July 14, 2009
by Mount Vernon Education Department
Yes, GWW did not have a Happy Independence Day blog post a couple weeks ago (due to the Education staff happily being too busy eating hot dogs that day), so to make up for it we will instead celebrate French independence. There are actually many U.S. cities that celebrate Bastille Day in an official capacity- Milwaukee’s 4-day celebration includes its own “Storming of the Bastille” and a 43 foot replica Eiffel Tower (not sure how that fits in with the Bastille storming…) and Philadelphia’s celebration is held at the historic Eastern State Penitentiary where Marie Antoinette throws pastries at a French militia (we assume this is a nod to “let them eat cake”?).
If you would like to come celebrate Bastille Day here at Mount Vernon, that is entirely possible since there is actually a real key to the Bastille in the Central Passage of the mansion itself! The Marquis de Lafayette, captain of the National Guard of Paris at the time, sent George Washington a key to the notorious French prison, which he placed in a glass case on the wall. The key still hangs there, with a drawing of the Bastille, also sent along by Lafayette, hanging below.
Category: George Washington
