Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
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Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (maʁki də la fajɛt; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac
, in the province of Auvergne
in south central France
. Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War
and a leader of the Garde nationale
during the French Revolution
.
In the American Revolution, Lafayette served as a major-general in the Continental Army
under George Washington
. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine
, he still managed to organize a successful retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island
. In the middle of the war he returned to France to negotiate an increase in French support
. On his return, he blocked troops led by Cornwallis
at Yorktown
while the armies of Washington and those sent by King Louis XVI
under the command of General de Rochambeau
, Adniralde Grasse
, and Admiral de Latouche Tréville
prepared for battle against the British.
Back in France in 1788, Lafayette was called to the Assembly of Notables
to respond to the fiscal crisis. Lafayette proposed a meeting of the French Estates-General, where representatives from the three traditional orders of French society—the clergy, the nobility and the commoners—met. He served as vice president of the resulting body and presented a draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
. Lafayette was appointed commander-in-chief of the Garde nationale in response to violence. During the French Revolution
, Lafayette attempted to maintain order—to the point of ordering the Garde nationale to fire on demonstrators at the Champ de Mars
in July 1791—for which he ultimately was persecuted by the Jacobin
s. In August 1792, as the radical factions in the Revolution grew in power, Lafayette tried to flee to the United States through the Dutch Republic
. He was captured by Austrians and spent more than five years in prison.
Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte
secured his release from prison in 1797. He refused to participate in Napoleon's government, but was elected to the Chamber of Deputies under the Charter of 1815
, during the Hundred Days
. With the Bourbon Restoration
, Lafayette became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies
in 1815, a position he held until his death. In 1824, President James Monroe
invited Lafayette to the United States as the "nation's guest"; during the trip, he visited all twenty-four states. For his contributions to the American Revolution, many cities and monuments throughout the United States bear his name. During France's July Revolution
of 1830, Lafayette declined an offer to become the French dictator; instead he supported Louis-Philippe's bid as a constitutional monarch. Lafayette died on 20 May 1834, and is buried in Picpus Cemetery
in Paris, under soil from Washington's grave at Mount Vernon
. He became a United States citizen during his lifetime, and received honorary United States citizenship
in 2002.
Lafayette was born on 6 September 1757 to Michel Louis Christophe Roch Gilbert Paulette du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, colonel aux Grenadiers de France, and Marie Louise Jolie de La Rivière, at the château de Chavaniac
, in Chavaniac
, near Le Puy-en-Velay
, in the modern department of Haute-Loire
. His full name is rarely used; instead he is often referred to as the marquis de La Fayette or Lafayette. Biographer Louis R. Gottschalk
says that Lafayette spelled his name both Lafayette and LaFayette.
Lafayette's lineage appears to be one of the oldest in Auvergne
. Members of the family were noted for their contempt for danger. Lafayette's ancestor, Marshal of France
Gilbert de La Fayette III, was a companion-at-arms who led Joan of Arc's
army in Orléans
. His great-grandfather was the Comte de La Rivière, a former lieutenant general in the Royal Armées. According to legend, another ancestor acquired the Crown of Thorns
during the 6th Crusade. Lafayette's uncle Jacques-Roch died fighting the Austrians and left the marquis title to Lafayette's father.
Lafayette's father, struck by a cannonball at the Battle of Minden
in Westphalia, died on 1 August 1759. Lafayette became Lord of Chavaniac, but the estate went to his mother. Lafayette's mother and his maternal grandfather, Marquis de La Rivière, died, on 3 April and 24 April 1770 respectively, leaving Lafayette an income of 25,000 livres
. Upon the death of an uncle, the 12-year-old Lafayette inherited a handsome yearly income of 120,000 livres. Lafayette was raised by his paternal grandmother, Mme de Chavaniac, who had brought the château into the family with her dowry. Also in the household were Mme de Chavaniac's daughters Madeleine du Motier, and Charlotte de Guérin, the Baronne de Chavaniac.
, where he met Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec
, the Army of the East's commander. When he first learned of that quarrel, he wrote, "My heart was enlisted and I thought only of joining the colors."
Lafayette returned to Paris in the fall and participated in sociétés de pensée (thinking groups) that discussed French involvement in the American Revolution. At these meetings, a frequent speaker, Abbé Guillaume Raynal
emphasised the "rights of man". He criticised the nobility, the clergy and the practice of slavery. The monarchy banned Raynal from speaking, and he expressed his views secretly in the Masonic Lodges of which Lafayette was a member.
