Imagine it’s August 6, 1824:  In just days the most celebrated hero of the American Revolutionary War will arrive in New York to begin his Farewell Tour of the nation he helped create some fifty years earlier. Excitement about the visit is palpable; special events are scheduled in virtually every corner of the country to welcome him. In Washington, DC, U.S. Marshal Tench Ringgold, charged by President James Monroe with accompanying General Lafayette on several stops on his Tour, would have been busy. Not only with details of the tour, but with his own plans for building a mansion for his family just two blocks from the White House at 1801 F Street, NW.

Fast forward to that same date in 2024:  We hope you will join us on Tuesday, August 6 for a celebratory luncheon program at that same mansion, now known as DACOR Bacon House, in observance of the sharing of these intertwined bicentennial occasions and the vital alliance that continues between France and the United States today.

This remarkable event will debut DACOR Bacon House’s 2025 Bicentennial programming. Our program’s speakers will put the relationship between the two nations in perspective, beginning with DACOR historian’s account of Tench Ringgold’s role in Lafayette’s tour, continuing with a verbal sketch of Lafayette’s stature in the U.S. and in France by the founder of “The Lafayette Trail” and culminating in a review of Franco-American relations by France’s Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Laurent Bili. DACOR’s Honorary Bicentennial Chair, Ambassador Thomas Shannon, will set the stage for the discussion. 

Laurent Bili is the Ambassador of France to the United States. He joined the French Foreign Ministry’s Strategic Affairs and Disarmament Directorate in 1991. He was seconded to the Defense Ministry in 1993 as Deputy Diplomatic Adviser in 1993, and next held several positions at the Quai d’Orsay, including those of First Secretary, then Second Counsellor at the Embassy of France in Ankara, First Secretary, Permanent Representative of France to the Western European Union (WEU), Adviser to the European Union’s interim Political and Security Committee (PSC) in Brussels, and Head of Strategic Affairs.  In 2002, he was Director of the Private Office of the Minister Delegate for European Affairs and became technical adviser at the Diplomatic Unit of the Presidency of the French Republic.  He successively held the positions of Ambassador to Thailand, Director of the Defense Minister’s Civilian and Military Office, Ambassador to Turkey and then to Brazil. In 2017 Laurent Bili was named Director-General for Global Affairs, Culture, Education and International Development at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and G7/G20 Sous-Sherpa.  Prior to his appointment in Washington, Laurent Bili was Ambassador to China.

Julien P. Icher is a French geographer and historian, and the founder and president of The Lafayette Trail, Inc, a nonprofit organization interpreting the significance of Lafayette’s legacy and preparing for the bicentennial celebrations of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in 2024 and 2025. Julien is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on Lafayette’s 1824-1825 visit to the U.S.. He is host, director, and producer of Follow The Frenchmen, a documentary series about Lafayette’s momentous 1824-1825 journey throughout the United States.

Terry (Terence) Walz has written on the history of Egypt and the Sudan and for the last five years has worked as historian of DACOR Bacon House. Recent articles may be found in the Journal of Supreme Court History and on the White House Historical Association website. His most recent work, to be published by DACOR this summer, chronicles the role in Lafayette’s famous 1824-25 return to America tour that was played by U.S. Marshal Tench Ringgold.