EASTON, Pa.(www.lafayette.edu), August 1, 2007 — The College and the Marquis de Lafayette were featured in the article “Following in Lafayette’s Footsteps, or Rather, His Wake,” which ran in today’s New York Times and the International Herald Tribune on July 31.

The article focuses on the numerous historians, architects, carpenters, boat builders, craftsmen, and blacksmiths, who have been working for the past decade to build a replica of the Hermione in the river port town of Rochefort, France.

The Hermione carried the Marquis de Lafayette to Boston in 1780 where he brought word that King Louis XVI would send a half-dozen ships and 5,000 infantry soldiers to aid the Americans during the Revolutionary War. The ship would also be involved in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, which brought about the ultimate surrender of the British.

The article also mentions the College’s yearlong celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the Marquis.

The following is an excerpt from the article:

Sept. 6 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier (a k a the Marquis de Lafayette). The event will be celebrated in the United States, where schools, bridges, streets, squares, cities and towns have been named after the Revolutionary War hero. Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., which is planning an entire year of festivities, has even arranged with Hermès to produce a Lafayette commemorative silk scarf that will be sold exclusively in the United States for $325.

Throughout the 2007-08 academic year, the College is planning a celebration in recognition of the life and legacy of the man for whom it is named. Major events will include a lecture series, entitled Lives of Liberty, featuring renowned speakers; a historical exhibit at the Williams Center for the Arts, entitled A Son and his Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington, and a birthday party on Sept. 6.