ORDER # By Request of Councilor Jessica Finocchiaro Co-sponsored by: Councilor David DJ Beauregard, Councilor Nicholas DiZoglio
RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING JUNE 21st “METHUEN’S HISTORICAL LAFAYETTE VISIT” TO CELEBRATE SEMI CENTENNIAL OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN 1825
WHEREAS, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la Lafayette, a 19 year old French nobleman who became known in America as “General Lafayette” who had been inspired by the just American Revolutionary cause of freedom from British rule, defied the direct orders of King Louis XVI who ordered Lafayette not to help the Americans upon pain of arrest, and without any combat experience and little of the English language, regardless arrived in America on June 13, 1777; and,
WHEREAS, General Lafayette began working with President George Washington (General Washington at that time), upon recommendation of Benjamin Franklin, and was of great service to America during the American Revolutionary War as a Major General, convincing the Continental Army to commission him as such on July 31, 1777, and later given command over his own division, his support to the American revolutionaries included the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Gloucester, Valley Forge, Battle of Barren Hill, Battle of Rhode Island, Battle of Monmouth, Battle of Green Spring, and he played a significant role in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, known as a turning point towards concluding the War, and his strategic planning and leadership skills on the battlefield, his generosity in spending much of his personal fortune to support a free America, and in personally securing funds, supplies, and other support from the French to America made General Lafayette an irreplaceable asset to defeating the British; and,
WHEREAS, In 1824 General Lafayette was invited to a 50 year semi centennial of the American Revolutionary War by President James Monroe for a “Grand Tour,” meant to last four months, as “The Nation’s Guest” but due to popularity lasted 16 months, where towns across America’s 24 states at the time, waited outside for hours to greet the “Hero of Two Worlds,” including the people of what was then known as the Town of Methuen, being the last town in Massachusetts on the tour June 21, 1825; and,
WHEREAS, General Lafayette was inspired by the American Resolution, and co-authored the “Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen” with Thomas Jefferson, one of the most pivotal documents about human, civil, and equal rights, which was adopted in 1789 and continues as part of France’s constitution, played a significant role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1794 and fought for the same in America, and was buried in France with soil taken from Bunker Hill in 1825 when he laid the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill monument that still marks the battlefield today;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDERED, that the City Council of Methuen hereby proclaims June 21st as the day of “Methuen’s Historical Lafayette Visit,” and encourages residents to learn more about General Lafayette’s role in American history.
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, that this resolution and requirements contained herein are effective upon passage, and that a certified copy of this order be forwarded to the City Clerk.