Lafayette marker dedication Saturday

A French patriot who served in the American Revolution will be remembered for his contributions this weekend during a highway marker dedication in Orange County.

The Marquis de Lafayette’s Campaign of 1781 through the Wilderness is the subject of a new sign to be unveiled Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Colonel Fielding Lewis Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution hosts the dedication service at the intersection of Route 20 and Brigadiers Way.

The last sentence on the sign notes that Lafayette (1757-1834) had breakfast at nearby Ellwood, an 18th century farmhouse, during his grand tour of America in 1825. He also came to Culpeper that summer for a big party at the old Bell’s Tavern on Main Street.

Brigadiers Way (Route 720) is a continuation of the original Orange Turnpike that runs past the Alexander Chapel Cemetery, according to Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield.

The new sign, erected by the Virginia Department of Transportation, is about 50 yards east of the Grant’s headquarters pull-off.