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,
freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
and military officer who fought in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, commanding American troops in several battles, including the
siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
. After returning to France, he was a key figure in 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 ...
of 1789 and the
July Revolution
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 ...
of 1830. He has been considered a national hero in both countries.
Lafayette was born into a wealthy land-owning family in
Chavaniac in the
province of Auvergne in south central France. He followed the family's martial tradition and was commissioned an officer at age 13. He became convinced that the American revolutionary cause was noble, and he traveled to the New World seeking glory in it. He was made a major general at age 19, but he was initially not given American troops to command. He was wounded during the
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...
but still managed to organize an orderly retreat, and he served with distinction in the
Battle of Rhode Island
The Battle of Rhode Island (also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill) took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and Militia forces under the command of Major General John Sullivan had been besieging the British forces in Newport, Rhode Isl ...
. In the middle of the war, he sailed for home to lobby for an increase in French support. He returned to America in 1780 and was given senior positions in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
. In 1781, troops under his command in Virginia blocked forces led by
Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
until other American and French forces could position themselves for the decisive
siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
.
Lafayette returned to France and was appointed to the
Assembly of Notables
An Assembly of Notables (French: ''Assemblée des notables'') was a group of high-ranking nobles, ecclesiastics, and state functionaries convened by the King of France on extraordinary occasions to consult on matters of state. Assemblymen were p ...
in 1787, convened in response to the fiscal crisis. He was elected a member of the
Estates General of 1789
The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom o ...
, where representatives met from the three traditional orders of French society: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. After the
National Constituent Assembly was formed, he helped to write the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
with
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 ...
's assistance. This document was inspired by the
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
and invoked
natural law
Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
to establish basic principles of the democratic nation-state. He also advocated the end of slavery, in keeping with the philosophy of
natural rights
Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights.
* Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental'' and ...
. After the
storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At t ...
, he was appointed commander-in-chief of France's National Guard and tried to steer a middle course through the years of revolution. In August 1792, radical factions ordered his arrest, and he fled into the Austrian Netherlands. He was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison.
Lafayette returned to France after
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
secured his release in 1797, though he refused to participate in Napoleon's government. After the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* ...
of 1814, he became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies, a position which he held for most of the remainder of his life. In 1824, President
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
invited him to the United States as the nation's guest, where he
visited all 24 states in the union and met a rapturous reception. During France's
July Revolution
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 ...
of 1830, he declined an offer to become the French dictator. Instead, he supported
Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...
as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. He died on 20 May 1834 and is buried in
Picpus Cemetery
Picpus Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Picpus, ) is the largest private cemetery in Paris, France, located in the 12th arrondissement. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during the French Revolut ...
in Paris, under soil from
Bunker Hill. He is sometimes known as "The Hero of the Two Worlds" for his accomplishments in the service of both France and the United States.
Early life
Lafayette was born on 6 September 1757 to
Michel Louis Christophe Roch Gilbert Paulette du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, colonel of grenadiers, and Marie Louise Jolie de La Rivière, at the
château de Chavaniac
The Château de Chavaniac aka Chateau Lafayette is a fortified manor house of eighteen rooms furnished in the Louis XIII style located in Chavaniac-Lafayette, Haute-Loire, in Auvergne, France.
Flanked by two towers of black stone, it was built ...
, in
Chavaniac-Lafayette
Chavaniac-Lafayette (; Occitan: Chavanhac de La Faieta) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.
The Château de Chavaniac, located in the commune, was the birthplace of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette in 17 ...
, near
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France.
Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ca ...
, in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...
(now
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche ...
).
[Clary, pp. 7, 8]
![Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles, French School 18th century copy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Marie_Adrienne_Francoise_de_Noailles%2C_French_School_18th_century_copy.jpg)
Lafayette's lineage was likely one of the oldest and most distinguished in Auvergne and, perhaps, in all of France. Males of the
Lafayette family
The House of La Fayette was a French family of Nobles of the Sword, from the province of Auvergne, established during the Middle-Age by the lords of the fief of La Fayette held by the senior branch of the Motier family.
History and members
Its ...
enjoyed a reputation for courage and chivalry and were noted for their contempt for danger.
[Officer, p. 171] One of Lafayette's early ancestors,
Gilbert de Lafayette III, a
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
, had been a companion-at-arms of
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
's army during the
siege of Orléans
The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) was the watershed of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war. The city held strategic and ...
in 1429. According to legend, another ancestor acquired the
crown of thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...
during the
Sixth Crusade
The Sixth Crusade (1228–1229), also known as the Crusade of Frederick II, was a military expedition to recapture Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade and involved very little actua ...
.
[Gaines, p. 33]
His non-Lafayette ancestors are also notable; his great-grandfather (his mother's maternal grandfather) was the Comte de
La Rivière, until his death in 1770 commander of the
Mousquetaires du Roi, or "Black Musketeers", King
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
's personal horse guard.
[Unger, loc. 383] Lafayette's paternal uncle Jacques-Roch died on 18 January 1734 while fighting the Austrians at Milan in the
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...
; upon his death, the title of
marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
passed to his brother Michel.
[Clary, pp. 11–13]
Lafayette's father likewise died on the battlefield. On 1 August 1759, Michel de Lafayette was struck by a cannonball while fighting a British-led coalition at the
Battle of Minden
The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of F ...
in
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
.
[Gottschlk, pp. 3–5] Lafayette became marquis and Lord of Chavaniac, but the estate went to his mother.
Perhaps devastated by the loss of her husband, she went to live in Paris with her father and grandfather,
leaving Lafayette to be raised in
Chavaniac-Lafayette
Chavaniac-Lafayette (; Occitan: Chavanhac de La Faieta) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.
The Château de Chavaniac, located in the commune, was the birthplace of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette in 17 ...
by his paternal grandmother, Mme de Chavaniac, who had brought the château into the family with her dowry.
In 1768, when Lafayette was 11, he was summoned to Paris to live with his mother and great-grandfather at the comte's apartments in
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...
. The boy was sent to school at the
Collège du Plessis, part of the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
, and it was decided that he would carry on the family martial tradition. The comte, the boy's great-grandfather, enrolled the boy in a program to train future Musketeers. Lafayette's mother and grandfather died, on 3 and 24 April 1770 respectively, leaving Lafayette an income of 25,000
livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
. Upon the death of an uncle, the 12-year-old Lafayette inherited a handsome yearly income of 120,000 livres.
In May 1771, aged less than 14, Lafayette was commissioned an officer in the Musketeers, with the rank of ''
sous-lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...
.'' His duties, which included marching in military parades and presenting himself to King Louis, were mostly ceremonial and he continued his studies as usual.
At this time,
Jean-Paul-François de Noailles, Duc d'Ayen was looking to marry off some of his five daughters. The young Lafayette, aged 14, seemed a good match for his 12-year-old daughter,
Marie Adrienne Françoise, and the duc spoke to the boy's guardian (Lafayette's uncle, the new comte) to negotiate a deal. However, the arranged marriage was opposed by
the duc's wife, who felt the couple, and especially her daughter, were too young. The matter was settled by agreeing not to mention the marriage plans for two years, during which time the two spouses-to-be would meet from time to time in casual settings and get to know each other better. The scheme worked; the two fell in love, and were happy together from the time of their marriage in 1774 until her death in 1807.
Departure from France
Finding a cause
![Lafayette Metz Palais Justice 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Lafayette_Metz_Palais_Justice_2010.jpg)
After the marriage contract was signed in 1773, Lafayette lived with his young wife in his father-in-law's house in
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
. He continued his education, both at the riding school of Versailles (his fellow students included the future
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
) and at the prestigious Académie de Versailles. He was given a commission as a lieutenant in the Noailles
Dragoon
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...
s in April 1773, the transfer from the royal regiment being done at the request of Lafayette's father-in-law.
In 1775, Lafayette took part in his unit's annual training in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, where he met
Charles-François de Broglie, Marquis de Ruffec
Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec (19 August 1719 – 16 August 1781), was a French soldier and diplomat from the House of Broglie.
He served in the French Army and was one of the foremost diplomats in the service of Louis XV. ...
, the Army of the East's commander. At dinner, both men discussed the ongoing
revolt against British rule by Britain's North American colonies. One historiographical perspective suggests that the marquis was disposed to hate the British for killing his father, and felt that a British defeat would diminish that nation's stature internationally. Another notes that the marquis had recently become a
Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and talk of the rebellion "fired his chivalric—and now Masonic—imagination with descriptions of Americans as 'people fighting for liberty.
![Lafayette and Deane](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Lafayette_and_Deane.jpg)
In September 1775, when Lafayette turned 18, he returned to Paris and received the captaincy in the Dragoons he had been promised as a wedding present. In December, his first child, Henriette, was born. During these months, Lafayette became convinced that the American Revolution reflected his own beliefs, saying "My heart was dedicated."
The year 1776 saw delicate negotiations between American agents, including
Silas Deane
Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became the ...
, and Louis XVI and his foreign minister, Comte
Charles de Vergennes. The king and his minister hoped that by supplying the Americans with arms and officers, they might restore French influence in North America, and exact revenge against Britain for the loss in the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. When Lafayette heard that French officers were being sent to America, he demanded to be among them. He met Deane, and gained inclusion despite his youth. On 7 December 1776, Deane enlisted Lafayette as a major general.
