Born a slave, he became a Revolutionary War spy. Interpreters plan to recreate the poignant moment he was recognized.
As a Colonial Williamsburg interpreter, Stephen Seals has played James Armistead Lafayette for more than a decade.
But today, he’ll get to re-enact a moment that he wasn’t sure he’d ever get to — the moment when Armistead was reunited with the Marquis de Lafayette some 40 years after the two men last saw each other.
Born a slave in New Kent County, Armistead ended up working as a spy during the Revolutionary War. In 1781, he volunteered for service under the Marquis de Lafayette, who was leading American troops against Lord Cornwallis’s army in Virginia. As a double agent, Armistead infiltrated the British army as a servant for Cornwallis, giving Cornwallis erroneous information on American troops and providing information that helped pave the way for the siege of Yorktown, which effectively ended the war.
Thanks to Lafayette writing a letter of support, Armistead was granted his freedom in 1787 after initially being denied it. He took the last name Lafayette to honor his former commander.
When the marquis returned to America for a 24-state tour as a “Guest of the Nation,” Armistead — then living on a farm he owned in New Kent County near his former master — managed to get the funds to get to Yorktown. There, as he waited in the crowd as Lafayette gave a speech, the marquis spotted Armistead, called out his name and went to embrace him.
It was an unusual, emotional moment.
For a white man, “embracing a Black man in the middle of the street wasn’t something that happened,” Seals said. “The last time they had seen each other was 1784.”
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s return to America, and reenactors are recreating his steps as they happened. Colonial Williamsburg interpreter Mark Schneider is re-creating Lafayette’s stops in Hampton Roads throughout the next week, and today, that stop will include that reunion with Armistead.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for years,” said Seals. “We’ll have a moment.”
Seals has been playing James Armistead Lafayette for about 11 years, the last eight full-time, as one of Colonial Williamsburg’s nation builders. He’s researched and studied the man he plays and as an interpreter, delights in bringing James to life and telling his story on the streets of Colonial Williamsburg.
“There’s a certain connection that people have with James and the contributions he made for (people) to be here today as Americans,” Seals said. “For them to look at American history and see someone who looks like me be part of that history fills me with a joy.”
While Seals and Schneider often interact during their encounters in Colonial Williamsburg, they didn’t think they’d ever get to recreate the moment in Yorktown in 1824. Especially in the place where it happened.
The two men haven’t exactly rehearsed the moment, but they’ve talked about it. It’ll happen as Schneider, as Lafayette, gives a speech sometime around 11 a.m. near the Yorktown Victory Monument. Seals will be in the crowd, wearing a microphone attached to his 1820s attire of a blue overcoat over a white ruffled shirt, along with a top hat.
He hopes that those who get a chance to witness the “reunion” feel something from it.
“I want people to take away that all individuals who came before us, whether they look like you or not, had a contribution to where we are today,” Seals said. “James’ story, the Black story, the military story, is also an American story.”
Kim O’Brien Root, [email protected]
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