Our first tour sponsor spotlight of 2024 features The American Friends of Lafayette (AFL). This organization is dedicated to preserving the history of Revolutionary War hero Major General Lafayette. AFL’s team came to TravelStorysGPS to tell the stories of this remarkable Frenchman’s American “Farewell Tour” in 1824-1825. So far, they have produced four tours (in North Carolina, New York City, Central Virginia, and Hampton Roads, Virginia), with several others in the works.

Throughout 2024–2025, the AFL will host educational programming across the United States and in France to commemorate the bicentennial of Lafayette’s return to America as the “Guest of the Nation.” Hundreds of events are planned with the goal of educating the public about the roles played by both Lafayette and France in our war for independence. To find out more about the bicentennial and all their upcoming events, please visit Lafayette200.

AFL's president, Alan Hoffman, tells us more about the organization and its experience building TravelStorys tours:

Q: What is your favorite story on the tours and why?

A: My favorite of the 83 stories on our Lafayette Farewell Tour travelogues is story 17 on the Central Virginia tour. It takes place in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1824. When Lafayette arrived there, among the crowd who greeted him were the Lafayette Cadets, a group of 40 teenagers who were dedicated to the legacy of their namesake.

The cadets escorted Lafayette on his way out of town two days later. From the window of his carriage, the general bowed to the cadets and said with the tenderest affection, “Farewell, my little Guards.” In unison, the cadets exclaimed, “Farewell, Lafayette.”

While many of the other stories address more weighty themes — Lafayette’s role in the American Revolution; his anti-slavery advocacy with his Virginia friends Chief Justice John Marshall and ex-presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; the vitriolic election of 1824 and Lafayette’s role as a pacifier; and Lafayette’s support of freedom of religion — this story touches the heart, gives a glimpse of the man’s character and explains why he became the most popular man in America at the time.

Q: Is there anything that surprises visitors about the tours?

A: The users are surprised by how important Lafayette was in our early history, how spectacularly the American people celebrated his return. They ask themselves why they knew so little about him prior to taking one of our tours. This is very gratifying to us, as the main purpose of the American Friends of Lafayette is to educate the public about Lafayette’s life and legacy and his relevancy today.

Q: Where do the majority of your visitors come from?

A: Our tours take people to cities and towns – large, medium-sized, and small – just like in Lafayette’s 1824-1825 tour. I think most of our visitors are local to the site of each story. The legacy of Lafayette’s visit to small towns especially is still strong. They may have been the most important thing that ever occurred there.

We are promoting the tour with marketing materials designed by TravelStorysGPS, in schools, libraries, museums, and historical societies. I believe that is where the majority of our users hear about the tours.

Q: Please briefly describe your target audience for these tours.

A: While we hope to reach persons of all ages, our target audience is school-aged children from middle school through college. We think it is very important to introduce the younger generation to Lafayette.

Q: Why did you want to tell the stories on your tours?

A: Our reason for co-producing these tours with TravelStorysGPS’ wonderful staff is to educate the public about Lafayette.

Q: What is the most interesting comment you’ve received about the tours?

A: When one of my colleagues who helped to produce the tour showed the app to a family member who works in advertising, he was very impressed with the overall look of it!

Q: How does telling your stories through the TravelStorys audio tour platform compare to other ways you've communicated with your audience in the past?

A: I have tried to educate the public about Lafayette in a number of ways: 1) writing – including my translation of Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, a firsthand account of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour, 2) speaking – over 200 lectures in all 24 states that Lafayette visited, and 3) helping to create commemorative events about Lafayette. Helping to produce these virtual travelogues has been a unique educational experience for me. Being a Luddite at heart and with a rudimentary understanding of computer technology – I may have asked TravelStorysGPS’ production manager what an “app” was early on – this collaboration has opened up a whole new world for me. I can now proudly proclaim: “I know what a geotag is,” sort of.

Q: What part of the tour-building process do you enjoy most or find most interesting — and why?

A: I enjoy writing the stories most. Storytelling for the app gives the author the opportunity to take a deep dive into a place, to find in the primary sources the inspiration to tell the story in a wider context, and to create a piece of writing that, while historically accurate, is easy on the eye and the ear. By way of example, the story about Lafayette’s visit to Montpelier in the Central Virginia tour sets the stage for telling the story of Lafayette’s long-term friendship with James Madison and what both Madison and their mutual friend Thomas Jefferson thought of Lafayette’s “canine appetite for popularity and fame.”

Explore all our tours (263 and counting!) at travelstorys.com.