The plan to send French officers (as well as other aid) to America came to nothing when the British heard of it and threatened war. Lafayette's father-in-law, de Noailles, scolded the young man and told him to go to London and visit
the Marquis de Noailles, the ambassador to Britain and Lafayette's uncle by marriage, which he did in February 1777. In the interim, he did not abandon his plans to go to America. Lafayette was presented to
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, and spent three weeks in London society. On his return to France, he went into hiding from his father-in-law (and superior officer), writing to him that he was planning to go to America. De Noailles was furious, and convinced Louis to issue a decree forbidding French officers from serving in America, specifically naming Lafayette. Vergennes may have persuaded the king to order Lafayette's arrest, though this is uncertain.
Departure for America
![Pasajes_de_San_Juan_-_Memorial_del_Marqués_de_La_Fayette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Pasajes_de_San_Juan_-_Memorial_del_Marqu%C3%A9s_de_La_Fayette.jpg)
Lafayette learned that the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
lacked funds for his voyage, so he bought the sailing ship ''Victoire'' with his own money
[Holbrook, pp. 19–20] for 112,000 pounds.
[Demerliac, p. 190 no 1887] He journeyed to Bordeaux, where ''Victoire'' was being prepared for her trip, and he sent word asking for information on his family's reaction. The response threw him into emotional turmoil, including letters from his wife and other relatives. Soon after departure, he ordered the ship turned around and returned to Bordeaux, to the frustration of the officers traveling with him. The army commander there ordered Lafayette to report to his father-in-law's regiment in Marseilles. De Broglie hoped to become a military and political leader in America, and he met Lafayette in Bordeaux and convinced him that the government actually wanted him to go. This was not true, though there was considerable public support for Lafayette in Paris, where the American cause was popular. Lafayette wanted to believe it, and pretended to comply with the order to report to Marseilles, going only a few kilometres east before turning around and returning to his ship. ''Victoire'' set sail out of
Pauillac
Pauillac (; oc, Paulhac) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe.
Popul ...
on the shores of the
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
on 25 March 1777. However, Lafayette was not onboard in order to avoid being identified by English spies and the king of France; the vessel moored in Pasaia on the Basque coast, and was supplied with 5,000 rifles and ammunition from the factories in
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
. He joined the ''Victoire'', departing to America on 26 April 1777. The two-month journey to the New World was marked by seasickness and boredom. The ship's captain Lebourcier
intended to stop in the West Indies to sell cargo, but Lafayette was fearful of arrest, so he bought the cargo to avoid docking at the islands.
[Holbrook, p. 17] He landed on North Island near
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...
on 13 June 1777.
[Holbrook, pp. 15–16][Glathaar, p. 3]
American Revolution
On arrival, Lafayette met Major
Benjamin Huger, a wealthy landowner, with whom he stayed for two weeks before going to Philadelphia. The Continental Congress had been overwhelmed by French officers recruited by Deane, many of whom could not speak English or lacked military experience. Lafayette had learned some English en route (he became fluent within a year of his arrival), and his Masonic membership opened many doors in Philadelphia. After Lafayette offered to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him a major general on 31 July 1777. Lafayette's advocates included the recently arrived American envoy to France,
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 ...
, who by letter urged Congress to accommodate the young Frenchman.
![First meeting of Washington and Lafayette, Currier and Ives 1876](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/First_meeting_of_Washington_and_Lafayette%2C_Currier_and_Ives_1876.jpg)
General
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 ...
, commander in chief of the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
, came to Philadelphia to brief Congress on military affairs. Lafayette met him at a dinner on 5 August 1777; according to Leepson, "the two men bonded almost immediately."
[Leepson, p. 33] Washington was impressed by the young man's enthusiasm and was inclined to think well of a fellow Mason; Lafayette was simply in awe of the commanding general.
General Washington took the Frenchman to view his military camp; when Washington expressed embarrassment at its state and that of the troops, Lafayette responded, "I am here to learn, not to teach." He became a member of Washington's staff, although confusion existed regarding his status. Congress regarded his commission as honorary, while he considered himself a full-fledged commander who would be given control of a division when Washington deemed him prepared. Washington told Lafayette that a division would not be possible as he was of foreign birth, but that he would be happy to hold him in confidence as "friend and father".
Brandywine, Valley Forge, and Albany
![Woundedatbrandywine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Woundedatbrandywine.jpg)
Lafayette's first battle was at Brandywine on 11 September 1777. The British commanding general, General
Sir William Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three bro ...
,
planned to take Philadelphia by moving troops south by ship to
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
(rather than the heavily defended
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean.
The bay is bordered inlan ...
) and bringing them overland to the rebel capital. After the British outflanked the Americans, Washington sent Lafayette to join General
John Sullivan. Upon his arrival, Lafayette went with the Third Pennsylvania Brigade, under Brigadier
Thomas Conway
Thomas Conway (February 27, 1735 – c. 1800) served as a major general in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became involved with the alleged Conway Cabal with Horatio Gates. He later served with Émigré for ...
, and attempted to rally the unit to face the attack. The British and
Hessian
A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse.
Hessian may also refer to:
Named from the toponym
*Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire
**Hessian (boot), a style of boot
**Hessian f ...
forces continued to advance with their superior forces, and Lafayette was shot in the leg. During the American retreat, Lafayette rallied the troops, allowing a more orderly pullback, before being treated for his wound. After the battle, Washington cited him for "bravery and military ardour" and recommended him for the command of a division in a letter to Congress, which was hastily evacuating, as the British took Philadelphia later that month.
Lafayette returned to the field in November after two months of recuperation in the
Moravian settlement of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
, and received command of the division previously led by Major General
Adam Stephen
Adam Stephen ( – 16 July 1791) was a Scottish-born American doctor and military officer who helped found what became Martinsburg, West Virginia. He emigrated to North America, where he served in the Province of Virginia's militia under Georg ...
. He assisted General
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...
in reconnaissance of British positions in New Jersey; with 300 soldiers, he
defeated a numerically superior Hessian force in
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, on 24 November 1777.
![Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Washington_and_Lafayette_at_Valley_Forge.jpg)
Lafayette stayed at Washington's encampment at
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...
in the winter of 1777–78, and shared the hardship of his troops. There, the
Board of War
The Board of War, also known as the Board of War and Ordinance, was created by the Second Continental Congress as a special standing committee to oversee the American Continental Army's administration and to make recommendations regarding the ar ...
, led by
Horatio Gates
Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles ...
, asked Lafayette to prepare an invasion of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
from Albany, New York. When Lafayette arrived in Albany, he found too few men to mount an invasion. He wrote to Washington of the situation, and made plans to return to Valley Forge. Before departing, he recruited the
Oneida tribe
The Oneida people (autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding nat ...
to the American side. The Oneida referred to Lafayette as ''Kayewla'' (fearsome horseman).
In Valley Forge, he criticized the board's decision to attempt an invasion of Quebec in winter. The Continental Congress agreed, and Gates left the board. Meanwhile, treaties signed by America and France were made public in March 1778, and France formally recognized American independence.
Barren Hill, Monmouth, and Rhode Island
![Barren-hill-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Barren-hill-map.jpg)
Faced with the prospect of French intervention, the British sought to concentrate their land and naval forces in New York City, and they began to evacuate Philadelphia in May 1778. Washington dispatched Lafayette with a 2,200-man force on 18 May to reconnoiter near
Barren Hill, Pennsylvania. The next day, the British heard that he had made camp nearby and sent 5,000 men to capture him. General Howe led a further 6,000 soldiers on 20 May and ordered an attack on his left flank. The flank scattered, and Lafayette organized a retreat while the British remained indecisive. To feign numerical superiority, Lafayette ordered men to appear from the woods on an outcropping (now
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
Lafayette Hill is an unincorporated community, primarily within Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. A small part of it is in Springfield Township.
Lafayette Hill is located just west of ...
) and to fire upon the British periodically. His troops simultaneously escaped via a sunken road, and he was then able to cross Matson's Ford with the remainder of his force.
![Monmouth-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Monmouth-map.jpg)
The British then marched from Philadelphia toward New York. The Continental Army followed and finally attacked at
Monmouth Courthouse in central New Jersey. Washington appointed General
Charles Lee to lead the attacking force at the
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...
, and Lee moved against the British flank on 28 June. However, he gave conflicting orders soon after fighting began, causing chaos in the American ranks. Lafayette sent a message to Washington to urge him to the front; upon his arrival, he found Lee's men in retreat. Washington relieved Lee, took command, and rallied the American force. After suffering significant casualties at Monmouth, the British withdrew in the night and successfully reached New York.
The French fleet arrived at Delaware Bay on 8 July 1778 under Admiral
d'Estaing, with whom General Washington planned to attack
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, the other major British base in the north. Lafayette and General Greene were sent with a 3,000-man force to participate in the attack. Lafayette wanted to control a joint Franco-American force but was rebuffed by the admiral. On 9 August, the American land force attacked the British without consulting d'Estaing. The Americans asked d'Estaing to place his ships in
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...
, but he refused and sought to defeat the British fleet at sea.
The fighting was inconclusive as a storm scattered and damaged both fleets.
