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LAFAYETTE
, Gilbert du Motier, marquis de
Copie autographe signée de la lettre adressée au Congrès
Paris, 10 mai 1824
1 page in-folio, traces d’humidité, quelques déchirures
RÉPONSE DE LAFAYETTE À L’INVITATION DU CONGRÈS. EXEMPLAIRE DE
LAFAYETTE.
LAFAYETTE REPLIES TO THE INVITATION OF CONGRESS
“The high favor conferred upon me by the Representatives of the people of the United States, the
testimonies of public benevolence contained in their Resolution have filled my heart with feelings
of respectful, affectionate and patriotic gratitude (...) No answer can I find more congenial to
those feelings than to embark as soon as possible for the blessed shores I have for so many
years longed to revisit. Nor can I fear impressed as I am with a pride sense of the Honor to be on
board a national ship that it will appear irreverent on my part, when I beg leave not to trail myself
of the flattering offer in which in their extreme kindness Congress have deigned to bestow. The
Summer will not be over before I enjoy the delight to find myself under an American flag, on my
way to the beloved land of which it has been my happy lot to become an early Soldier and an
adopted Son. Be pleased, Sir, to accept my affectionate and grateful respects”.
The heartfelt welcome extended to Marquis de Lafayette upon his return to the United
States in 1824-25 was testimony to his unique status as the last living Major-General
of the American Revolution. As the young Republic anticipated the Fiftieth Anniversary
of its Independence in 1826, all those who had commanded its Revolutionary arms
had faded into history, save one : the dashing, young French nobleman and volunteer,
the Major-General and Marquis de Lafayette. By that letter posted Paris, May 10,
1824, Lafayette, then sixty-six years of age, accepted the invitation of Congress to visit
the United States as the Nation’s Guest.
Il s’agit de la copie autographe conservée par Lafayette de sa réponse à l’invitation
officielle formulée par James Monroe, Président des États-Unis, dans une lettre datée
du 7 février 1824, et confirmée par une résolution particulière du Congrès.
RÉFÉRENCE : pour l’invitation de James Monroe, cf. Levasseur, pp. 2-3
12 000 / 16 000
€