Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette were great friends separated by an ocean (Marquis de Lafayette being the famous French general who enlisted with George Washington in 1777 to fight for American independence). However, their friendship remained through correspondence after Jefferson, serving as the Minister to France, returned from France in 1789. But mere weeks after Jefferson left, the French people revolted against the French government, and the monarchist general was exiled and imprisoned. The situation seemed dire for Lafayette, but the friendship of the two patriots did not. They still corresponded, and lucky for these friends, when the monarchy was restored in 1815, Lafayette regained his national celebrity.
But he was always a celebrity back in the United States. Proof of this is when in 1823, President James Monroe invited the legendary General to tour the country. Called "The Triumph," the journey took Lafayette through all American cities, states and rivers, and wherever he went, he was greeted by droves of thousands. One stop on his Triumph was to Monticello to see his dear old friend, Thomas Jefferson. There on November 4, 1824, in front of over four hundred people, the two burst with feeling, having not seen each other in 35 years. Even Lafayette later wrote, "Jefferson received me with strong emotion."
Jefferson was overjoyed to see Lafayette and to show him his University just a few miles down the road. The next day, November 5th, in Lafayette's honor, Jefferson held an enormous dinner in the dome room of the unfinished Rotunda, the first public feast there (supposedly it rained and was quite chilly that night, and rain seeped through the roof of the dome and through the open oculus on to the glorious fete). In attendance that night were Jefferson, Lafayette, James Madison, and over 350 citizens of Albemarle. Toasts were frequent that night, though Jefferson could not speak due to an abscessed tooth. One of the more notable ones was from James Dinsmore, head carpenter of the construction of the University. He praised the University and its originator, Thomas Jefferson, whom he denoted as "the father of the University," instead of the conventional "founder." Jefferson took to that title and even attached it to his own epitaph.
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