![Rhode-island-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Rhode-island-map.jpg)
D'Estaing moved his ships north to Boston for repairs, where it faced an angry demonstration from Bostonians who considered the French departure from Newport to be a desertion.
John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
and Lafayette were dispatched to calm the situation, and Lafayette then returned to Rhode Island to prepare the retreat made necessary by d'Estaing's departure. For these actions, he was cited by the Continental Congress for "gallantry, skill, and prudence".
He wanted to expand the war to fight the British elsewhere in America and even in Europe under the French flag, but he found little interest in his proposals. In October 1778, he requested permission from Washington and Congress to go home on leave. They agreed, with Congress voting to give him a ceremonial sword to be presented to him in France. His departure was delayed by illness, and he sailed for France in January 1779.
Return to France
Lafayette reached Paris in February 1779 where he was placed under house arrest for eight days for disobeying the king by going to America.
This was merely face-saving by
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
; Lafayette was given a hero's welcome and was soon invited to hunt with the king. The American envoy was ill, so Benjamin Franklin's grandson
William Temple Franklin
William Temple Franklin Jr, known as Temple Franklin, (February 22, 1760, in London – May 25, 1823, in Paris) was an American diplomat and real estate speculator. He is best known for his involvement with the American diplomatic mission in Fra ...
presented Lafayette with the gold-encrusted sword commissioned by the Continental Congress.
Lafayette pushed for an invasion of Britain, with himself to have a major command in the French forces. Spain was now France's ally against Britain and sent ships to the English Channel in support. The Spanish ships did not arrive until August 1779 and were met by a faster squadron of British ships that the combined French and Spanish fleet could not catch. In September, the invasion was abandoned, and Lafayette turned his hopes toward returning to America. In December 1779, Adrienne gave birth to
Georges Washington Lafayette
Georges Washington Louis Gilbert de La Fayette (24 December 1779 – 29 November 1849) was the son of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French officer and hero of the American Revolution, and Adrienne de La Fayette. He was named in ...
.
Lafayette worked with Benjamin Franklin to secure the promise of 6,000 soldiers to be sent to America, commanded by General
Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau.
Lafayette would resume his position as a major general of American forces, serving as liaison between Rochambeau and Washington, who would be in command of both nations' forces. In March 1780, he departed from
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
for America aboard the frigate
''Hermione'', arriving in Boston on 27 April 1780.
Second voyage to America
On his return, Lafayette found the American cause at a low ebb, rocked by several military defeats, especially in the south. Lafayette was greeted in Boston with enthusiasm, seen as "a knight in shining armor from the chivalric past, come to save the nation". He journeyed southwest and on 10 May 1780 had a joyous reunion with Washington at
. The general and his officers were delighted to hear that the large French force promised to Lafayette would be coming to their aid. Washington, aware of Lafayette's popularity, had him write (with
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
to correct his spelling) to state officials to urge them to provide more troops and provisions to the Continental Army. This bore fruit in the coming months, as Lafayette awaited the arrival of the French fleet. However, when the fleet arrived, there were fewer men and supplies than expected, and Rochambeau decided to wait for reinforcements before seeking battle with the British. This was unsatisfactory to Lafayette, who proposed a grandiose schemes for the taking of New York City and other areas, and Rochambeau briefly refused to receive Lafayette until the young man apologized. Washington counseled the marquis to be patient.
That summer Washington placed Lafayette in charge of a division of troops. The marquis spent lavishly on his command, which patrolled
Northern New Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrativ ...
and adjacent New York State. Lafayette saw no significant action, and in November, Washington disbanded the division, sending the soldiers back to their state regiments. The war continued badly for the Americans, with most battles in the south going against them, and General
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
abandoning them for the British side.
Lafayette spent the first part of the winter of 1780–81 in Philadelphia, where the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
elected him its first foreign member. Congress asked him to return to France to lobby for more men and supplies, but Lafayette refused, sending letters instead.
After the Continental victory at the
Battle of Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781 near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina, between U.S. forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Lieutenant Colo ...
in South Carolina in January 1781, Washington ordered Lafayette to re-form his force in Philadelphia and go south to Virginia to link up with troops commanded by
Baron von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who p ...
. The combined force was to try to trap British forces commanded by Benedict Arnold, with French ships preventing his escape by sea. If Lafayette was successful, Arnold was to be summarily hanged. British command of the seas prevented the plan, though Lafayette and a small part of his force (the rest left behind in Annapolis) was able to reach von Steuben in
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Cou ...
. Von Steuben sent a plan to Washington, proposing to use land forces and French ships to trap the main British force under
Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
. When he received no new orders from Washington, Lafayette began to move his troops north toward Philadelphia, only to be ordered to Virginia to assume military command there. An outraged Lafayette assumed he was being abandoned in a backwater while decisive battles took place elsewhere, and objected to his orders in vain. He also sent letters to
the Chevalier de la Luzerne, French ambassador in Philadelphia, describing how ill-supplied his troops were. As Lafayette hoped, la Luzerne sent his letter on to France with a recommendation of massive French aid, which, after being approved by the king, would play a crucial part in the battles to come. Washington, fearing a letter might be captured by the British, could not tell Lafayette that he planned to trap Cornwallis in a decisive campaign.
Virginia and Yorktown
![Plan of the Battle of Yorktown 1875](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Plan_of_the_Battle_of_Yorktown_1875.png)
Lafayette evaded Cornwallis' attempts to capture him in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
.
[Gaines, pp. 153–55] In June 1781, Cornwallis received orders from London to proceed to the Chesapeake Bay and to oversee construction of a port, in preparation for an overland attack on Philadelphia.
As the British column traveled, Lafayette sent small squads that would appear unexpectedly, attacking the
rear guard
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
or foraging parties, and giving the impression that his forces were larger than they were.
On 4 July, the British left
Williamsburg and prepared to cross the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
. Cornwallis sent only an advance guard to the south side of the river, hiding many of his other troops in the forest on the north side, hoping to ambush Lafayette. On 6 July, Lafayette ordered General "Mad"
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...
to strike British troops on the north side with roughly 800 soldiers. Wayne found himself vastly outnumbered, and, instead of retreating, led a bayonet charge. The charge bought time for the Americans, and the British did not pursue. The
Battle of Green Spring
The Battle of Green Spring took place near Green Spring Plantation in James City County, Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. On July 6, 1781 United States Brigadier General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, leading the advance forces of the Ma ...
was a victory for Cornwallis, but the American army was bolstered by the display of courage by the men.
By August, Cornwallis had established the British at Yorktown, and Lafayette took up position on
Malvern Hill
Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, USA, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the Battle of Malvern Hill, one of the Seven Days Battles of the American ...
, stationing artillery surrounding the British, who were close to the
York River, and who had orders to construct fortifications to protect the British ships in
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
. Lafayette's containment trapped the British when the French fleet arrived and won the
Battle of the Virginia Capes
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...
, depriving Cornwallis of naval protection.
On 14 September 1781, Washington's forces joined Lafayette's. On 28 September, with the French fleet blockading the British, the combined forces laid
siege to Yorktown. On 14 October, Lafayette's 400 men on the American right took
Redoubt
A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...
9 after
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
’s forces had charged Redoubt 10 in hand-to-hand combat. These two redoubts were key to breaking the British defenses.
[Holbrook, pp. 53–54] After a failed British counter-attack, Cornwallis surrendered on 19 October 1781.
Hero of two worlds
Yorktown was the last major land battle of the American Revolution, but the British still held several major port cities. Lafayette wanted to lead expeditions to capture them, but Washington felt that he would be more useful seeking additional naval support from France. Congress appointed him its advisor to America's envoys in Europe, Benjamin Franklin in Paris,
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...
in Madrid, and
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
in The Hague, instructing them "to communicate and agree on everything with him". Congress also sent Louis XVI an official letter of commendation on the marquis's behalf.
Lafayette left Boston for France on 18 December 1781 where he was welcomed as a hero, and he was received at the
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...
on 22 January 1782. He witnessed the birth of his daughter, whom he named Marie-Antoinette Virginie upon Thomas Jefferson's recommendation. He was promoted to ''
maréchal de camp
''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848.
The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...
'', skipping numerous ranks, and he was made a Knight of the
Order of Saint Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...
. He worked on a combined French and Spanish expedition against the British West Indies in 1782, as no formal peace treaty had yet been signed. The
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
was signed between Great Britain and the United States in 1783, which made the expedition unnecessary; Lafayette took part in those negotiations.
Lafayette worked with Jefferson to establish trade agreements between the United States and France which aimed to reduce America's debt to France. He joined the French abolitionist group
Society of the Friends of the Blacks
The Society of the Friends of the Blacks (''Société des amis des Noirs'' or ''Amis des noirs'') was a French abolitionist society founded during the late 18th century. The society's aim was to abolish both the institution of slavery in the F ...
which advocated the end of the slave trade and equal rights for free blacks. He urged the emancipation of slaves and their establishment as tenant farmers in a 1783 letter to Washington, who was a slave owner.
[Kaminsky, pp. 34–35] Washington declined to free his slaves, though he expressed interest in the young man's ideas, and Lafayette purchased a plantation in French Guiana to house the project.
