The Last Adieu: Lafayette's Triumphant Return, the Echoes of Revolution, and the Gratitude of the Republic

In the summer of 1824, the aging Marquis de Lafayette, defeated politically and distraught over the fate of liberty in Europe, set sail one last time from France for America after an absence of forty years.

Across the sea waited a nation transformed: Thirteen colonies were now twenty-four states, stretching from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River. The number of Americans had more than tripled; their industry and creativity had ushered in a new era of individual prosperity and civic improvements. But progress brought worries. Shocks—an economic collapse, a crisis over the westward creep of slavery—foreshadowed a new political age, increasingly democratic and impassioned. The presidential election of 1824 was a precursor to this era. It was fought among four men, and was so bitter and divisive some observers wondered if it heralded the end of the Union. All while the Declaration of Independence neared its fiftieth anniversary and the first generation of Americans passed on, leaving a second to lead their great experiment in liberty into the uncertain future and stirring tender nostalgia for the Revolution and its quickly vanishing stars. Chief among them was Lafayette, the last living major general of the Continental Army.

When he arrived at last in August 1824, the old hero met once more with the young republic. One of the greatest celebrations in American history followed. Citizens put aside their differences and rallied together around the spirit of their Revolution, rejoicing over the return of the “Nation’s Guest,” as Lafayette was called. For thirteen months, Lafayette traveled thousands of miles, reaching every state in the Union and met with parades and delirious crowds. The nation was spellbound by their benefactor. And Lafayette was overjoyed and stunned by the nation’s growth and advances, all made possible by the freedom he had fought for long ago.

The Last Adieu narrates Lafayette’s farewell tour, capturing both its spectacular pageantry and emotional impact—not only from Lafayette’s perspective, but through eyewitness accounts and recollections of the everyday Americans who participated in the great celebration. Co-starring the swarm of fascinating characters Lafayette encountered across the American landscape—elderly founding fathers, populist politicians, idealistic reformers—this is not simply the record of an incredible journey, but a panorama of a rising America and a chronicle of a time when, as Lafayette wrote, memories of its Revolution came back to life, and its citizens were united in gratitude to the men who had won it.