Lafayette Journal & Courier

His kind of towns

Frenchman left his mark on U.S. history and on landscape

By BRIAN WALLHEIMER

August 26, 2007

Had William Digby been a vain man, Tippecanoe County's seat might today be called Digbyville, Digbytown or simply Digby.

But there was a fever sweeping the nation in 1825 when Digby bought 84 acres along the east bank of the Wabash River, and it had to do with a Frenchman.

In 1824 and 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette was making his way through the United States one last time, a farewell tour for a man who put his life and fortune on the line in helping secure American independence.

His isn't one of those names that pop off the history pages such as George Washington or Benjamin Franklin. Somewhere between then and now, Lafayette became a lower-tier American hero.

It's a strange classification for a man after whom no fewer than 30 U.S. cities, towns, counties and parishes are named, and who is considered to be the son George Washington never had.

"If he was the father of our country, then his adopted son was Lafayette," said Frank Lambert, professor of history at Purdue University.

"He became almost an iconic figure in the minds of the American people after the revolution."

Sept. 6 will be the 250th anniversary of Lafayette's birth, and citizens here and in France are marking the occasion with events and commemorations that recall his life and times.

Life and liberty

Asked what made for Lafayette's appeal, noted author and historian David McCullough said it was a combination of things.

"He believed in liberty, and he was willing to contribute his abilities, his money, his heart and soul and his life if need be," McCullough told the Journal & Courier. "He didn't want to just talk about it, he wanted to do something about it."

Lafayette was only 19 -- and by birth one of the wealthiest men in all of Europe -- when he sneaked out of France illegally on a ship he had purchased to fight in the American Revolution.

Already an experienced officer in the French military, he asked for no pay when he got to America and was given the rank of major general.

Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, quickly came to like Lafayette and trusted him during battles, a distinction that eventually put Lafayette in a position to get major credit when the British surrendered at Yorktown. He was even wounded, shot in the leg.

Moreover, Lafayette was influential in securing his country's help during the Revolution, something that certainly tipped the scales toward the colonists who were up against the British army, at the time considered the best in the world.

"Lafayette's importance to the Revolutionary War was enormous, both because of his gallant service, which was quite notable and real, but also because of his part in getting France involved," McCullough said. "One can't say we would have failed without France, but we succeeded to a degree because of France."

'A great man'

Americans did not soon forget the part Lafayette played in securing their freedom. When he returned to the United States in 1824, more than 40 years after the Revolutionary War, it was to a hero's welcome.

Given the buzz Lafayette's visit to the United States created, it's no surprise that when Digby went to the land office in Crawfordsville on May 27, 1825, to file a town plat for the land he had purchased, he called the town "Lafayette."

"Everybody was talking about him," said Paula Woods, who has written books on Lafayette's city history. "Apparently Mr. Digby was a very patriotic man."

The Marquis de Lafayette Celebration Committee is hoping to jog memories about Lafayette's contributions in September as it holds dozens of events to honor French heritage and the contributions Lafayette made to the United States.

There are also celebrations scheduled all over the country, including Lafayette College in Eaton, Pa., Fayetteville, N.C., and Lafayette, La.

McCullough said Lafayette, who died on May 20, 1834, wasn't in the ranks of Washington or Franklin in the minds of most Americans, but he was close.

"People naturally responded to him. He was attractive, the way in our time movie stars might be attractive to us," McCullough said. "He's a great story. He was a great man."