On 7 December 1776, Lafayette arranged through Silas Deane
, an American agent in Paris, to enter the American service as a major general. Lafayette visited his uncle Marquis de Noailles
, the Ambassador to Britain. During a ball at Lord George Germain's, he met Lord Rawdon
, met Sir Henry Clinton at the Opera, and met Lord Shelburne
at breakfast. Lafayette refused to toast King George, and left after three weeks. In 1777, the French government granted the American military one million livres in supplies after Minister Charles Gravier pressed for French involvement. De Broglie intrigued with his old subordinate, German Johann de Kalb
, (who had previously done a reconnaissance of America), to send French officers to fight alongside the Americans, (and perhaps set up a French generalissimo
). De Broglie approached Gravier, suggesting assistance to the American revolutionaries. De Broglie then presented Lafayette, who had been placed on the reserve list, to de Kalb.
did not have the money for his voyage; hence he acquired the sailing ship La Victoire himself. The king officially forbade him to leave after British spies discovered his plan, and issued an order for Lafayette to join his father-in-law's regiment in Marseille
, disobedience of which would be punishable by imprisonment. The British ambassador ordered the seizure of the ship Lafayette was fitting out at Bordeaux, and Lafayette was threatened with arrest. He travelled to Spain for support in the American cause. On 20 April 1777, he sailed for America, disguised as a woman, leaving his pregnant wife in France. The ship's captain intended to stop in the West Indies
to sell cargo; however Lafayette, fearful of arrest, bought the cargo to avoid docking at the islands. He landed on North Island near Georgetown, South Carolina
, on 13 June 1777.
On arrival, Lafayette met Major Benjamin Huger
, with whom he stayed two weeks before going to Philadelphia. The Continental Congress delayed Lafayette's commission, as they had tired of "French glory seekers". After Lafayette offered to serve without pay, however, Congress commissioned him a major-general on 31 July 1777. Since he was not assigned a unit, he nearly returned home.
Benjamin Franklin
wrote to George Washington recommending acceptance of Lafayette as his aide-de-camp
, hoping it would influence France to commit more aid. Washington accepted, and Lafayette met him at Moland House
in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
on 10 August 1777. When Washington expressed embarrassment at the state of the camp and 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. To address this, Washington told Lafayette that a division would not be possible as he was of foreign birth; however, Washington said that he would be happy to hold him in confidence as "friend and father".
Lafayette's first battle was at Brandywine on 11 September 1777. 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
, and attempted to rally the unit to face the attack. In face of the British and Hessian superiority, Lafayette was shot in the leg. During the American retreat, Lafayette rallied the troops, allowing a more orderly retreat 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.
Lafayette returned to the field in November after two months of recuperation in the Moravian settlement at Bethlehem, PA, and received command of Major General Adam Stephen
's division. He assisted General Nathanael Greene
in reconnaissance of British positions in New Jersey; with 300 soldiers, he defeated a numerically superior Hessian force in Gloucester
on 24 November 1777.
He returned to Valley Forge
for the winter, where the Horatio Gates
led War Board asked him to prepare an invasion of Canada from Albany, New York. Thomas Conway
hoped to replace Washington with Gates, who had been successful in the Battle of Saratoga
. He concocted a plot known as the Conway Cabal
which separated Washington from Lafayette, one of Washington's firmest supporters. Lafayette alerted Washington of his suspicions about the plot before leaving. When Lafayette arrived in Albany, he found too few men to mount a Canadian invasion. He wrote to Washington of the situation, and made plans to return to Valley Forge. Before departing, he recruited the Oneida tribe
, who referred to Lafayette as Kayewla (fearsome horseman), to the American side. In Valley Forge, he criticized the War Board's decision to attempt an invasion of Canada in winter. The Continental Congress agreed, and Gates was removed from the Board. Meanwhile, treaties signed by America and France were made public in March 1778, and France formally recognised American independence.
The Americans tried to sense the British forces' reaction to France entering the war. On 18 May 1778, Washington dispatched Lafayette with a 2,200-man force to reconnoitre near Barren Hill
, Pennsylvania. The next day, the British heard that Lafayette had made camp nearby and sent 5,000 men to capture him. On 20 May, General Howe led a further 6,000 soldiers and ordered an attack on Lafayette's left flank. The flank scattered, and Lafayette organized a retreat while the British remained indecisive. To feign numerical superiority, he ordered men to appear from the woods on an outcropping known as Barren Hill (now Lafayette Hill
) and to fire upon the British periodically. Lafayette's troops simultaneously escaped via a sunken road. Lafayette was then able to cross Matson's Ford with the remainder of his force.
