Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1940 Lafayette Arrives In Georgetown, SC - Addendum

Back in December 2022, I posted about an unsuccessful commemorative half dollar proposal introduced for the purpose of marking the 163rd anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette arriving in Georgetown, SC in June 1777. The coin proposal was sponsored by the South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution (SC-DAR), and was introduced by Representative Hampton Pitts Fulmer (D-SC). (You can read the original post here: What If? 1940 Lafayette Arrives In Georgetown, SC.

My original post focused on the coin bill's journey through the US Congress, but there is an interesting pre-US Congress story for the coin. The South Carolina Legislature fully supported the coin proposal, and passed a Resolution urging the US Congress to support it as well.

In May, 1940, Fulmer's fellow South Carolina Representative, John J. McMillan (D-SC), took the floor in the House of Representatives and urged his colleagues and "especially" the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures to look favorably upon the bill and to report/enact it before the 76th Congress adjourned. He also requested that the Resolution from the South Carolina Legislature be made part of the US Congressional Record.

His request was agreed to; the resolution is as follows:

Concurrent resolution requesting the passage of a bill in Congress authorizing the coinage of 50-cent pieces in commemoration of the arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette near Georgetown, S. C., on June 14, 1777, and known as H. R. 8941.

Whereas on June 14, 1777, that eminent Frenchman, Marie Jean Paul Ives Roch Gilbert du Motter, Marquis de Lafayette, and other French officers landed on North Island near Georgetown in this State for the purpose of assisting the Colonies in the Revolutionary War against England; and

Whereas Lafayette thereafter in July 1777 entered the American Army as major general and fought with the American Army until the war closed and the independence of America had become an established fact; and

Whereas Lafayette not only gave his personal services in accomplishing this end, but also spent many thousand dollars of his private funds in assisting the Colonies in the war; and

Whereas in commemoration of the arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette at North Island, as aforesaid, a bill has been introduced in the Congress of the United States, known as H. R. 8941, authorizing the coinage of not exceeding 50,000 silver 50-cent pieces; and

Whereas said bill has been referred to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and measures, and is now before said committee; and

Whereas one of the purposes of securing the coinage of said 50-cent pieces is to provide a means by which the landing of Marquis de Lafayette may be properly and permanently commemorated, to the end that the future generations may know and realize the great services that this eminent Frenchman rendered to the United States in its beginning: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Members of the House of Representatives from South Carolina in the Congress of the United States be, and they are hereby, asked to request the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures to report upon said bill as early as possible to the end that same may be acted upon during the present session of the Congress of the United States, and the said Representatives and the Senators from South Carolina in the Congress of the United States are requested to exert every effort toward securing the passage of said bill: Be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be forwarded to each Member of the Senate and the House of Representatives from South Carolina in the Congress of the United States.


A reasonable request to honor a man who was instrumental in bringing about the United States' victory over the British, but one that came at a time when the US Congress, and its coinage-related Committees, were not favoring commemorative coin proposals. As recounted in my original post about the proposal, the bill failed to progress past the Committee stage and would never result in a coin.

Note: In 1977, on the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's arrival in Georgetown, SC, the South Carolina Legislature again passed a Resolution in honor of Lafayette's arrival in South Carolina. No coin was requested as part of the Resolution, however.


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other US commemorative coins with State Legislature Resolutions, see: Commems Collection.