| | | Welcome to the inaugural issue of Vive Lafayette!!!
For generations, the spirit of Lafayette has inspired liberty, unity, and friendship across borders. Today, we are proud to open a brand-new chapter in our story with the launch of our official newsletter! Vive Lafayette! is designed to be your go-to hub for all things AFL: from speaker series recaps and historical features to member announcements and upcoming gatherings. Thank you for your continued dedication to keeping Lafayette’s memory alive. Dive in, explore, and Vive Lafayette! | | | Free Speaker Series brought to you by the American Friends of Lafayette. For all our Free Speaker Series- Bookmark our Zoom link for quick access to the presentations on the scheduled dates and time. | | November 19, 2026: Bob Geake | Author of A Man of Uncommon Valor: James Mitchell Varnum, the American Revolution, and the Foundation of the New Republic January 7, 2026: Pierre Oury: The Lafayette Escadrille ( due to technical difficulties, it was not recorded to share- so we're doing it again!!!!)
TBD: Peter Reilly: Lafayette the Super Hero. TBD: Alan Hoffman: Lafayette: Here of the American Revolution and Abolitionist TBD: Olga Anna Duhl | | To view past recordings of the AFL Speaker Series, visit the AFL website.
| | | | | | | November 18, 2026: Lecture—Old World Meets New World: Franco-American Encounters, 1776-1783 | Anderson House 2118 Massachusetts Ave., NW | Virtual or In Person | Register link | | | November 24, 2026: The Marquis | Marc Leepson on Lafayette: Lessons in Leadership from the Idealist General | Charleston Library Society 164 King Street Charleston, SC 29401 | | December 7, 2026: The American Friends of Lafayette will release a theatrical play commemorating the 250th anniversary of Lafayette visiting Silas Deane with Baron de Kalb in Paris. | | | The Franco-American Alliance in Gloucester County: The 1781 Battle of the Hook.
This session features Robert Kelly, Vice President of the American Friends of Lafayette & Director of the Gloucester Museum of History.
- Where: Lynnhaven House (4409 Wishart Rd., Virginia Beach, VA 23455)
- When: December 11 at 12:00 PM
- Cost: Free - Register Today!
| | February 13, 2027: Alexandria George Washington Birthday Parade | Luncheon | Tour of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial | Details Forthcoming | | |
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November 25, 1777 – Battle of Gloucester: Lafayette led a reconnaissance detachment in New Jersey and successfully engaged a superior force of Hessian mercenaries, earning high praise from General George Washington.
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December 19, 1777 – Arrival at Valley Forge: Lafayette marched with George Washington and the Continental Army into winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, sharing in the hardships of the troops throughout that harsh winter.
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December 23, 1781 – Departure for France After Victory: Following the British surrender at Yorktown, Congress granted Lafayette permission to return to France on a diplomatic mission. He set sail aboard the frigate Alliance.
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December 24, 1779 – Birth of His Son: Adrienne gave birth to their son in Paris, named Georges Washington de La Fayette in honor of General Washington.
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December 24/25, 1807 – Death of Adrienne de La Fayette: Adrienne passed away in Paris at the age of 48 with Lafayette by her side. She is buried in the Picpus Cemetery in Paris.
| | Follow us on social media for more content, on this day in Lafayette history, and event coverage. | | | | | Adrienne, Prisoner and Liberator by Paul Spalding (excerpt) | Adrienne de La Fayette (1759-1807) was one of the outstanding heroic actors of the Revolutionary period. After she barely survived incarceration by radical Jacobins, her imagination, resourcefulness, and persistence allowed her to rescue the person who, at the time and for decades to come, most consistently embodied for the world the universal values of liberty, human rights, constitutional democracy, and national independence: her husband Gilbert. She very likely saved his life by ending his solitary confinement at a prison deep in central Europe, serving as his amanuensis with the outside world, and by helping to make his incarceration a celebrated cause among a growing international reading public. Though the Jacobins had seized all the family fortune, Adrienne received monetary gifts from admirers and managed to open lines of credit to give Gilbert the economic means to shape a new life. After his release into uncertain exile, she helped give him places to live, initially at and near the estate of her aunt on the periphery of northern Europe. She then provided Gilbert with a permanent home in the form of property that she managed to recover in France.
