General Lafayette

General Lafayette is a Georgia historical marker in Walker County, dedicated 1953.

At John B. Gordon Hall in downtown Lafayette.

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Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier Marquis de LaFayette (1757-1834) was born in the Castle of Chavagnac, in Auvergne, France. He entered the French Army early in life and in 1777 came to America and volunteered for service in the Revolutionary Army. Congress made him a Major General. He became a close friend of General George Washington, was wounded at Brandywine, suffered a winter at Valley Forge and distinguished himself in the Yorktown campaign. In 1824 he revisited America, including Georgia. Congress voted him $200,000 and a township of land. He died in Paris. This city is proudly named for him.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1778 · The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1892 · Catoosa, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1936 · Estelle, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina, 1778, covering the location of General Lafayette, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina, 1778, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Chattooga Academy180 ft
Marsh-Warthen House220 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.