LaFayette Visits Augusta

This is the site of the old Planter's Hotel, which was burned in 1839. There the Marquis de LaFayette was entertained during his visit to Augusta in March 1825. LaFayette landed at Savannah on March 19th and traveled to Augusta with Governor George Troup a few days later. Arriving on the steamboat "Altamaha", LaFayette was greeted by a great procession of musicians, soldiers, clergymen, and citizens, who accompanied him into the city and to the Planter's Hotel, where apartments had been prepared for him. The next day, Mayor William Holt formally welcomed the Marquis at the City Hall. The festivities planned in honor of LaFayette were even more lavish than those enjoyed by General Washington when he visited the city in 1791. An elaborate banquet and ball climaxed his visit. LaFayette left Augusta on Friday, March 25th, and with Governor Troup journeyed on to Milledgeville. The reverence which the people of Augusta felt for this most beloved American ally is relfected in a toast proposed at the banquet: "A man whose sovereignty is above that of kings - LaFayette who reigns in the hearts of the whole people."