Michael Halbert as Marquis de Lafayette, in front of the exhibit at the McCormick Riverfront Library in Harrisburg
Harrisburg founder John Harris, Jr., was no fan of the French after the French and Indian War, but last Saturday night, he returned from the beyond to remind his city’s 21st-century residents that he petitioned to name his county “Dauphin,” honoring the French prince and the French support that was instrumental in breaking free from British despots.
And then he turned to the regal gentleman in black Regency-era tailcoat beside him, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, general of the American Revolution.
“Your patriotism for those of us who are seeking liberty, seeking freedom, seeking our own government, seeking not just colonies but states – sir, to you this night, the General Marquis de Lafayette, we salute you,” said “Harris,” portrayed by interpreter David Biser. “Hear, hear, good sir. Vive la liberté. Welcome to our fine city, sir.”
The gathering on the evening of Feb. 1, 2025, commemorated the Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, 1825, visit of Lafayette to Harrisburg.
In 1824, Lafayette left his native France for an America that had grown from 13 colonies to 24 states. The planned three-month tour stretched into 13, as Americans clamored to see their hero, the last living Revolutionary general.
His visit to Harrisburg, at the invitation of Gov. John Andrew Schulze, included a reception at Schulze’s home (owned and built by Capitol architect Stephen Hills) at 27 N. Front Street – and that is where the 2025 commemoration happened, in the Kunkel Foundation Community Room of Dauphin County Library System’s recently restored Haldeman Haly House.
“I am proud to say that we tonight are in the room where it happened,” said Biser.
Yes, he was quoting “Hamilton.” And no, John Harris, Jr., could not attend the 1825 reception due to his death in 1791, but with Biser as his messenger, he gladly noted that his sons served under Lafayette at the Battle of Brandywine.
David Biser as John Harris Jr. and Michael Halbert as Marquis de Lafayette
The evening’s organizers were the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, Historical Society of Dauphin County, Historic Harrisburg Association, Harrisburg Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Dauphin County Library System.
Many of the 50-plus guests dressed in attire from a patchwork of historical eras. The evening transported them back in time, with soft lighting, built-in shelves filled with law books, wavy-glass windows overlooking the Susquehanna River, strolling violinist Betsy Barnicle dressed in French Revolutionary tri-color, and marble-surrounded fireplace (lit with battery-operated candles. Thanks, 21st century.)
As portrayed by French-accented interpreter Michael Halbert, Lafayette expressed his gratitude to the people of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg for their “cordial reception.” He was overwhelmed with emotions to be near Brandywine, where he “first shed blood in cause of this country” under his friend and mentor, Gen. George Washington.
Dominish Miller, DAR member, at the event
Americans should be “uncompromisingly proud of their Republic,” Lafayette said. Americans were setting an example for other countries, now eyeing the “happiness and prosperity” crafted by a population growing in wealth and prestige under their democratic system.
“I join with you in hoping that the blessings of America will be more generally diffused, and the bright example of America not be lost to the nations of the earth,” he said.
Lafayette was not the only person overwhelmed by the proceedings. After he spoke, Historic Harrisburg Association Executive Director David Morrison enthused, “We have just relived history, which very few people get an opportunity to do.”
“Lafayette is back,” Lafayette 200 Executive Director Chuck Schwam told attendees. “I don’t know if you’re getting goosebumps thinking about the fact that we are in the room that he was in 200 years ago, but I’m getting goosebumps.”
Americans of 1824 flocked to see Lafayette not only because he championed their cause of liberty, Schwam said, but also to see “the human rights champion, and abolitionist, and feminist, a friend of the Native Americans, a man who felt we should be able to worship in any way we should.”
To commemorate the 2025 visit, Art of Association of Harrisburg Executive Director Carrie Wissler-Thomas unveiled a portrait of Lafayette. Presented on behalf of abolitionist Gov. William Findlay (1817-1820), it will hang a few doors up the street at 21 N. Front Street, Findlay’s mansion and now home to the Art Association.
Holding the event in library space conjured the spirit of Lafayette for the power of reading, hearing, and engaging with ideas, said Dauphin County Library System Executive Director Ryan McCrory, attired in 18th-century flourish.
“When you do those three things in the library, if you do it with genuine curiosity and honest hearts and a critical eye with both the ideas and the people that you engage with, we can cross an ocean,” he said. “We can forge a brand new nation.
Like the real-life Lafayette, Halbert is crisscrossing the U.S. for bicentennial commemorations. He typically crafts his addresses from the patchy record of Lafayette’s statements but, he told TheBurg, his Harrisburg remarks were based on a uniquely rich trove documenting his talks before the Pennsylvania legislature and local dignitaries.
Lafayette closed his remarks with his delight in reconnecting with his American friends and their children and grandchildren.
“The people of Harrisburg and all who are assembled here, please accept my thanks with this expression of your attachment, and receive my best wishes for every degree of prosperity which the freedom and independence you enjoy entitles you to afford,” he said. “Merci.”
For more on the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to Harrisburg, read our magazine story from the January issue.
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