Lafayette visited America in 1784–1785 where he enjoyed an enthusiastic welcome, visiting all the states. The trip included a visit to Washington's farm at Mount Vernon on 17 August. He addressed the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
where he called for "liberty of all mankind" and urged emancipation of slaves, and he urged the Pennsylvania Legislature to help form a federal union (the states were then bound by the
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
). He visited the
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...
in New York to participate in peace negotiations with the Iroquois, some of whom he had met in 1778. He received an honorary degree from Harvard, a portrait of Washington from the city of Boston, and a bust from the state of Virginia. Maryland's legislature honored him by making him and his male heirs "natural born Citizens" of the state, which made him a natural-born citizen of the United States after the 1789 ratification of the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
.
[Speare, Morris Edmun]
"Lafayette, Citizen of America"
''New York Times'', 7 September 1919.[Cornell, Douglas B.]
Churchill Acceptance 'Honors Us Far More'
''Sumter Daily Item'', 10 April 1963.[Folliard, Edward T.]
JFK Slipped on Historical Data In Churchill Tribute
''Sarasota Journal'', 25 May 1973. Lafayette later boasted that he had become an American citizen before the concept of French citizenship existed.
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia also granted him citizenship.
Lafayette made the ''Hôtel de La Fayette'' in Paris's ''rue de Bourbon'' an important meeting place for Americans there. Benjamin Franklin, John and Sarah Jay, 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 and dined in company with Lafayette's family and the liberal nobility, including
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 ...
and
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'' ...
. Lafayette continued to work on lowering trade barriers in France to American goods, and on assisting Franklin and Jefferson in seeking treaties of amity and commerce with European nations. He also sought to correct the injustices that Huguenots in France had endured since the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
a century before.
French Revolution
Assembly of Notables and Estates-General
![Declaration of Human Rights](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_Man_and_of_the_Citizen_in_1789.jpg)
On 29 December 1786, King Louis XVI called an
Assembly of Notables
An Assembly of Notables (French: ''Assemblée des notables'') was a group of high-ranking nobles, ecclesiastics, and state functionaries convened by the King of France on extraordinary occasions to consult on matters of state. Assemblymen were p ...
, in response to
France's fiscal crisis. The king appointed Lafayette to the body, which convened on 22 February 1787. In speeches, Lafayette decried those with connections at court who had profited from advance knowledge of government land purchases; he advocated reform. He called for a "truly national assembly", which represented the whole of France. Instead, the king chose to summon an
Estates General, to convene in 1789. Lafayette was elected as a representative of the nobility (the
Second Estate) from
Riom
Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
History
Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the se ...
. The Estates General, traditionally, cast one vote for each of the three Estates: clergy, nobility, and commons, meaning the much larger commons was generally outvoted.
The Estates General convened on 5 May 1789; debate began on whether the delegates should vote by head or by Estate. If by Estate, then the nobility and clergy would be able to outvote the commons; if by head, then the larger Third Estate could dominate. Before the meeting, as a member of the "Committee of Thirty", Lafayette agitated for voting by head, rather than estate. He could not get a majority of his own Estate to agree, but the clergy was willing to join with the commons, and on the 17th, the group declared itself the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
. The loyalist response was to lock out the group, including Lafayette, while those who had not supported the Assembly met inside. This action led to the
Tennis Court Oath
On 20 June 1789, the members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (french: Serment du Jeu de Paume) in the tennis court which had been built in 1686 for the use of the Versailles palace. Their vow "not to separate and to reasse ...
, where the excluded members swore not to separate until a constitution was established. The Assembly continued to meet, and on 11 July 1789, Lafayette presented a draft of the "
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
" to the Assembly, written by himself in consultation with Jefferson.
[Gerson, pp. 81–83] The next day, after the dismissal of Finance Minister
Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...
(who was seen as a reformer), lawyer
Camille Desmoulins
Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee o ...
assembled between 700 and 1000 armed insurgents. The king had the royal army under the
duc de Broglie
The House of Broglie (, also ; french: Maison de Broglie, or ) is a French noble family, originally Piedmontese, who migrated to France in the year 1643.
History
() was the name of an old Piedmontese noble family, from which were descended t ...
surround Paris. On 14 July, the fortress known as the
Bastille was stormed by the insurgents.
[Doyle, pp. 112–13]
National Guard, Versailles, and Day of Daggers
![Lafayette sabre-IMG 0755 0770-black](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Lafayette_sabre-IMG_0755_0770-black.jpg)
On 15 July, Lafayette was acclaimed commander-in-chief of the Parisian National Guard, an armed force established to maintain order under the control of the Assembly military service as well as policing, traffic control, sanitization, lighting, among other matters of local administration. Lafayette proposed the name and the symbol of the group: a blue, white, and red cockade. This combined the red and blue colors of the city of Paris with the royal white, and originated the French tricolor.
He faced a difficult task as head of the Guard; the king and many loyalists considered him and his supporters to be little better than revolutionaries, whereas many commoners felt that he was helping the king to keep power via this position.
The National Assembly approved the Declaration on 26 August,
[Leepson, pp. 132–35] but the king rejected it on 2 October. Three days later, a Parisian crowd led by women fishmongers
marched to Versailles in response to the scarcity of bread. Members of the National Guard followed the march, with Lafayette reluctantly leading them. At Versailles, the king accepted the Assembly's votes on the Declaration, but refused requests to go to Paris, and the crowd broke into the palace at dawn. Lafayette took the royal family onto the palace balcony and attempted to restore order,
[Neely, p. 86] but the crowd insisted that the king and his family move to Paris and the
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...
.
[Clary, p. 392] The king came onto the balcony and the crowd started chanting ''"Vive le Roi!"''
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
then appeared with her children, but she was told to send the children back in. She returned alone and people shouted to shoot her, but she stood her ground and no one opened fire. Lafayette kissed her hand, leading to cheers from the crowd.
Lafayette would later initiate an investigation within the National Assembly on the now declared
October Days
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March, the October Days or simply the March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplaces ...
, which led to the production of the Procédure Criminelle by Charles Chabroud, a 688-page document accumulating evidence and analysis on the exact events and procedures of the March on Versailles, hoping to condemn those inciting the mob (in his mind being
Mirabeau
Mirabeau may refer to:
People and characters
* Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas
French nobility
* Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat
* Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...
and the
Duc d'Orléans). However, the National Assembly thought condemning two significant revolutionaries would hurt the progress and public reception of the revolutionary administration.
![Serment de La Fayette IMG 2376](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Serment_de_La_Fayette_IMG_2376.JPG)
As leader of the National Guard, Lafayette attempted to maintain order and steer a middle ground, even as the radicals gained increasing influence. He and Paris' mayor
Jean Sylvain Bailly
Jean Sylvain Bailly (; 15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793) was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the French Revolution. He presided over the Tennis Court Oath, served as the mayor of Par ...
instituted a political club on 12 May 1790 called the
Society of 1789
The Society of 1789 ( French: ''Club de 1789''), or the Patriotic Society of 1789 (French: ''Société patriotique de 1789''), was a political club of the French Revolution inaugurated during a festive banquet held at Palais-Royal in May 13, 1790 ...
whose intention was to provide balance to the influence of the radical
Jacobins
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = Pa ...
.
Lafayette helped organize and lead the assembly 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 ...
on 14 July 1790 where he, alongside the National Guard and the king, took the civic oath on the
Champs de Mars
The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public Urban open space, greenspace in Paris, France, located in the 7ème arrondissement, Paris, seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire ...
on 14 July 1790 vowing to "be ever faithful to the nation, to the law, and to the king; to support with our utmost power the constitution decreed by the National Assembly, and accepted by the king." In the eyes of the royalist factions, Lafayette took a large risk holding a largely undisciplined group at the Champs de Mars in fear for the safety of the king, whereas for Jacobins this solidified in their eyes Lafayette's royalist tendencies and an encouragement of the common people's support of the monarchy.
![Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Gilbert_du_Motier_Marquis_de_Lafayette.PNG)
Lafayette continued to work for order in the coming months. He and part of the National Guard left the Tuileries on 28 February 1791 to handle a conflict in Vincennes, and hundreds of armed nobles arrived at the Tuileries to defend the king while he was gone. However, there were rumors that these nobles had come to take the king away and place him at the head of a counter-revolution. Lafayette quickly returned to the Tuileries and disarmed the nobles after a brief standoff. The event came to be known as the
Day of Daggers
On the Day of Daggers (French: ''Journée des Poignards''), 28 February 1791, hundreds of nobles with concealed weapons, such as daggers, went to the Tuileries Palace in Paris to defend King Louis XVI while Marquis de Lafayette and the National G ...
, and it boosted Lafayette's popularity with the French people for his quick actions to protect the king. Nonetheless, the royal family were increasingly prisoners in their palace. The National Guard disobeyed Lafayette on 18 April and prevented the king from leaving for Saint-Cloud where he planned to attend Mass.
Flight to Varennes
A plot known as the
Flight to Varennes
The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...
almost enabled the king to escape from France on 20 June 1791. The king and queen had escaped from the Tuileries Palace, essentially under the watch of Lafayette and the National Guard. Being notified of their escape, Lafayette sent the Guard out in a multitude of directions in order to retrieve the escapee monarchs. Five days later, Lafayette and the National Guard led the royal carriage back into Paris amidst a crowding mob calling for the heads of the monarchs as well as Lafayette. Lafayette had been responsible for the royal family's custody as leader of the National Guard, and he was thus blamed by extremists such as
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In Augus ...
