A Book Talk: Lafayette in Alabama—Which Way Did He Go? And Which Way Did He Not?
By Dr. Lawrence Krumenaker
The public is invited to a book talk by Dr. Lawrence Krumenaker, author of Nine Days Traveling: Lafayette’s 1825 Alabama Tour, Today’s Historical Road Trip, on Sunday, October 25, 2020, at 3:00 EST. Due to the pandemic the meeting will be hosted on Zoom; registering is explained at bottom of page.
In 1824, President James Monroe invited the last surviving General from the Revolutionary War, the French-born Marquis de Lafayette, to return to the United States to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Revolution. Among the 24 states Lafayette visited in his year long journey was Alabama. He spent nine days traveling from the Chattahoochee River, through Creek Indian Nation along the Federal Road to Montgomery, then down the Alabama River via steamboat, finally arriving at Mobile and the Gulf Coast fort at Mobile Point. But where exactly did he go? How can we separate facts from multiple legends and folklore? What is there to see of his stops and route today in East Alabama? And which sites claimed for his visit…aren’t true?
The book Nine Days Traveling traces Lafayette’s path across the state from the fragmentary first-hand accounts and later researcher’s notes, and separates fact from myriad local legends. If after 200 years Lafayette came back and traveled the route again, what would he see? What would be different? What would be the same? And how would you travel the route today? Ultimately, 37 sites were found where the Marquis ate, slept, talked, was talked to, witnessed an event, did something or stopped at, which Dr. Krumenaker photographed and marked on modern maps. Krumenaker proposes five walking trails in different cities that should be marked for Lafayette’s Tour bicentennial in 2025. In addition to a general discussion of the recovered route and sites, the nearest locations to Valley, Al, will be described.
Dr. Lawrence Krumenaker is both a global and academic wanderer. Though currently a Macon County resident, he has lived and traveled in many states and numerous countries as his interests have taken him around the world. Dr. Krumenaker began his professional life as an astronomer with research in stellar spectroscopy and planetary cartography and is the discoverer of the brightest and first known micro-quasar. He often teaches in the sciences and astronomy education. He has taught at such diverse places as Jackson State University in Mississippi, Seoul University in Korea, and the University of Cologne in Germany. Over the past two decades, he has become a world renowned science journalist, including being the president of the International Science Writers Association, and before coming to Alabama was Journalist-in-Residence at the Heidelberg (Germany) Institute for Theoretical Studies. Dr. Krumenaker has published six books, three of which are historical tourism books.
If you wish to purchase Nine Days Traveling please go to Dr. Krumenaker’s website www.hermograph.com/lafayette. He offers 10 percent off the price of $26.95 if you use the code CVHS20 through this website and order online through October 24th. You may also be interested in other historical publications and items advertised at his www.hermograph.com website. The t shirt which tells time as a sundial is very interesting.
CVHS makes history by hosting its first virtual program on Sunday October 25, 2020 at 3:00 EDT.
On Sunday October 25th Charlie Powers will moderate the Zoom video conference. Attendees, CVHS membership and general public, are requested to initiate attending this virtual meeting (via Zoom on the internet) by sending your email address to: programs@cvhistoricalsociety.org – Please send your email address before 12:00 noon on that Sunday (Oct 25th). The moderator will respond to each email with directions of how to connect prior to the 3:00PM meeting. It is best to join-in and be ready about 3 or 4 minutes before the meeting begins. You will simply be “on-hold” until it is time to begin.