Few men in history have been witness to as many significant events as the Marquis de Lafayette. He played important roles in the American Revolution and in his native France, winning the hearts of those on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Marquis was born Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier in 1757. His father served as a Colonel of grenadiers and was killed at the Battle of Minden when he was just two years old. Lafayette’s mother passed away when he was twelve.
On 9 April 1771, at the age of fourteen, Lafayette entered the Royal Army of France and at the age of sixteen, married Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles. Marie Adrienne was related to the king of France and Lafayette was suddenly allied with one of the wealthiest of French families.
Through freemason connections, on 8 August 1778, Lafayette met the Duke of Gloucester, a sympathizer of the American cause. Lafayette was quickly swept up in the romantic ideas of war overseas and quickly decided to sneak away to America, telling only his friend, the Comte de Broglie of his plans. The Comte introduced him to Baron Johan de Kalb who was also on his way to the American colonies.
Silas Deane wrote agreements that both should be commissioned Major Generals in the Continental Army. On 13 June 1777, Lafayette and several other French officers landed near Charleston, South Carolina. On 31 July, he was commissioned Major General the Marquis de Lafayette by the Continental Congress because he was from the highest ranks of French nobility and possessed great patriotism for the American cause.
Marquis de Lafayette and General George Washington
Lafayette developed a great, lifelong friendship with General George Washington, though he was but nineteen years old when he entered into service with the American general. Lafayette served diligently under Washington and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. In December 1777, he went into winter quarters with Washington at Valley Forge and remained there off and on until March 1778.
When the campaign season of 1778 was closed that fall, Lafayette requested leave to return to France for a time. The Continental Congress granted the request on 21 October 1778. The Marquis almost immediately began working for increased French aid to the American cause. It took until early 1780, but Lafayette succeeded in securing the needed aid from the king. French troops and supplies were sent, along with many supplies purchased by the Marquis himself with his own funds, to the colonies.
Marquis de Lafayette and Count de Rochambeau’s Arrival in America
Lafayette was back in Boston on 19 March 1780 with orders from the king that the troops recently sent to the colonies would be under the command of Count de Rochambeau, who in turn was under the instruction of Lafayette to act in accordance to General Washington’s orders.
Lafayette spent most of the spring of 1781 in Virginia, working with Baron von Steuben in the training of troops. That year he also successfully held General Cornwallis’s troops in their position outside Yorktown, buying Washington time to assemble his troops there. Lafayette’s force helped to exhaust Cornwallis’s army to a detrimental point before they had to face the highly-motivated American and French combined force. The Battle of Yorktown ended the major military conflicts of the American Revolution and credit for the British surrender is due in part to Lafayette’s efforts.
Marquis de Lafayette, the French Revolution and Napoleon
The Marquis de Lafayette sailed back for his native France 23 December 1781 where he was honored and loved for his service in the American Revolution. On 26 July 1789, he was named the commander of the National Guard and saved the royal family from a mob attack on Versailles in October 1789.
Lafayette was a believer in representative government and when Napoleon gained control of France, he found an enemy in the Marquis. Lafayette refused to support him and Napoleon in turn shunned him from such events as the celebration of George Washington’s life, in lieu of a funeral, at Invalides after the general’s death.
After the French Revolution and his military service therein, Lafayette returned to France in 1800 with no title and his fortune gone. He refused civil service in France and in 1824, toured the United States giving speeches at various stops.
He was greatly honored in America, where Congress repaid him for all of his financial contributions during the American Revolution. He also was given land in Louisiana in 1803. Lafayette died in 1834, still an American hero.
Sources:
Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
“Historic Valley Forge,” from Independence Hall Association, 1998-2009.
“The Marquis de Lafayette,” from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2009.
Wood, W. J. Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775-1781. Chapel Hill: Yale University Press, 1990.
Mike Hankins
MegWinkler
lisabailey27
History Minds 