Adrienne was born in Paris, literally entitled and in lavish surroundings. She grew up a scion of the Noailles, the highest aristocratic family in France bar the royal family itself. Her family’s grand Parisian townhouse on the rue de Saint-Honoré, around the corner from the royal Tuileries and Louvre palaces, displayed the family’s status to all who passed it by. She took a distinct social step down to marry into the provincial nobility when, at age 14, she took vows with a notably awkward but, happily, very rich 17-year-old marquis named, in shortened form, Gilbert de La Fayette. Even after the French Revolution abolished nobility in 1790, there was little indication that she was ever ashamed of her origins as a high noble. She proudly signed her name “Noailles de La Fayette” even after her husband had adopted the plebian, one-word form of his own name, “Lafayette.”
Her childhood household abounded in women who were devout Catholics, from her nurse to her convent-educated mother. Adrienne’s own Catholic faith was a key to her persistence against all odds. It was independent of the institution of absolute monarchy, despite the pre-revolutionary French government’s efforts to combine them. It not only showed concern with personal salvation but emphasized the ultimate triviality of wealth and social estate, and the God-given dignity of every person. She found no contradiction between her intense piety and enthusiastic support of her husband’s struggle for constitutionally grounded liberty and human rights. A striking instance of her engagement on behalf of freedom and justice was how she joined her husband in buying plantations in French Guiana to prepare slaves for emancipation.
In August 1792, radical Jacobins overthrew the young constitutional government that Gilbert had helped establish in France. They began a Reign of Terror against perceived enemies, including the Noailles family and Gilbert. This led in turn to Gilbert’s flight abroad and imprisonment by the counterrevolutionary Prussian king and Austrian Habsburg emperor. It also led to the seizure of all family assets, Adrienne’s arrest in November 1793, and her subsequent incarceration in a series of prisons. Her sister, mother, and grandmother, as well as many other relatives and close acquaintances were guillotined and dumped in a mass grave. She escaped execution only by the interventions of successive American resident ministers Gouverneur Morris and James Monroe, as well as by the actions of Monroe’s wife Elizabeth. Read the full article in the AFL Gazette | | | | | | IN HONOR OF FRENCH SAILORS and SOLDIERS
WHO FOUGHT AT SEA AND
DIED FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF
THE UNITED STATES
There is a bronze plaque installed near the French Memorial Monument on the Yorktown battlefield detailing the losses incurred by the French Navy for each of the 61 warships engaged in the Western theater of operations during the entire War of Independence. The total is 3,520.
This plaque was installed in1971 by Le Souvenir Français, prior to the erection of the Monument by Le Souvenir Français and the Federation of French War Veterans, which was inaugurated in 1989.
In this special year, which marks the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 400th anniversary of the French Navy, we are proud to pay tribute to all the sailors (and embarked soldiers) who fought at sea and died during this epic struggle.
Most died in combat, in naval engagements along the Eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. Others perished at sea, from scurvy or other illnesses, on the voyage to America or on the way home. Many succumbed in hospitals, from Rhode Island to Virginia and in Martinique and Guadeloupe, to illness or to wounds received in battle.
Those who died in hospitals rest in mass graves, their precise locations not always known. The majority of those who died at sea were thrown overboard to rest at the bottom of the ocean, as was customary at the time, and have no proper burial.
It is to them that this granite memorial is dedicated.
We salute the courage of all those who died far from home and their loved ones, for a noble cause and a country most of them never set foot in.
To view the The American Society of Le Souvenir Français Inc. photo album | | | | | Gear up for our upcoming events and celebrate our shared history by visiting the American Friends of Lafayette Store! Whether you're building your personal library or looking for the perfect gift, check out our latest collection:
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Reading Corner: Exclusive books exploring Lafayette's extraordinary journey.
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Apparel: High-quality scarves (restock will be announced soon), sweatshirts, hoodies, shirts, & hats designed for historical gatherings and everyday wear.
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Keep Track of the Year: Official AFL250 calendars featuring key historic dates and artwork.
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Membership Gear: Official AFL member badges to proudly display your involvement.
Visit our AFL store for books, calendars, name badges, and more! Visit our AFL Shop for branded sweatshirts, hoodies, t-shirts, hats and more! | | | | | Spotlight: History Came Alive This Halloween!
| Nothing brightened our Halloween more than seeing your incredible Lafayette-inspired or Colonial themed costumes! We were blown away by the tag notifications filling our Instagram Stories. It’s clear that Marquis de Lafayette’s story continues to inspire creativity across generations, including some extraordinarily dressed pets!
| | | As always, thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to the American Friends of Lafayette.
If you see a news article, social media post, or something of interest, please don't hesitate in sending it us. americanfriendsoflafayette@gmail.com Vive Lafayette!!!!! | | | This message was sent to you by The American Friends of Lafayette
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