, declaring in a speech directed towards Lafayette “You swore that the king would not leave. Either you sold out your country or you are stupid for having made a promise for a person whom you could not trust…. France can be free without you.” He was further called a traitor to the people by
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
. These accusations made Lafayette appear a royalist, damaged his reputation in the eyes of the public,
[Holbrook, p. 100] and strengthened the hands of the Jacobins and other radicals opposition of him. He continued to urge the constitutional rule of law, but he was drowned out by the mob and its leaders.
Champs de Mars massacre
![Lafayette fires on the Cordeliers Club](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Lafayette_fires_on_the_Cordeliers_Club.jpeg)
Lafayette's public standing continued to decline through the latter half of 1791. The radical
Cordelier
The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Société des Amis des droits de l'homme et du citoyen), mainly known as Cordeliers Club (french: Club des Cordeliers), was a populist political club during the French ...
s organized an event at the Champ de Mars on 17 July to gather signatures on a petition to the National Assembly that it either abolish the monarchy or allow its fate to be decided in a referendum.
[Andress, p. 51] The assembled crowd was estimated to be anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 people. The protesters, finding two men hiding under an altar at the event, accused of being either spies or of potentially planting explosives, eventually hung the men from lampposts and placed their heads on the ends of pikes. Lafayette rode into the Champ de Mars at the head of his troops to restore order, but they were met with the throwing of stones from the crowd. Indeed, an assassination attempt was made on Lafayette, however the gunman’s pistol misfired at close range. The soldiers began to first fire above the crowd in order to intimidate and disperse them, which only led to retaliation and eventually the death of two volunteer chasseurs.
[Auricchio, Laura. The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2014, pp. 247.] Inevitably, the National Guard was ordered to
fire on the crowd, wounding and killing an unknown amount. Accounts from those close to Lafayette claim that around ten citizens were killed in the event, whereas other accounts propose fifty-four, and the sensational newspaper publisher
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...
claimed over four hundred bodies had been disposed of into the river later that night.
Martial law was declared, and the leaders of the mob fled and went into hiding, such as Danton and Marat. Lafayette's reputation among many political clubs decreased dramatically, especially with articles in the press, such as the ''Revolutions de Paris'' describing the event at the Champ de Mars as “Men, Women, and Children were massacred on the altar of the nation on the Field of the Federation”.
Immediately after the massacre, a crowd of rioters attacked Lafayette's home and attempted to harm his wife. The Assembly finalized a constitution in September, and Lafayette resigned from the National Guard in early October, with a semblance of constitutional law restored.
Conflict and exile
Lafayette returned to his home province of Auvergne in October 1791.
[Andress, p. 61] France declared
war on Austria on 20 April 1792, and preparations to invade the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
(today's Belgium) began. Lafayette, who had been promoted to
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
on 30 June 1791, received command of one of the three armies, the
Army of the Centre
The Army of the Centre (''armée du Centre'') was one of the first French Revolutionary Armies, named after the location it was set up, the Centre region. It was established by the order of King Louis XVI on 14 December 1791 and attached to Champ ...
, based at Metz, on 14 December 1791. Lafayette did his best to mold inductees and National Guardsmen into a cohesive fighting force, but found that many of his troops were Jacobin sympathizers and hated their superior officers. On 23 April 1792 Robespierre demanded Marquis de Lafayette to step down. This emotion was common in the army, as demonstrated after the
Battle of Marquain
The Battle of Marquain was a conflict between Austria and the Kingdom of France during the War of the First Coalition. It took place on 29 April 1792 and ended in a French defeat.
Background
In early 1792, as the French Revolution was gradua ...
, when the routed French troops dragged
their leader Dillon to
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
, where he was torn to pieces by the mob. One of the army commanders, Rochambeau, resigned. Lafayette, along with the third commander,
Nicolas Luckner
Nicolas, Count Luckner (german: Johann Nikolaus, Graf Luckner; 12 January 1722, Cham in der Oberpfalz – 4 January 1794, Paris) was a German officer in French service who rose to become a Marshal of France.
Luckner grew up in Cham, in eastern ...
, asked the Assembly to begin peace talks, concerned at what might happen if the troops saw another battle.
[Andress, pp. 72–75]
In June 1792, Lafayette criticized the growing influence of the radicals through a letter to the Assembly from his field post, and ended his letter by calling for their parties to be "closed down by force".
He misjudged his timing, for the radicals were in full control in Paris. Lafayette went there, and on 28 June delivered a fiery speech before the Assembly denouncing the Jacobins and other radical groups. He was instead accused of deserting his troops. Lafayette called for volunteers to counteract the Jacobins; when only a few people showed up, he understood the public mood and hastily left Paris. Robespierre called him a traitor and the mob burned him in effigy. He was transferred to command of the
Army of the North
The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...
on 12 July 1792.
The 25 July
Brunswick Manifesto
The Brunswick Manifesto was a proclamation issued by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Allied Army (principally Austrian and Prussian), on 25 July 1792 to the population of Paris, France during the War of the First ...
, which warned that Paris would be destroyed by the Austrians and Prussians if the king was harmed, led to the downfall of Lafayette, and of the royal family. A mob attacked the Tuileries on 10 August, and the king and queen were imprisoned at the Assembly, then taken to the
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. The Assembly abolished the monarchy—the king and queen would be beheaded in the coming months. On 14 August, the minister of justice, Danton, put out a warrant for Lafayette's arrest. Hoping to travel to the United States, Lafayette entered the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
, the area of present
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
Prisoner
Lafayette was taken prisoner by the Austrians near
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
when another former French officer,
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 ...
, asked for rights of transit through Austrian territory on behalf of a group of French officers. This was initially granted, as it had been for others fleeing France, but was revoked when the famous Lafayette was recognized.
Frederick William II of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, Austria's ally against France, had once received Lafayette, but that was before the French Revolution—the king now saw him as a dangerous fomenter of rebellion, to be interned to prevent him from overthrowing other monarchies.
Lafayette was held at
Nivelles
Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstre ...
, then transferred to
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
where a coalition
military tribunal
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
declared him, de Pusy, and two others to be prisoners of state for their roles in the Revolution. The tribunal ordered them held until a restored French king could render final judgment on them. On 12 September 1792, pursuant to the tribunal's order, the prisoners were transferred to Prussian custody. The party traveled to the Prussian fortress-city of
Wesel
Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.
Geography
Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine.
Division of the city
Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...
, where the Frenchmen remained in verminous individual cells in the
central citadel from 19 September to 22 December 1792. When victorious French revolutionary troops began to threaten the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
, King Frederick William II transferred the prisoners east to the citadel at
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
, where they remained an entire year, from 4 January 1793 to 4 January 1794.
Frederick William decided that he could gain little by continuing to battle the unexpectedly successful French forces, and that there were easier pickings for his army in the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
. Accordingly, he stopped armed hostilities with the Republic and turned the state prisoners back over to his erstwhile coalition partner, the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
Austrian monarch
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. Lafayette and his companions were initially sent to Neisse (today
Nysa, Poland
Nysa (german: Neisse or ''Neiße'', szl, Nysa) is a town in southwestern Poland on the Eastern Neisse (Polish language, Polish: ''Nysa Kłodzka'') river, situated in the Opole Voivodeship. With 43,849 inhabitants (2019), it is the capital of Ny ...
) in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. On 17 May 1794, they were taken across the Austrian border, where a military unit was waiting to receive them. The next day, the Austrians delivered their captives to a barracks-prison, formerly a college of the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, in the fortress-city of Olmütz,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
(today
Olomouc
Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019).
Located on th ...
in the Czech Republic).
Lafayette, when captured, had tried to use the American citizenship he had been granted to secure his release, and contacted
William Short, United States minister in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. Although Short and other U.S. envoys very much wanted to succor Lafayette for his services to their country, they knew that his status as a French officer took precedence over any claim to American citizenship. Washington, who was by then president, had instructed the envoys to avoid actions that entangled the country in European affairs, and the U.S. did not have diplomatic relations with either Prussia or Austria. They did send money for the use of Lafayette, and for his wife, whom the French had imprisoned.
Secretary of State Jefferson found a loophole allowing Lafayette to be paid, with interest, for his services as a major general from 1777 to 1783. An act was rushed through
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
and signed by President Washington. These funds allowed both Lafayettes privileges in their captivity.
A more direct means of aiding the former general was an escape attempt sponsored by Alexander Hamilton's sister-in-law
Angelica Schuyler Church
Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexander ...
and her husband
John Barker Church
John Barker Church, John Carter, (October 30, 1748 – April 27, 1818) was an English born businessman and supplier of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He returned to England after the Revolutionary War and served in the Hous ...
, a British Member of Parliament who had served in the Continental Army. They hired as agent a young
Hanoverian physician,
Justus Erich Bollmann, who acquired an assistant, a South Carolinian medical student named
Francis Kinloch Huger
Francis Kinloch Huger (September 17, 1773 – February 14, 1855), a trained physician and artillery officer, was a scion of the Huger family of South Carolina. A member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and South Carolina Senate, h ...
