Annotation:General Lafayette's March
X:1 T:General Lafayette’s March M:C L:1/8 R:March B:”Melodist: A Collection of music in two volumes" (1826-1859, No. 1, p. 4) N:”Feb. 27, 1826.” N:The melodist is a musician's ms., probably by a fiddler, that contains both N:tunes and songs from a variety of sources, American and European. The N:inscription on the inside cover reads, "This is from the Bridge family of N:Augusta, Maine (Horatio Bridge, friend of Hawthorne's)". However, entries in N:the ms. were in different hands indicating several contributors. N:The ms. is neat and the notation studied and precise. F: https://archive.org/details/Melodist/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G D2|G2 G>G GABc|d>B G>G G2 cd|e>c g2 d>B g2|gfag fedc| B>dB>G A>cA>F|GBcd efga|bgfg fed^c|d2 d>d d2:| |:z|a2 a>a ac'ba|g2 g>g gbag|f>edg fedc|B2 A>A A/B/c/B/ d/c/B/A/| G2 G>G GBcd|e>c g2 d>B g2|B<d c<e A<c F<A|G2 G>G G2 !fermata!:| |:"Bugle Solo"d>c|B2 B>B A/c/B/c/ d/c/B/A/|G3 A/G/ FGAB|(dccc) (cBBB)| BAG>G ABc^c|d4 c2 c>c|B4 ABcd|e>c c<A B<G G<F|A4 G2:| |:d>e|f2 a>a fdef|g2 b>b g2 dB|GBcd efga|g3 a/g/ fedc| B2 B>B A2 A>A|d2 d>d c2 c>c|BG d/c/B/A/ G2F2|A4 G2!D.C.!:|]
GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S MARCH. AKA and see "Leitrim Dragoons." American(?), March (whole time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. "General Lafayette's March" was entered into the anonymous 1826-1859 music manuscript collection entitled Melodist: A Collection of music in two volumes. It is the first tune in the book, which is probably from the state of Maine, and which has evidence of several hands entering tunes and songs. The page is dated ”Feb. 27, 1826.” The piece was probably composed for, or at least inspired by, the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to American in the fall of 1824, when he toured He toured the Northern United States the and Eastern United States, including stops at Monticello to visit Thomas Jefferson and Washington, D.C., where he was received at the White House by President James Monroe.
A cognate version of the tune is the Irish "Leitrim Dragoons," and English versions are to be found as "Hull's Fourth Dragoon March" and "Fourth Dragoon's Regimental March."
