On May 26, 1930, the M.S. Lafayette, described by Time magazine as a "sumptuous new cabin class liner," arrived in New York City at the end of her maiden voyage. The ship was the pride of the French Line—or Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, CGT.
On arrival, a particular passenger of the M.S. Lafayette was met by a delegation consisting of the Mayor’s Committee on Reception to Distinguished Guests and officials of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation (as the TJF was then known). Also greeting the ship were 50 "Monticello Guard" members from Virginia, dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms described by the New York Times as "blue and red with moleskin breeches and tricolor pompadours in their hats.” The Monticello Guard led a march up Broadway to City Hall, where the “Distinguished Guest" was met by the acting mayor and hundreds of school children. That guest was the Marquis de Dampierre, a collateral descendant of the Marquis de Lafayette.
The next day, the Marquis, accompanied by the Guard and his sons and daughter-in-law, participated in what the Foundation records describe as "patriotic exercises" at Union Square. The Marquis laid a wreath at the statue of George Washington, while a second wreath was laid at the foot of the Lafayette statue by Theodore Fred Kuper, the Foundation’s National Director.
That night, the Marquis' party, along with Kuper and Henry Alan Johnston, the Foundation’s Secretary, boarded a train for Charlottesville. A Daily Progress article previewing the visit reported that the reservations for the party at Monticello Hotel had doubled from four rooms to eight, suggesting some last-minute changes in the arrangements.
The Charlottesville festivities on May 28 began with a visit to Monticello. The Marquis' party laid a wreath at Jefferson’s grave and toured the mansion, posing for photographs at both locations.
The distinguished guests were next greeted by philanthropist Jay W. Johns at Ash Lawn which the Daily Progress noted had "recently opened as a national shrine." The afternoon and evening were devoted to a tour of the University of Virginia and a university-sponsored dinner at Farmington Country Club.
Returning by train to New York, the Marquis, on behalf of the French Line, presented a painting of Lafayette to the Foundation. The visit concluded with a gala on board the Lafayette, which included all the members of the Monticello Guard. The M.S. Lafayette departed for France carrying two Monticello Guard officers. In a ceremony at the Picpus Cemetery in Paris, France, the officers placed a wreath at Lafayette’s grave and accepted "gifts for Monticello tendered by the Lafayette descendants."
The Count de Dampierre, Viscount Armand de Dampierre, the Countess de Dampierre, and the Marquis de Dampierre
The Marquis de Dampierre
Marquis de Dampierre (shaking hands, left) and party with Foundation representatives