. This was the son of Benjamin Huger, whom Lafayette had stayed with upon his first arrival in America. With their help, Lafayette managed to escape from an escorted carriage drive in the countryside outside Olmütz, but he lost his way and was recaptured.
![Prison reunion of Lafayette with his wife and daughters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Prison_reunion_of_Lafayette_with_his_wife_and_daughters.jpg)
Once Adrienne was released from prison in France, she, with the help of U.S. Minister to France
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
, obtained passports for her and her daughters from Connecticut, which had granted the entire Lafayette family citizenship. Her son Georges Washington had been smuggled out of France and taken to the United States. Adrienne and her two daughters journeyed to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
for an audience with Emperor Francis, who granted permission for the three women to live with Lafayette in captivity. Lafayette, who had endured harsh solitary confinement since his escape attempt a year before, was astounded when soldiers opened his prison door to usher in his wife and daughters on 15 October 1795. The family spent the next two years in confinement together.
Through diplomacy, the press, and personal appeals, Lafayette's sympathizers on both sides of the Atlantic made their influence felt, most importantly on the post-
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
French government. A young, victorious general,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
Bonaparte, negotiated the release of the state prisoners at Olmütz, as a result 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 treat ...
. Lafayette's captivity of over five years thus came to an end. The Lafayette family and their comrades in captivity left Olmütz under Austrian escort early on the morning of 19 September 1797, crossed the
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n-
Saxonian border north of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, and were officially turned over to the American consul in Hamburg on 4 October.
From Hamburg, Lafayette sent a note of thanks to General Bonaparte. The French government, the
Directorate, was unwilling to have Lafayette return unless he swore allegiance, which he was not willing to do, as he believed it had come to power by unconstitutional means. As revenge, it had his remaining properties sold, leaving him a pauper. The family, soon joined by Georges Washington, who had returned from America, recuperated on a property near Hamburg belonging to Adrienne's aunt. Due to
conflict between the United States and France, Lafayette could not go to America as he had hoped, making him a man without a country.
![Chateau-de-la-grange](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Chateau-de-la-grange.jpg)
Adrienne was able to go to Paris, and attempted to secure her husband's repatriation, flattering Bonaparte, who had returned to France after more victories. After Bonaparte's ''coup d'état'' of
18 Brumaire
The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...
(9 November 1799), Lafayette used the confusion caused by the change of regime to slip into France with a passport in the name of "Motier". Bonaparte expressed rage, but Adrienne was convinced he was simply posing, and proposed to him that Lafayette would pledge his support, then would retire from public life to a property she had reclaimed,
La Grange. France's new ruler allowed Lafayette to remain, though originally without citizenship and subject to summary arrest if he engaged in politics, with the promise of eventual restoration of civil rights. Lafayette remained quietly at La Grange, and when Bonaparte held a memorial service in Paris for Washington, who had died in December 1799, Lafayette, though he had expected to be asked to deliver the eulogy, was not invited, nor was his name mentioned.
Retreat from politics
![Lafayette-scheffer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Lafayette-scheffer.jpg)
Bonaparte restored Lafayette's citizenship on 1 March 1800 and he was able to recover some of his properties. After
Marengo, the
First Consul
The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...
offered him the post of
French minister to the United States, but Lafayette declined, saying he was too attached to America to act in relation to it as a foreign envoy. In 1802, he was part of the tiny minority that voted no in the referendum that made Bonaparte consul for life. A seat in the Senate and the
Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
were repeatedly offered by Bonaparte, but Lafayette again declined— though stating that he would gladly have accepted the honours from a democratic government.
In 1804, Bonaparte was crowned the Emperor Napoleon after a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in which Lafayette did not participate. The retired general remained relatively quiet, although he made Bastille Day addresses. After the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, President Jefferson asked him if he would be interested in the governorship, but Lafayette declined, citing personal problems and his desire to work for liberty in France.
During a trip to Auvergne in 1807, Adrienne became ill, suffering from complications stemming from her time in prison. She became delirious but recovered enough on Christmas Eve to gather the family around her bed and to say to Lafayette: "''Je suis toute à vous''" ("I am all yours"). She died the next day. In the years after her death, Lafayette mostly remained quietly at La Grange, as Napoleon's power in Europe waxed and then waned. Many influential people and members of the public visited him, especially Americans. He wrote many letters, especially to Jefferson, and exchanged gifts as he had once done with Washington.
Bourbon restoration
In 1814, the
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
that opposed Napoleon invaded France and restored the monarchy; the comte de
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
(brother of the executed Louis XVI) took the throne as
Louis XVIII. Lafayette was received by the new king, but the staunch republican opposed the new, highly restrictive franchise for 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 ...
that granted the vote to only 90,000 men in a nation of 25 million. Lafayette did not stand for election in 1814, remaining at La Grange.
There was discontent in France among demobilized soldiers and others. Napoleon had been exiled only as far as
Elba
Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...
, an island in the Tuscan archipelago; seeing an opportunity, he landed at Cannes on 1 March 1815 with a few hundred followers. Frenchmen flocked to his banner, and he took Paris later that month, causing Louis to flee to
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
. Lafayette refused Napoleon's call to serve in the new government, but accepted election to the new
Chamber of Representatives under the
Charter of 1815
The Charter of 1815, signed on April 22, 1815, was the French constitution prepared by Benjamin Constant at the request of Napoleon I when he returned from exile on Elba. More correctly known as the "Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Em ...
. There, after Napoleon's defeat at the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, Lafayette called for his abdication. Responding to the emperor's brother
Lucien
Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius.
Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to:
People
Given name
* Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint
*Lucien, a band member ...
, Lafayette argued:
By what right do you dare accuse the nation of ... want of perseverance in the emperor's interest? The nation has followed him on the fields of Italy, across the sands of Egypt and the plains of Germany, across the frozen deserts of Russia. ... The nation has followed him in fifty battles, in his defeats and in his victories, and in doing so we have to mourn the blood of three million Frenchmen.
On 22 June 1815, four days after Waterloo, Napoleon abdicated. Lafayette arranged for the former emperor's passage to America, but the British prevented this, and Napoleon ended his days on the island of
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
. The Chamber of Representatives, before it dissolved, appointed Lafayette to a peace commission that was ignored by the victorious allies who occupied much of France, with the Prussians taking over La Grange as a headquarters. Once the Prussians left in late 1815, Lafayette returned to his house, a private citizen again.
Lafayette's homes, both in Paris and at La Grange, were open to any Americans who wished to meet the hero of their Revolution, and to many other people besides. Among those whom Irish novelist
Sydney, Lady Morgan
Sydney, Lady Morgan (''née'' Owenson; 25 December 1781? – 14 April 1859), was an Irish novelist, best known for '' The Wild Irish Girl'' (1806)'','' a romantic, and some critics suggest, "proto-feminist", novel with political and patriotic o ...
met at table during her month-long stay at La Grange in 1818 were the Dutch painter
Ary Scheffer
Ary Scheffer (10 February 179515 June 1858) was a Dutch-French Romantic painter. He was known mostly for his works based on literature, with paintings based on the works of Dante, Goethe, and Lord Byron, as well as religious subjects. He was als ...
and the historian
Augustin Thierry
Augustin Thierry (or ''Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry''; 10 May 179522 May 1856) was a French historian. Although originally a follower of Henri de Saint-Simon, he later developed his own approach to history. A committed liberal, his approach ...
, who sat alongside American tourists. Others who visited included philosopher
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
, American scholar
George Ticknor
George Ticknor (August 1, 1791 – January 26, 1871) was an American academician and Hispanist, specializing in the subject areas of languages and literature. He is known for his scholarly work on the history and criticism of Spanish literature.
...
, and writer
Fanny Wright
Frances Wright (September 6, 1795 – December 13, 1852), widely known as Fanny Wright, was a Scottish-born lecturer, writer, freethinker, feminist, utopian socialist, abolitionist, social reformer, and Epicurean philosopher, who became a ...
.
During the first decade of the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* ...
, Lafayette lent his support to a number of conspiracies in France and other European countries, all of which came to nothing. He was involved in the various
Charbonnier Charbonnier is a surname, meaning "someone who sales or makes charcoal", and may refer to;
* Gaëtan Charbonnier (born 1988), French footballer
* Janine Charbonnier (born 1926), French composer
* Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), composer ...
plots, and agreed to go to the city of
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...
, where there was a garrison of French troops, and assume a major role in the revolutionary government. Warned that the royal government had found out about the conspiracy, he turned back on the road to Belfort, avoiding overt involvement. More successfully, he supported the
Greek Revolution
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
beginning in 1821, and by letter attempted to persuade American officials to ally with the Greeks. Louis' government considered arresting both Lafayette and Georges Washington, who was also involved in the Greek efforts, but were wary of the political ramifications if they did. Lafayette remained a member of the restored Chamber of Deputies until 1823, when new plural voting rules helped defeat his bid for re-election.
Grand tour of the United States
![Ary Scheffer - Marquis De Lafayette - NPG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Ary_Scheffer_-_Marquis_De_Lafayette_-_NPG.82.150_-_National_Portrait_Gallery.jpg)
President James Monroe and Congress invited Lafayette to visit the United States in 1824, in part to celebrate the nation's upcoming 50th anniversary.
