Marquis de Lafayette in Bethlehem

In September 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette is wounded at the Battle of the Brandywine.  After the battle he is taken to the Sun Inn in Bethlehem to recuperate from his wounds.  He is soon moved to the house of George Frederick, and is nursed back to health by George’s wife Barbara Beckel and their daughter Liesel.  The house, which was located on present day Main Street in Bethlehem, is no longer standing, but the event is memorialized with a historical marker.

For even more information about the event and Lafayette’s subsequent return to Bethlehem in 1824, see here.

Source: Michel, Bernard E. EditorPulaski’s Banner Made in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, PA: Oaks Printing, 1975.

Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette, portrait by Joseph-Désiré Court
Historical Marker of the Beckel House, on 534 Main Street in Bethlehem.