An Adopted Son of America: Perspectives on the Marquis de Lafayette
50 years after fighting for the American cause in the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States, visiting all 24 states on a 13-month farewell tour that included three days of festivities in Lancaster. Join us and a panel of local historians for an exploration of who Lafayette was, what he believed, and what he did here when he passed through Central Pennsylvania in July 1825. This event is co-hosted with Lafayette200 Bicentennial Planning Committee of Lancaster and Western Chester Counties.
Bruce E. Mowday (presenter) is an award-winning author and newspaper reporter. He has authored more than 25 books on history, sports, business, and true crime including Lafayette at Brandywine: The Making of an American Hero and Lafayette: America’s Young Hero and Guest. Mowday has appeared on numerous television and radio shows and has also served in leadership roles at the Chester County Historical Society, the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates, the Valley Forge Park Alliance, and the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau. For this panel, he will be giving an overview of the life of the Marquis de Lafayette before, during, and after the Revolutionary War.
Dr. Louise Stevenson (presenter) is an emerita professor of history and American studies at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She specializes in the cultural and intellectual life of the nineteenth-century United States in a transatlantic context. Her latest book is Lincoln in the Atlantic World (Cambridge, 2015). President Clinton appointed her as a trustee of the James Madison Memorial Scholarship Foundation. She is actively involved in the Lancaster community as an executive board member of the Lancaster Medical Heritage Museum and as a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Lancaster County’s Historical Society. For this panel, she will discuss the statements of human rights that Lafayette borrowed from the founding documents of the United States.
Ben Webber (presenter) is a passionate advocate for local history research, education, and preservation. As a full-time civil engineer, his historical lens focuses on the environment and the impacts of our community’s development. A constant collaborator, Ben strives to help others achieve their aims and simultaneously to improve his own knowledge. Recent areas of interest have included the history of the Conestoga River, the development of the Lincoln Highway, Maple Grove Park, and the upcoming Lancaster Tricentennial. For this panel, he will be tracing the Marquis de Lafayette’s travels in Lancaster County when he visited during his farewell tour of 1824-25.
Sarah Alberico (presenter) is a Lancaster County native, earning her BA in History from Millersville University and her MA in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She has been the Curator at Historic Rock Ford for more than a decade, with a focus on museum collections management and material culture, specifically early American decorative arts. For this panel, she will be highlighting the objects to be included in Rock Ford’s upcoming exhibit “1825: Lafayette in Lancaster.”
EVENT DETAILS & HOW TO REGISTER
This event will take place in person at LancasterHistory on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Doors open and a reception begins at 5pm. The lecture will begin at 5:30pm. The lecture will also be streamed to Zoom at 5:30pm for those who wish to join us virtually.
This program is free and open to the public. In-person attendance requires advance registration in order to guarantee a seat. Due to capacity restrictions, tickets may not be available at the door. Virtual attendance requires advance registration in order to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be emailed to registrants before the event. Register online by clicking the appropriate link below or by calling (717) 392-4633. Registration will close online on Thursday, March 20 at 5:30pm. The online version of this program will also be recorded and uploaded to LancasterHistory’s YouTube channel after the event.
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In-Person Event Lecture Online/Virtual Event Panel
Dr. Iris Leigh Barnes is an award-winning historian, educator, and museum professional with twenty-five years of experience. Her scholarly interests range from the Civil War to Civil Rights with a particular focus on the tenacity, resilience, and brilliance of African Americans who survived and thrived against the odds. She has worked with a range of institutions including the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, and the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum at Morgan State University. She has graduate degrees in Museum Studies and Historic Preservation as well as in African American History. Dr. Barnes is currently the Executive Director of the Hosanna School Museum and serves on the Harford County Historic Preservation Commission, the board of the Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center, and was appointed by Governor Larry Hogan to serve on the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission.