize. He encouraged everyone to return early the next morning. As Lafayette reached the door of the tavern, he stopped and turned to face the crowd. With his hand over his heart, he bowed and said, “Tomorrow morning, my good friends, tomorrow morning. Mes remerciements and au revoir.” (Translation: my thanks/gratitude and goodbye). Though saddened, the crowd cheered and many said they appreciated his gesture.
At dawn the next day, the tavern’s front lawn was mobbed with another enormous crowd, including many women and children who had to leave early the night before. Around eight, Lafayette emerged from the tavern and melted into the crowd, shaking every outstretched hand. A man handed his seven-month-old boy to Lafayette, explaining, “His name is Lafayette.” Lafayette replied, “He looks like a promising child.” The baby was Lafayette Stevens, who lived in Worthington his entire life.
Colonel Rice held his young son Billy in his arms and told the boy to shake the General’s hand. Billy was too shy, and finally Lafayette leaned over and kissed his head. For the rest of his life his siblings would make fun of him by chanting, “Billy was kissed by Lafayette.” Six other Rice children sat on the stone wall at their house across the street (still standing today), wearing new, brass-buckled shoes delivered all the way from Boston. They swung their feet in hopes that the marquis would notice.
Among those gathered was a mounted escort from Chesterfield, which would direct the General toward their town on his way to Northampton. Eventually the General had to leave, and he waved graciously to the crowd as the carriage pulled away under escort. The eighth Rice child was a schoolteacher who met the General later that day in the Chesterfield school where she worked.
Years later, Pearce’s Tavern burned and was rebuilt as the Lafayette Inn. It remained for decades, fell into disrepair, and burned again. Several pieces of the building were salvaged and can still be seen in residences and the Worthington Historical Society building. The property gained new life in 1915, when the current Worthington Library was dedicated there. On June 13, 2025, a bronze historic marker on the library’s front lawn was dedicated to Lafayette’s visit as part of Worthington’s 200th anniversary Lafayette celebrations.
Lafayette, after leaving Worthington that morning, made stops in Northampton, Belchertown, Ware, Brookfield, and Sterling before spending the night in Worcester. They stayed at the Exchange Hotel and set out early the next morning, arriving in Boston before noon on June 15. Lafayette toured the city the following day, and on the morning of June 17 — as he had arranged nearly a year earlier — he was present at the dedication of the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument.
Three months later, after traveling through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to fulfill his pledge to visit all 24 states, Lafayette returned to Washington to visit the new president, John Quincy Adams. With that visit, he could claim to have personally known each of the first six American Presidents. On September 9, 1825, Lafayette set sail on The Brandywine, a ship commissioned for him. He would never set foot on American soil again.
While at Bunker Hill, Georges Washington Lafayette collected a sack of soil from the monument’s excavation, telling onlookers it was a gift for his father. When Lafayette died nine years later, on May 20, 1834, he was buried at Picpus Cemetery in Paris, next to Adrienne and their daughters. Years earlier he had told his son that he was torn about his final interment. While he wanted to be buried near his wife and children, he also dreamed of being buried in American soil. Georges granted both wishes when, as his father’s casket was lowered into the ground, he poured the Bunker Hill soil into the grave.
NOTE ON SOURCES
The only known contemporaneous source confirming Lafayette’s stay in Worthington is a one-sentence postscript in the June 15 edition of an obscure Boston newspaper, the Columbian Centinel. It reads, “P.S. We have since learned by a gentleman from Albany, last night, that he had arrived in Worthington, and will be in this city this evening.”
The details of Lafayette’s brief stay in town are essentially handed down to us from a single written source: the article “Lafayette’s Visit to Worthington in 1825,” by Katharine McDowell Rice (1859-1945), published in the June 21, 1925, edition of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, shortly after the Lafayette centennial celebrations.
Katharine indicates that her main source was her grandmother, Wealthy Cottrell Rice (1784-1870), the wife of Colonel William Rice, who led Lafayette’s escort into town. In other words, Katharine remembered what was told to her at least 55 years before, when she was eleven or younger, by her grandmother, who witnessed Lafayette’s visit at least forty years before that.
Of course the details may have made their way to Katharine through other channels within or outside the extensive Rice family. In 1925 a plaque commemorating Lafayette’s visit was placed in a boulder on the grounds of the Worthington Library, indicating the event was firmly lodged in the town’s collective memory. By this time Worthington Corners also had a hotel called the Lafayette Lodge in honor of the marquis. The 47-page publication Secular History of the Town of Worthington, From Its First Settlement to 1854, by Katharine’s uncle James Clay Rice (included in the book History of the Town of Worthington, From Its First Settlement to 1874), does not mention Lafayette.
There are many excellent books on Lafayette. For non-Worthington details, the biography I’ve relied on most is Lafayette, by Harlow Giles Unger.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Evan Johnson has been a member of the Worthington Historical Society’s Board of Directors since 2019, and Chair of Worthington’s Founders Day Committee since 2018. He served on Worthington’s Selectboard for twelve years, and in 2025 was Co-chair of the town’s Lafayette 200th Anniversary Celebration. He and his wife, Kate, who is also on the Historical Society Board, have thoroughly enjoyed 42 years in the best town in Massachusetts.
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