Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette first met during the American Revolution. Their upbringings could not have been more different: Lafayette was a tremendously wealthy Frenchman who came from a long line of nobles, whereas Hamilton was an orphan raised in relative poverty on a Caribbean island.
Despite these differences in background, both men were devoted to the cause of American liberty and so distinguished themselves during the conflict that they became part of the small group of trusted military aides who served General Washington directly during the war.
Lafayette and Hamilton became fast friends, partly because Hamilton spoke French fluently. After the war they would not meet again, although they corresponded regularly until Hamilton’s premature death by duel in 1804. The two men never forgot the friendship that had been forged in revolution and their final resting places honor the important roles they played in the founding of America.
Trinity Church is one of the older buildings in New York, although by Parisian standards it’s practically modern. Nestled in the bustling Financial District and dwarfed by the steel and glass structures that encircle it, the church’s graveyard is a reminder of the city’s revolutionary roots.
Hamilton sleeps surrounded by other notable New Yorkers, together with his wife and in-laws. Although he did not live to see the American financial system he worked so hard to establish become a resounding success; the towering buildings that surround his grave and make up the world’s financial epicenter are a testament to his legacy.
The church hosts celebrations every year on Hamilton’s birth and death days, with tributes from historians, politicians, and members of the Coast Guard (which Hamilton established). Pilgrims frequently leave flowers and wreaths on his tomb, which has a small America flag standing constant vigil at its foot.
Half a world away, Hamilton’s wartime companion rests in a French cemetery as peaceful as it is unique.
Picpus Cemetery is the only private cemetery in Paris (the rest are state-owned) and the astonishing history of this small plot of land encapsulates the tremendous differences between the French and American Revolutions.
The Marquis is buried next to his wife, Adrienne, in the far corner of the cemetery beneath an American flag. His in-laws also lay nearby, although without the same dignified tombs as Hamilton’s; they had been dumped into a mass grave that contains the remains of more than 1,300 people executed during the Reign of Terror. A small marker in the empty grass plot beside the church is the only indication of what lies beneath the soil.
The final resting place of these aristocrats, nuns, priests, soldiers, and commoners who were all victims of the Reign of Terror is only known because a brave relative secretly followed the carts carrying their bodies. After the revolution, their families eventually bought the land and built the small cemetery, where their descendants are buried to this day.
Adrienne saw her mother and sister tossed into a mass grave as headless corpses. Less than two centuries later, her descendants, Jean de Noailles and his only son Adrien- Maurice, would lose their lives to a different kind of tyranny: one in a concentration camp and one fighting Nazism. They too disappeared into unknown graves and their memories are kept alive by plaques in Picpus.
It is a comforting thought that despite the passage of the centuries and the varied yet equally horrible ways they met their ends, these families can rest together in this tranquil spot. What is less comforting is how forcefully these graves bring home the realization that liberty is anything but secure.
An American flag stands above the grave of the marquis; it is changed out every year in a ceremony led by the sitting American ambassador. Lafayette had requested to be buried in soil from Bunker Hill and to this day people still bring little jars of soil from all over the States to leave around his grave, as well as wreaths and bouquets brought by American visitors to show their everlasting gratitude.
Lafayette had dreamed of bringing the liberty he helped fight for in America to his countrymen. But the only “equalité” they found was headless aristocrats and peasants being tossed into the same pit.
One hundred and fifty years later, his descendants were giving their lives to liberate their country from yet another terror. This time, the descendants of those same people Lafayette had helped win their freedom would come to the aid of the French, giving their lives on foreign soil to return the favor.
When Lafayette returned to France in 1781, it had seemed that democracy was on the rise. When the Americans landed in that same country in 1944, there were perilously few countries in the entire world that could claim to be free (America and France’s old enemy Britain among them).
The two graves of the two friends who fought together to bring freedom to America still serve as a reminder of the sacrifices that they made to guarantee the liberties of their descendants in both the Old and New Worlds today.
Photos courtesy of Gina Dimuro.
Great article (as usual). I didn’t know that Lafayette and Hamilton didn’t get to spend any time after the revolution. Sad.
I just finished the Hamilton biography. Great read, so informative but in the least “boring biography” way possible.
I hate that his life was cut short by that scoundrel rogue Aaron Burr. Boo on Mr Burr, the feck.