Monroe intended to have Lafayette travel on an American warship, but Lafayette felt that having such a vessel as transport was undemocratic and booked passage on a merchantman. Louis XVIII did not approve of the trip and had troops disperse the crowd that gathered at
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
to see him off.
Lafayette arrived at New York on 15 August 1824, accompanied by his son Georges Washington and his 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 ...
. He was greeted by a group of Revolutionary War veterans who had fought alongside him many years before. New York erupted for four continuous days and nights of celebration. He then departed for what he thought would be a restful trip to Boston but instead found the route lined by cheering citizens, with welcomes organized in every town along the way. According to Unger, "It was a mystical experience they would relate to their heirs through generations to come. Lafayette had materialized from a distant age, the last leader and hero at the nation's defining moment. They knew they and the world would never see his kind again."
New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia
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 ...
did their best to outdo each other in the celebrations honoring Lafayette. Philadelphia renovated the Old State House (today
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...
) which might otherwise have been torn down, because they needed a location for a reception for him. Until that point, it had not been usual in the United States to build monuments, but Lafayette's visit set off a wave of construction—usually with him laying the cornerstone himself, in his capacity as mason. The arts benefited by his visit, as well, as many cities commissioned portraits for their civic buildings, and the likenesses were seen on innumerable souvenirs. Lafayette had intended to visit only the original 13 states during a four-month visit, but the stay stretched to 16 months as he visited all 24 states.
![Gloves MET DT435](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Gloves_MET_DT435.jpg)
The towns and cities that he visited gave him enthusiastic welcomes, including
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...
, the first city named in his honor.
[Clary, pp. 443, 444] He visited the capital in
Washington City
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and was surprised by the simple clothing worn by President Monroe and the lack of any guards around the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. He went to Mount Vernon in Virginia as he had 40 years before, this time viewing Washington's grave. He was at Yorktown on 19 October 1824 for the anniversary of Cornwallis's surrender, then journeyed to
Monticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
to meet with his old friend Jefferson—and Jefferson's successor
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, who arrived unexpectedly. He had also dined with 89-year-old
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, the other living former president, at
Peacefield
Peacefield, also called Peace field or Old House, is a historic home formerly owned by the Adams family of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was the home of United States Founding Father and U.S. president John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams, and of ...
, his home near Boston.
With the roads becoming impassable, Lafayette stayed in Washington City for the winter of 1824–25, and thus was there for the climax of the hotly contested 1824 election in which no presidential candidate was able to secure a majority of the
Electoral College, throwing the decision to the House of Representatives. On 9 February 1825, the House selected Secretary of State
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
as president; that evening, runner-up General
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
shook hands with Adams at the White House as Lafayette looked on.
In March 1825, Lafayette began to tour the southern and western states. The general pattern of the trip was that he would be escorted between cities by the state militia, and he would enter each town through specially constructed arches to be welcomed by local politicians or dignitaries, all eager to be seen with him. There would be special events, visits to battlefields and historic sites, celebratory dinners, and time set aside for the public to meet the legendary hero of the Revolution.
[Kramer, pp. 190–91]
![USS Brandywine 1831 OldNavyDays](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/USS_Brandywine_1831_OldNavyDays.jpg)
Lafayette visited General Jackson at his home
The Hermitage in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. He was traveling up the Ohio River by steamboat when the vessel sank beneath him, and he was put in a lifeboat by his son and secretary, then taken to the Kentucky shore and rescued by another steamboat that was going in the other direction. Its captain insisted on turning around, however, and taking Lafayette to
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. From there, he went generally northeast, viewing
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
and taking the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
to Albany, considered a modern marvel. He laid the cornerstone of the
Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...
in Massachusetts in June 1825 after hearing an oration by
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
. He also took some soil from Bunker Hill to be sprinkled on his grave.
After Bunker Hill, Lafayette went to Maine and Vermont, thus visiting all of the states. He met again with John Adams, then went back to New York and then to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where he laid the cornerstone for its public library. He celebrated his 68th birthday on 6 September at a reception with President John Quincy Adams at the White House, and departed the next day. He took gifts with him, besides the soil to be placed on his grave. Congress had voted him $200,000 (equal to $ today) in gratitude for his services to the country at President Monroe's request,
[Leepson, p. 164] along with a large tract of public lands in Florida. He returned to France aboard a ship that was originally called the ''Susquehanna'' but was renamed the
USS ''Brandywine'' in honor of the battle where he shed his blood for the United States.
Revolution of 1830
![La Fayette et Louis-Philippe - 31 juillet 1830](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/La_Fayette_et_Louis-Philippe_-_31_juillet_1830.jpg)
When Lafayette arrived in France, Louis XVIII had been dead about a year and Charles X was on the throne. As king, Charles intended to restore the absolute rule of the monarch, and his decrees had already prompted protest by the time Lafayette arrived. Lafayette was the most prominent of those who opposed the king. In the elections of 1827, the 70-year-old Lafayette was elected to the Chamber of Deputies again. Unhappy at the outcome, Charles dissolved the Chamber, and ordered a new election: Lafayette again won his seat.
Lafayette remained outspoken against Charles' restrictions on civil liberties and the newly introduced censorship of the press. He made fiery speeches in the Chamber, denouncing the new decrees and advocating American-style representative government. He hosted dinners at La Grange, for Americans, Frenchmen, and others; all came to hear his speeches on politics, freedom, rights, and liberty. He was popular enough that Charles felt he could not be safely arrested, but Charles' spies were thorough: one government agent noted "his
afayette'sseditious toasts ... in honor of American liberty".
On 25 July 1830, the king signed the
Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, removing the franchise from the middle class and dissolving the Chamber of Deputies. The decrees were published the following day. On 27 July, Parisians erected barricades throughout the city, and riots erupted.
In defiance, the Chamber continued to meet. When Lafayette, who was at La Grange, heard what was going on, he raced into the city, and was acclaimed as a leader of the revolution. When his fellow deputies were indecisive, Lafayette went to the barricades, and soon the royalist troops were routed. Fearful that the excesses of the 1789 revolution were about to be repeated, deputies made Lafayette head of a restored National Guard, and charged him with keeping order. The Chamber was willing to proclaim him as ruler, but he refused a grant of power he deemed unconstitutional. He also refused to deal with Charles, who abdicated on 2 August. Many young revolutionaries sought a republic, but Lafayette felt this would lead to civil war, and chose to offer the throne to the duc d'Orleans,
Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...
, who had lived in America and had far more of a common touch than did Charles. Lafayette secured the agreement of Louis-Philippe, who accepted the throne, to various reforms. The general remained as commander of the National Guard. This did not last long—the brief concord at the king's accession soon faded, and the conservative majority in the Chamber voted to abolish Lafayette's National Guard post on 24 December 1830. Lafayette went back into retirement, expressing his willingness to do so.
Final years and death
![Mort du général Lafayette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Mort_du_g%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral_Lafayette.jpg)
Lafayette grew increasingly disillusioned with Louis-Phillippe, who backtracked on reforms and denied his promises to make them. The retired general angrily broke with his king, a breach which widened when the government used force to suppress a strike in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
. Lafayette used his seat in the Chamber to promote liberal proposals, and his neighbors elected him mayor of the village of La Grange and to the council of the ''département'' of
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...
in 1831. The following year, he served as a pallbearer and spoke at the funeral of General
Jean Maximilien Lamarque
Jean Maximilien Lamarque (22 July 17701 June 1832) was a French commander during the Napoleonic Wars who later became a member of the French Parliament. Lamarque served with distinction in many of Napoleon's campaigns. He was particularly noted f ...
, another opponent of Louis-Phillippe. He pleaded for calm, but there were riots in the streets and a barricade was erected at the
Place de la Bastille
The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...
. The king forcefully crushed this
June Rebellion
The June Rebellion, or the Paris Uprising of 1832 (french: Insurrection républicaine à Paris en juin 1832), was an anti-monarchist insurrection of Parisian republicans on 5 and 6 June 1832.
The rebellion originated in an attempt by republ ...
, to Lafayette's outrage. He returned to La Grange until the Chamber met in November 1832, when he condemned Louis-Phillippe for introducing censorship, as Charles X had.
![Sépulture la Fayette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/S%C3%A9pulture_la_Fayette.jpg)
Lafayette spoke publicly for the last time in the Chamber of Deputies on 3 January 1834. The next month, he collapsed at a funeral from pneumonia. He recovered, but the following May was wet, and he became bedridden after being caught in a thunderstorm. He died at age 76 on 20 May 1834 on ''6 rue d'Anjou-Saint-Honoré ''in Paris (now 8 ''rue d'Anjou'' in the
8th arrondissement of Paris
The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth").
The arrondissement, ...
). He was buried next to his wife at the
Picpus Cemetery
Picpus Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Picpus, ) is the largest private cemetery in Paris, France, located in the 12th arrondissement. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during the French Revolut ...
under soil from Bunker Hill, which his son Georges Washington sprinkled upon him.
[Clary, pp. 443–445, 447, 448] King Louis-Philippe ordered a military funeral in order to keep the public from attending, and crowds formed to protest their exclusion.
