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House Joint Resolution 797, Designating March 14, in 2015 and in Each Succeeding Year, as a Day of Honor for the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia
On March 14, 1781, 23-year-old Major General Marquis de Lafayette landed at Yorktown, Virginia, to begin a campaign against the British General Cornwallis that would culminate in the British defeat six months later. Additional information on Lafayette and the Virginia Campaign is available at http://www.nps.gov/yonb/learn/historyculture/lafayette-and-the-virginia-campaign-1781.htm .
In the summer of 2015, Lafayette’s transatlantic journey was re-enacted by an exact historic reproduction of L’Hermione, the French frigate, which brought Lafayette back to the colonies with the pledge of French support. Lafayette advanced the American cause in France, obtaining pledges of support from King Louis XVI of the French Fleet and 6,000 regular infantry troops. The involvement of France changed the course of the war.
A wreath is laid each year at the bust of Lafayette in the Rotunda of the Capitol. This year’s wreath will be laid by the French Consul to the United States. The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. on March 14, 2016. The public is invited.
