The Marquis de Lafayette volunteered his service and assets — his heart and soul — to aid the American Revolution.
The starry-eyed young Frenchman was commissioned by Congress as a major general in the Continental Army, and quickly developed a profound personal bond with Gen. George Washington. He was wounded at Brandywine and played an important role at the Siege of Yorktown in October of 1781, the concluding major battle of the American Revolution.
Lafayette returned to America in 1824 at the invitation of President James Monroe to accept the gratitude of an appreciative country. Lafayette’s farewell tour from 1824 to 1825 spanned 13 months, covered more than 6,000 miles, and touched all of the 24 states.
Recently, the Chesapeake Public Library Foundation and the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Foundation teamed up to sponsor An Evening with General Lafayette, a program that commemorated the hero’s welcome that the general received.
Lafayette — America’s marquis — arrived at the Chesapeake Central Library in the person of Colonial Williamsburg’s actor-interpreter Mark Schneider who, has been portraying the Frenchman for more than 25 years.
Over the past two years, Schneider has been engaged in a series of events that mark the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s historic return to America.
“When I first started portraying Lafayette, it was never really on my radar as something that was going to be celebrated,” Schneider said.
As Schneider started to collaborate with the American Friends of Lafayette, a historical organization established in 1932 to celebrate “all things Lafayette,” the Friends proposed recreating significant events at locations on Lafayette’s tour. Representatives with the American Friends of Lafayette and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation met, according to Schneider, to collaborate in telling the story.
“For me, what an honor and privilege it was to do over 40 of these events that ranged from Boston to New York to Philadelphia to Baltimore to Washington,” Schneider said.
Addressing Congress and participating in all the events in Virginia — in Williamsburg, Yorktown, Hampton, Fort Monroe, Norfolk, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Fredericksburg — were especially gratifying. And visiting Washington’s tomb at Mount Vernon and actually touching the first president’s sarcophagus was a special moment.
“It was tough. From the opening event in New York City, we were exhausted,” Schneider said. “How did Lafayette do this at 67 years old with horse and carriage? We have all the modern technology and we’re still exhausted.”
Lafayette visited Washington’s tomb twice on his American tour. Once when he first arrived in Virginia and once just before he departed for a birthday party at la Maison Blanche — the White House — with President John Quincy Adams.
“Washington was already 25 years in the grave, but the sentiments were still there,” Schneider said. “Their relationship was analogous to that of a father and son. Washington was the father Lafayette never knew, and Lafayette was the son Washington never had.”
Twenty-eight years ago — two weeks after he left the U.S. Army — Schneider arrived in Colonial Williamsburg.
While he always had a passion for history, he never envisioned a career as an actor-interpreter, and didn’t immediately begin portraying General Lafayette.
But he did have two assets in the eyes of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: the ability to speak French and ride horses.
“Never in my wildest dreams when I came to Colonial Williamsburg did I think I was going to be portraying people from the past in a theatrical way. I really had no theater background whatsoever,” said Schneider. “History was always my passion. I absolutely loved it.”
“I also brought my French connection. My mother was French and my father was American.”
And his ability to ride was critical.
“I dare say, it is my equestrian skills that first got me noticed at Colonial Williamsburg,” he said. “I always say that the only reason I’m Lafayette or Napoleon, or Banaster Tarleton is because I can ride a horse. That is the way I got my foot in the door.”
Schneider’s polished portrayal impressed event organizers, hosts, and patrons at the Chesapeake Public Library.
“He knows the subject,” said Robert Hitchings, president of the Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake. “He knows Lafayette.”
Donna Brown, of Chesapeake, found Lafayette’s words to be poignant.
“A lot of the things he said about our country are relevant today.”