Speaker: Julien Icher, Founder and President, The Lafayette Trail, Inc.

Mr. Icher explores Lafayette’s political identity as a public defender of unalienable natural rights during the American Revolution. The speaker elaborates on the significance of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour by focusing on Lafayette’s time in Fredericksburg in 1824 and 1825, emphasizing how the Frenchman’s visit encapsulated some of the key themes balancing his lifelong advocacy of constitutional liberties.

Julien Pierre Icher is a French national, and Founder and President of The Lafayette Trail, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to mapping and marking General Lafayette’s footsteps during his Farewell Tour of the United States. Mr. Icher is the host and director of Follow The Frenchmen, a YouTube-based not-for-profit documentary series produced by The Lafayette Trail, Inc. exploring and interpreting the significance of Lafayette’s legacy.

Sponsor: Fredericksburg Lafayette Bicentennial Commemoration Committee

About Fredericksburg Lafayette Bicentennial Commemoration 2024:

Over the last two years, representatives of historic and civic organizations, city personnel, and historic-minded individuals researched documents, mapped out Lafayette’s original route, identified the venues that he visited, and formed a plan to honor this hero at the 200th anniversary of his 1824 Fredericksburg visit.

In the years following his Farewell Tour, public awareness of Lafayette’s important contribution has gradually faded. But in 1824, across the country, Lafayette held rock star status.

The goals of the Commemoration are to rekindle interest in Lafayette’s incredible life, to underscore Fredericksburg’s continuing relationship with “The Hero of Two Worlds,” and to foster gratitude for his contributions.

The Commemoration Committee has worked to create “an event like none other.” The Committee worked closely with the American Friends of Lafayette (AFL) to tie our programming to its own. For more information on other Lafayette Bicentennial events, visit Lafayette200.org here. 

See more information about the Fredericksburg Lafayette Bicentennial Commemoration 2024 here.