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There are a lot of myths surrounding the Washington-Lafayette Ball.

There are a lot of myths surrounding the Washington-Lafayette Ball.

By SUSAN SCOTT NEAL

Date published: 11/7/2003

By SCOTT NEAL

TO SET THE RECORD straight: George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette never attended a ball together in Fredericksburg to celebrate the end of the American Revolution.

The myth is one that's been repeated so many times and in such detail for nearly 150 years that it has even found its way into history books and Washington biographies.

So the organizers of the Washington-Lafayette Commemorative Ball on Nov. 15 wish to make clear that the event celebrates the spirit of the affectionate relationship between the two men and the city of Fredericksburg, not a legendary November ball that never took place.

"Absolutely it's a symbolic occasion, not a re-creation," said Edwin Watson, executive director of the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center.

"We're commemorating the enormous regard that the people of Fredericksburg felt for Lafayette, and the friendship and respect between Washington and Lafayette."

The ball also is one of the culminating events in the city's 275th anniversary observance.

Indeed, Washington and the young Lafayette enjoyed a genuine friendship, not just a military relationship.

The wealthy Frenchman was only 20 when he came to America to join the war effort. He was commissioned a major general in the Continental Army and assigned to the staff of Gen. Washington, a man 25 years his elder.

The relationship that developed during the war has been characterized as that of father and son.

To Americans, Lafayette was truly a hero. Not only did he prove to be a brilliant military leader, but he was also a diplomat, persuading France to join the Americans in their fight against Britain, and pressing for a signed peace treaty.

In Fredericksburg he was especially revered because of his ties to Washington, and that affinity enhanced the town's pro-French feelings for many years to come.

So the idea of a ball to honor Washington and Lafayette and celebrate independence was not far-fetched.

The fictitious legend of the "Fredericksburg Peace Ball" supposedly attended by both famous generals has been perpetuated not just in history books, but in memoirs, newspaper articles, family traditions, and even art.

As the story goes, Gen. Washington was on his way home to Mount Vernon on or about Nov. 12, 1781, after the Yorktown campaign that resulted in the defeat of British Gen. Cornwallis on Oct. 19.

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Date published: 11/7/2003