Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette's 'Farewell Tour' carriage on display

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Studebaker National Museum in South Bend has unveiled a new exhibition entitled, "Liberty’s Legacy: Lafayette’s Farewell Tour," which is centered around Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette and one of the carriages he used during that 1824 tour of young America. 

The exhibition opened over the weekend and will continue through May 4, 2025.

From the Studebaker National Museum:

"Nearly 250 years later, the Marquis de Lafayette still looms large in American history as one of the heroes of the Revolutionary era. Born into a wealthy, land-owning French family with a long military tradition, Lafayette firmly believed that the American fight for independence from Great Britain was noble and became one of George Washington’s most trusted generals.

After the war, Lafayette returned to France a hero. Lafayette tirelessly championed revolutionary causes, sparred with Napoleon, joined a plot to overthrew King Louis XVIII, spent five years in jail, and became an international symbol of liberty. Later in life, Lafayette became an international antislavery advocate and took on many social causes such as religious freedom and equality for women. From a glory-seeking youth to world-weary elder statesman, Lafayette never stopped fighting for what he believed in.

In 1824, the 67-year-old Lafayette was invited by President James Monroe to return to the U.S. for a triumphal “Farewell Tour” of the country he helped forge. Lafayette was treated as a living legend and hero everywhere he went. Locals decorated his route and erected ceremonial arches.

Cannons were fired and church bells rang out in his honor. Lafayette’s packed itinerary, which included 170 stops in New England alone, took him to all twenty-four states over thirteen months. In all, he traveled more than 6,000 miles conveyed by carriage, stagecoach, horseback, canal barge, and steamboat. Lafayette discovered an American nation very different from the one he left in 1785. The U.S. had quadrupled in both size and population, and the nation’s political system—though far from perfect—had matured.

This tremendous growth and development often came at the expense of native peoples and slaves, a fact which Lafayette—an avowed abolitionist who embraced racial equality—often expressed to his slave-holding American friends over the years, especially Washington.

The carriage on display was one of several horse-drawn vehicles used by Lafayette on his tour, and likely the only surviving example. It was commissioned by the U.S. government, who spared no expense in crafting a truly fine carriage, fit for a Revolutionary War hero and “America’s Guest.”

The carriage was purchased by Clement Studebaker in 1887 to display as part of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company’s collection in its Chicago factory and repository building on Michigan Avenue.

On several occasions, Studebaker displayed the carriage at huge, international expositions and world’s fairs in dedicated pavilions, along with President Lincoln’s carriage and other historical vehicles. When Studebaker wound down operations in the 1960s, the carriage and over 30 other historical vehicles were gifted to the City of South Bend. These vehicles later formed the original collection of the Studebaker National Museum.

Today, Lafayette’s carriage remains the oldest vehicle in the Collection."

The Studebaker National Museum is located at 201 Chapin St., just west of downtown South Bend. It is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

Admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for seniors over 60, and $7 for youth ages 6-18.

For more information, call the museum at (574) 235-9714, toll free at (888) 391-5600, or visit their website.