Commemorate Lafayette 200!
The Edict of Toleration and Lafayette: a story of allied French descendants in the fight for liberty and toleration.
On Friday, March 14, 2025, at 11:30am, the Huguenot Society of South Carolina (HSSC) will be joined by The American Friends of Lafayette (AFL) to provide a talk entitled “The Edict of Toleration and Lafayette: a story of allied French descendants in the fight for liberty and toleration” to be held at the French Protestant (Huguenot) Church at the corner of Queen and Church Streets.
The South Carolina House and Senate issued a proclamation in January 2025 to declare the month of March 2025 as “The Celebration of the Bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit during his farewell tour of the nation in 1825” in South Carolina. (Session 126, S-195). The celebrations in the state will begin in Cheraw and continue onward in the footsteps of Lafayette to Beaufort. Throughout 2024–2025, the AFL is hosting educational programming across the United States and in France to commemorate the Bicentennial of the Major General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette’s return to America as the “Guest of the Nation.” There are hundreds of planned events, both in large cities such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Savannah, as well as in the multitude of small towns Lafayette visited, still brimming with pride that America’s favorite fighting Frenchman came through their municipality. The full schedule of events across the state is available on the www.lafayette200.org website under Events.
“This event is a welcomed addition to our program in Charleston and in South Carolina,” said Mr. Joseph Volpi, SC Bicentennial Chairman. He added “The Marquis’ connection to liberty and freedom is well known and this additional devotion he had to religious freedom for the Protestants of France brings more to the story we are sharing throughout our tour. It is a piece of his history directly associated with Charleston, and we look forward to sharing it.”
An Edict of Toleration, or the Edict of Versailles, was signed by King Louis XVI on 7 November 1787, and registered in the Parlement of Paris on 29 January 1788. The course of actions leading up to this significant date in French Protestant (Huguenot) history and the remarkable association with the key players in the American Revolution is riveting story that includes Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, George Washington and Lafayette. This talk will provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the fire of liberty burning in the American Revolution and the Huguenot descendants engaged in that fight and their role in the toleration granted in France.
“Our mission as a Society is to preserve and perpetuate the memory of the Huguenot refugees and sharing the history our Society has preserved since 1885 is a great honor," stated Elizabeth F. Gay, Executive Director of The Huguenot Society. "We are excited to present the great shared history of the Marquis with the French Protestants in their struggle for religious freedom in France. While Lafayette's role in the American Revolution is quite known and discussed, we find less often known is his advocacy and personal commitment to achieving toleration for the Protestant people in France." Lafayette was instrumental in securing the Edict of Toleration in 1787 thereby providing toleration to the many French Protestants who had suffered various degrees and forms of persecution for over a hundred years.
Joining the event will be Michael Halbert, Historic Interpreter, as the Marquis de Lafayette. Michael Halbert is a retired civilian defense intelligence officer, having served over 37 years in a variety of foreign engagement postings, including Deputy Director, U.S. Army Foreign Liaison, Deputy Chief, Department of Defense Foreign Liaison within the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and DIA’s representative to the French Services at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France. He speaks French fluently and both French and English are used interchangeably in his home. Following nomination by the French military mission, Embassy of France, Washington, DC, he was decorated with France's second highest order of chivalry, the Ordre National du Mérite, in 2006.
It is especially meaningful to have the talk in the Huguenot church where ancestors of present-day parishioners were among the many who welcomed Lafayette and entertained him during his tour in 1825. Since the 17th century, there has been a French Protestant Church on this site, where centuries of devoted parishioners have preserved the faith and spirit of the founding Huguenots. “We welcome the opportunity to host the Huguenot Society and Mr. Volpi for a fascinating talk on the Marquis de Lafayette’s Huguenot connections and his support of religious tolerance” said Anne Pope, President of the Board of the church. She added “This won't be the first talk in appreciation of the Marquis at the Church. In October of 1937 Lafayette was remembered in a service at the church, the record of which is held in the Society’s archives.”
The event is free of charge and open to the public. Seating is on a first come basis.