General Marquis de Lafayette - York, PA
N 39° 57.686 W 076° 43.884
18S E 352121 N 4424911
This statue and the Scene of Lafayette's Toast is an NRHP site located on old Lincoln Highway, called Rt. 462 in this area. It is an important site and represents an integral part of local and national cultural history.
Waymark Code: WM9KT1
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2010
Views: 6
The SCENE OF LAFAYETTE'S TOAST, is marked by a pavement tablet at 157-9 W. Market St. At a dinner here in 1778, Lafayette is said to have proposed his memorable toast of fealty to Washington, thereby thwarting the 'Conway Cabal' (see Tour 3A), led by General Gates and fellow conspirators, who were plotting to unseat the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. --- Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940; page 349
Today the site has changed a bit. The original structure still stands today. The pavement tablet was not there however when I visited. Instead, in its place, is this statue of Lafayette dressed in formal wear, with his glass raised, offering a toast emblematical of his famed declaration which offered his allegiance to Washington and our country and thwarted possible conspiracy. The statue is made of bronze and is life-size.
There is also a plaque/marker at the base of the statue cut in the shape of a keystone, the same shape PA uses for some of its signs and markers. The plaque reads: Member Society of the Cincinnati of France. Presented jointly by the State Society of the Cincinnati and the City of York, Pennsylvania, this day January 27th 2007.
"Serving America is to my heart an inexpressible happiness"
General Marquis de Lafayette
I was unable to determine the age of the statue nor the artist despite an exhaustive internet search and a search of the Smithsonian database.