In the United States, President Jackson ordered that Lafayette receive the same memorial honors that had been bestowed on Washington at his death in December 1799. Both Houses of Congress were draped in black bunting for 30 days, and members wore mourning badges. Congress urged Americans to follow similar mourning practices. Later that year, former president John Quincy Adams gave a eulogy of Lafayette that lasted three hours, calling him "high on the list of the pure and disinterested benefactors of mankind".
Beliefs
Lafayette was a firm believer in a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
. He believed that traditional and revolutionary ideals could be melded together by having a democratic National Assembly work with a monarch, as France always had. His close relationships to American Founding Fathers such as
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 ...
and Thomas Jefferson gave him the ability to witness the implementation of a democratic system. His views on potential government structures for France were directly influenced by the American form of government, which was in turn influenced by the British form of government. For example, Lafayette believed in a bicameral legislature, as the United States had. The Jacobins, however, detested the idea of a monarchy in France, which led the National Assembly to vote against it. This idea contributed to his fall from favor, especially when
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
took power.
Lafayette was the author of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
in 1789 and a staunch opponent of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. His work never specifically mentioned slavery, but he made his position clear on the controversial topic through letters addressed to friends and colleagues such as Washington and Jefferson. He proposed that slaves not be owned but rather work as free tenants on the land of plantation owners, and he bought a plantation in the French colony of Cayenne in 1785 to put his ideas into practice, ordering that no slaves be bought or sold. He spent his lifetime as an abolitionist, proposing that slaves be emancipated slowly and recognizing the crucial role that slavery played in many economies. Lafayette hoped that his ideas would be adopted by Washington in order to free the slaves in the United States and spread from there, and his efforts were not in vain, as Washington eventually began implementing those practices on his own plantation in Mount Vernon—though he freed no slaves in his lifetime. Lafayette's grandson Gustave de Beaumont later wrote a novel discussing the issues of racism.
Assessment
Throughout his life, Lafayette was an exponent of the ideals of the
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, especially on human rights and
civic nationalism
Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, in ...
, and his views were taken very seriously by intellectuals and others on both sides of the Atlantic. His image in the United States was derived from his "disinterestedness" in fighting without pay for the freedom of a country that was not his own.
[Loveland, p. 9] Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...
praised him for "foregoing the pleasures of Enjoyment of domestick Life and exposing himself to the Hardship and Dangers" of war when he fought "in the glorious cause of freedom".
This view was shared by many contemporaries, establishing an image of Lafayette seeking to advance the freedom of all mankind rather than the interests of just one nation.
During the French Revolution, Americans viewed him as an advocate for American ideals, seeking to transport them from New World to Old. This was reinforced by his position as surrogate son and disciple of George Washington, who was deemed the Father of His Country and the embodiment of American ideals. Novelist
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...
befriended Lafayette during his time in Paris in the 1820s. He admired his patrician liberalism and eulogized him as a man who "dedicated youth, person, and fortune to the principles of liberty."
Lafayette became an American icon in part because he was not associated with any particular region of the country; he was of foreign birth, did not live in America, and had fought in New England, the mid-Atlantic states, and the South, making him a unifying figure.
[Loveland, p. 16] His role in the French Revolution enhanced this popularity, as Americans saw him steering a middle course. Americans were naturally sympathetic to a republican cause, but also remembered Louis XVI as an early friend of the United States. When Lafayette fell from power in 1792, Americans tended to blame factionalism for the ouster of a man who was above such things in their eyes.
In 1824, Lafayette returned to the United States at a time when Americans were questioning the success of the republic in view of the disastrous economic
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first widespread and durable financial crisis in the United States that slowed westward expansion in the Cotton Belt and was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic h ...
and the sectional conflict resulting in the
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...
. Lafayette's hosts considered him a judge of how successful independence had become. According to cultural historian Lloyd Kramer, Lafayette "provided foreign confirmations of the self-image that shaped America's national identity in the early nineteenth century and that has remained a dominant theme in the national ideology ever since: the belief that America's Founding Fathers, institutions, and freedom created the most democratic, egalitarian, and prosperous society in the world".
Historian
Gilbert Chinard
Gilbert Chinard (1881–1972) was a French-American historian, professor emeritus, who authored over 40 books.
Born on October 17, 1881 in Chatellerault, France, to Hilaire and Marie (Blanchard) Chinard, educated at the Universities of Poiti ...
wrote in 1936: "Lafayette became a legendary figure and a symbol so early in his life, and successive generations have so willingly accepted the myth, that any attempt to deprive the young hero of his republican halo will probably be considered as little short of iconoclastic and sacrilegious." That legend has been used politically; the name and image of Lafayette were repeatedly invoked in 1917 to gain popular support for America's entry into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, culminating with
Charles E. Stanton
Charles Egbert Stanton (November 22, 1858 – May 8, 1933) was an officer in the United States Army, and attained the rank of colonel. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, and served as chief disbursing officer and aide to General John J. Per ...
's famous statement "Lafayette, we are here". This occurred at some cost to Lafayette's image in America; veterans returned from the front singing "We've paid our debt to Lafayette, who the hell do we owe now?" According to Anne C. Loveland, "Lafayette no longer served as a national hero-symbol" by the end of the war. In 2002, however, Congress voted to grant him honorary citizenship.
Lafayette's reputation in France is more problematic. Thomas Gaines notes that the response to Lafayette's death was far more muted in France than in America, and suggested that this may have been because Lafayette was the last surviving hero of America's only revolution, whereas the changes in the French government had been far more chaotic. Lafayette's roles created a more nuanced picture of him in French historiography, especially in the French Revolution. 19th-century historian
Jules Michelet
Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and an author on other topics whose major work was a history of France and its culture. His aphoristic style emphasized his anti-clerical republicanism.
In Michelet's ...
describes him as a "mediocre idol", lifted by the mob far beyond what his talents deserved.
[Kramer, p. 5] Jean Tulard
Jean Tulard (born 22 December 1933, Paris) is a French academic and historian, specialising in the history of cinema, of the French Consulate and the First French Empire. He is a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques since ...
, Jean-François Fayard, and Alfred Fierro note Napoleon's deathbed comment about Lafayette in their ''Histoire et dictionnaire de la Révolution française''; he stated that "the king would still be sitting on his throne" if Napoleon had Lafayette's place during the French Revolution.
[Gaines, pp. 349, 440] They deemed Lafayette "an empty-headed political dwarf" and "one of the people most responsible for the destruction of the French monarchy".
[Gaines, p. 440] Gaines disagreed and noted that liberal and
Marxist historians
Marxist historiography, or historical materialist historiography, is an influential school of historiography. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography include the centrality of social class, social relations of production in class-divided so ...
have also dissented from that view.
Lloyd Kramer related 57 percent of the French deemed Lafayette the figure from the Revolution whom they most admired, in a survey taken just before the Revolution's bicentennial in 1989. Lafayette "clearly had more French supporters in the early 1990s than he could muster in the early 1790s".
Marc Leepson concluded his study of Lafayette's life:
File:Lafayette dollar obverse.jpg, The 1899 Lafayette silver dollar, designed by Charles E. Barber
Charles Edward Barber (November 16, 1840 – February 18, 1917) was an American coin engraver who served as the sixth chief engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. He had a long and fruitful career in coinage, desig ...
, honors Lafayette and 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 ...
File:Lafayette stamp 3c 1952 issue.JPG, 175th anniversary of Lafayette's arrival in America in 1777, 1952 issue
File:La Fayette 1957 Issue-3c.jpg, 200th anniversary of the birth of Lafayette, 1957 issue
File:Lafayette 13c 1977 issue.JPG, 200th anniversary of Lafayette's arrival, 1977 issue as part of the Bicentennial Series
The Bicentennial Series was a lengthy series of American commemorative postage stamps.
It began with the issuance of a stamp showing the logo for the Bicentennial celebrations on July 4, 1971, and concluded on September 2, 1983, with a stamp fo ...
See also
*
List of places named for the Marquis de Lafayette
This is a list of places named for the Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette, a French General in the American Revolutionary War. Many of these places were named for him during his Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the ...
*
LaFayette Motors
The LaFayette Motors Corporation was a United States-based automobile manufacturer. Founded in 1919, LaFayette Motors was named in honor of the Marquis de la Fayette, and LaFayette autos had a cameo of the Marquis as their logo.
History
LaFa ...
*
''Hermione'' (2014), a replica of the
''Hermione'' of 1779, currently in service
* ''
Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution'', a 2021 biography
Notes
References
Works cited
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* Wright, Esmond. "Lafayette: Hero of two worlds" ''History Today'' (Oct 1957) 7#10 pp 653–661.
Further reading
* Auricchio, Laura. ''The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered'' (Vintage, 2014). Print.
*
Vowell, Sarah. ''Lafayette in the Somewhat United States'' (Riverhead, 2015). Print.
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External links
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Société des Cincinnati de France site of the French Society of the Cincinnati
French Founding Father at the New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...
The Cornell University Library Lafayette CollectionThe Marquis de Lafayette collection, Cleveland State University
Marquis de Lafayette Collection, Library of CongressMartha Joanna Lamb, Lafayette letters from prison, ''The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries'', pp. 353–76"Lafayette Triumphant: His 1824–1825 Tour and Reception in the United States"''Thomas Jefferson Letter'' 30 November 1813 From the Collections at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Lafayette Family papersat the
University of Maryland Libraries
The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...
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