Le serment de La Fayette a la fete de la Federation 14 July 1790 French School 18th century

Georges Washington Louis Gilbert de La Fayette (24 December 1779 – 29 November 1849) was the son of

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

, the French officer and hero of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, and Adrienne de La Fayette. He was named in honor of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, under whom his father served in the Revolutionary War.

Early life

La Fayette was born on Christmas Eve in 1779, while his father was on a one-year return to France. He was christened the next day and named after American General George Washington, with the elder Lafayette saying the gesture was "a tribute of respect and love for my dear friend." From 1783, La Fayette grew up in the Hôtel de La Fayette at 183 rue de Bourbon,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Their home was the headquarters of Americans in Paris.

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, John and

Sarah Livingston Jay Sarah Van Brugh Livingston Jay (August 2, 1756 – May 28, 1802) was an American socialite and wife of founding father John Jay, in which capacity she was the wife of the President of the Continental Congress, of the Chief Justice of the United S ...

, and John and

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...

met there every Monday. They dined with the La Fayette family as well as with the liberal

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, such as

Clermont-Tonnerre The House of Clermont-Tonnerre is a French noble family, members of which played some part in the history of France, especially in Dauphiné, from about 1100 to the French Revolution (1789–99). History Sibaud, lord of Clermont in Viennois, wh ...

Madame de Staël Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

, Morellet, and Marmontel. In 1789, the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

began. After 10 September 1792, in the wake of the September Massacres, La Fayette went into hiding with his tutor, Felix Frestrel. His mother was put under house arrest and, later, in prison. On 22 July 1794, his great-grandmother, Catherine de Cossé-Brissac, ''duchesse'' de Noailles, his grandmother,

Henriette-Anne-Louise d'Aguesseau Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, Duchess of Noailles, Princess of Tingry (12 February 1737 – 22 July 1794), was a French salon hostess and duchess, the heiress of her grandfather, Henri François d'Aguesseau, and wife of Jean Louis Fran ...

, ''duchesse'' d'Ayen, and aunt, Anne Jeanne Baptiste Louise, ''vicomtesse'' d'Ayen, were

guillotined A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at the ...

Exile from France

In April 1795, Georges was sent to America with Frestrel. While there, he studied at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and he was a house guest of

at the

presidential mansion An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and at the Washington family home, Mount Vernon,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. On 15 October 1795, Georges' mother was sent to join his father and his sisters, Anastasie and Virginie, in the prison fortress of Olmütz. All of their money and baggage were confiscated. On 18 September 1797, the family was released under the terms of the treaty of

Campo-Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treaty ...

(18 October 1797). They recuperated at

Lehmkuhlen Lehmkuhlen is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

, Holstein, near his aunt Madame de Montagu and great-aunt

Madame de Tessé Adrienne Catherine de Noailles, comtesse de Tessé (; 24 December 1741 – December 1813), was a French salon holder and letter writer. She was daughter of Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, sister of the 5th duc de Noailles and aunt of Marie Adrienn ...

. In 1798, Georges returned from America. In 1799, the family moved to

Vianen Vianen () is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek River. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre tha ...

, near

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

during the brief time it was the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...

. Since Georges was turned back at the French border as an exile, he stayed behind with his father, while his mother Adrienne returned to France. After Napoleon's plebiscite, on 1 March 1800, he restored La Fayette's citizenship, and removed their names from the ''émigrés'' list.

Military service and Restoration

Georges entered the army and was wounded at the

Battle of Pozzolo The Battle of Pozzolo also known as the Battle of the Mincio River and Monzambano (25–26 December 1800) was fought during the War of the Second Coalition. A French army under General Guillaume Brune crossed the Mincio River and defeated a ...

in 1800. Later, he was aide-de-camp to General Grouchy at the

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau, or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoléon's ''Grande Armée'' and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Bennigs ...

, 1807, where he gave up his horse, at the risk of his own life. Napoleon's distrust of Georges' father's independence rendered promotion improbable, and Georges de La Fayette retired into private life in 1807. He entered the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

and voted consistently on the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

side. He was away from Paris during the

revolution of July 1830 The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, but he took an active part in the ''

Campagne des banquets The Campagne des banquets (''banquet campaign'') were political meetings during the July Monarchy in France which destabilized the King of the French Louis-Philippe (France), Louis-Philippe. The campaign officially took place from 9 July 1847 to 25 ...

,'' which led up to the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

La Fayette's visit to America

Georges accompanied his father on the latter's triumphant visit to America in 1824 and 1825. Throughout most of the long tour, he kept close company with his father's secretary,

Auguste Levasseur André-Nicolas Levasseur (also known as Auguste Levasseur) was a 19th-century French writer and diplomat known in the United States for accompanying the Marquis de La Fayette during his last trip to the Americas and in the Caribbean and Mexico fo ...

. They observed a volunteer fire company turnout in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He met

George Washington Parke Custis George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew u ...

at Arlington House. He visited Mount Vernon, and he met

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

at Monticello.

Personal life

In 1802, Georges Washington de Lafayette married Emilie Destutt de Tracy, daughter of the

Comte de Tracy Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy (; 20 July 1754 – 9 March 1836) was a French Enlightenment aristocrat and philosopher who coined the term " ideology". Biography The son of a distinguished soldier, Claude Destutt, he was born i ...

. Together, they had three daughters and two sons: * Natalie Renée du Motier de Lafayette (1803–1878), who married Adolphe Périer, a banker and nephew of

Casimir Pierre Périer Casimir-Pierre Périer (11 October 1777 16 May 1832) was a prominent French banker, mine owner, political leader and statesman. In business, through his bank in Paris and ownership of the Anzin Coal Co. in the Department of Nord, he contribut ...

. * Charlotte Matilde du Motier de Lafayette (1805–1886), who married Maurice de Pusy (1799–1864), the son of

Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy (7 January 1750, at Port-sur-Saône in the department of Haute-Saône – 2 February 1806, in Genoa, Italy) was a French military engineer and politician, during the French Revolution. Political career Deputy of nobil ...

. * Clémentine Adrienne du Motier de Lafayette (1809–1886), who married

Gustave de Beaumont Comte Gustave Auguste Bonnin de la Bonninière de Beaumont (1802 – 1866) was a French magistrate, prison reformer, and travel companion to the famed philosopher and politician Alexis de Tocqueville. While he was very successful in his lifetime, ...

(1802–1866). * Oscar Thomas Gilbert Motier de La Fayette (1815–1881) was educated at the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and served as an artillery officer in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. He entered the Chamber of Deputies in 1846 and voted, like his father, with the extreme Left. After the

revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, he received a post in the provisional government; as a member of the Constituent Assembly, he became secretary of the war committee. After the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in 1851, he retired from public life, but emerged on the establishment of the third republic, becoming a

life senator A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

in 1875. * Edmond François du Motier de La Fayette (1818–1890) shared his brother's political opinions; Edmond was one of the secretaries of the Constituent Assembly and a member of the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1876 to 1888. Lafayette and Tracy lived at their family estate LaGrange, outside Paris, where he spent the rest of his life until his death in 1849, at the age of 70.

Legacy

The appearance of the young Georges Washington is known from a painting, ''The

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

of La Fayette at the

Fête de la Fédération The (Festival of the Federation) was a massive holiday festival held throughout France in 1790 in honour of the French Revolution, celebrating the Revolution itself, as well as National Unity. It commemorated the revolution and events of 1789 ...

, 14 July 1790'', in which he is standing on the right alongside his father. The painting is on display at the

Musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet in Paris is dedicated to the history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, the civil servant wh ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Fayette, Georges Washington De Not to be confused with