Unable to trap Lafayette, the British resumed their march north from Philadelphia to New York; the Continental Army, including Lafayette, followed and finally attacked at the Monmouth Courthouse
in New Jersey. At Monmouth, Washington appointed General Charles Lee
to lead the attacking force. On the 28th of June, Lee moved against the British flank; however, soon after fighting began, he began acting strangely. Lafayette sent a message to Washington to urge him to the front; upon his arrival he found Lee's men in retreat. Washington rallied the American force and repelled two British attacks. Due to the day's heat, fighting ended early and the British withdrew in the night.
The French fleet arrived in America on 8 July 1778 under Admiral d'Estaing
, with whom General Washington planned to attack Newport, Rhode Island
. 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 in the attack but was rebuffed. On 9 August, the American force attacked the British without consulting d'Estaing. When the Americans asked the admiral to leave his fleet in Narragansett Bay
, d'Estaing refused and attacked the British under Lord Howe. The attack dispersed the British fleet, but a storm damaged the French ships.
D'Estaing moved his ships north to Boston for repairs. When the fleet arrived, Bostonians rioted because they considered the French departure from Newport a desertion. John Hancock
and Lafayette were dispatched to calm the situation, and then Lafayette returned to Newport to prepare for the retreat made necessary by d'Estaing's departure. For these actions, Lafayette was cited by the Continental Congress for "gallantry, skill and prudence". However he realized that the Boston riot might undermine the Franco-American alliance in France, so he requested and was given permission to return to France.
s. Lafayette used his position to lobby for more French aid to America. Working with Franklin, Lafayette secured another 6,000 soldiers to be commanded by General Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau.
Lafayette received news that Adrienne had borne him a son, Georges Washington Lafayette. After his son's birth, he pushed for additional commitments of support from France for the American Revolutionary War. He ordered new uniforms and arranged for the fleet's departure. Before returning to America, Lafayette and the French force learned that they would be operating under American command, with Washington in control of military operations. In March 1780, Lafayette gave power of attorney
to business manager Jacques-Philippe Grattepain-Morizot and Adrienne, and left France, departing for America aboard the Hermione, from Rochefort. He arrived in Boston on 28 April carrying the then secret news that he had secured French reinforcements (5,500 men and 5 frigates) for George Washington.
Lafayette returned to America in May 1780 and by August was in command of two brigades of light infantry that operated in the Highlands north of New York City. The brigades were commanded by Brigadier Generals Enoch Poor
and Edward Hand
. These units disbanded late that year and provided LaFayette with additional valuable field command experience.
George Washington drew upon that experience in late February of 1781, placing LaFayette in command of three regiments of light infantry from New England and New Jersey. The regiments were commanded by Colonel Joseph Vose of Massachusetts, LTC Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat of France, and LTC Francis Barber (Colonel)
of New Jersey. In all there were about 1,200 light infantry troops. They were sent to Virginia to defend against Benedict Arnold
and to replace Baron von Steuben. Lafayette evaded Cornwallis' attempts to capture him in Richmond
. In June, Cornwallis received orders from London to proceed to the Chesapeake Bay and to oversee construction of a port, in preparation of an attack on Philadelphia. As the British column travelled, Lafayette followed in a bold show of force that encouraged new recruits. In June, Lafayette's men were joined by forces under General (Mad) Anthony Wayne
. Soldiers deserted both leaders; Wayne executed six for desertion. Lafayette offered to release his men from service because of the great danger ahead; all of his men remained.
On 4 July, the British left Williamsburg
and prepared to cross the James River
. Cornwallis sent only an advance guard across the river, with intentions to trap, should Lafayette attack. Lafayette ordered Wayne to strike
on 6 July with roughly 800 soldiers. Wayne found himself vastly outnumbered against the full British force and, instead of retreating, led a bayonet charge. The charge bought time for the Americans, and Lafayette ordered the retreat. The British did not pursue. The result 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
. This maneuver trapped the British when the French fleet arrived. On 14 September 1781, Washington's forces joined Lafayette's, which had succeeded in containing the British until supplies and reinforcements arrived. On 28 September, with the French fleet blockading the British, the combined forces attacked in the Siege of Yorktown. Lafayette's 400 men on the American right took redoubt
9 after Alexander Hamilton's forces had charged redoubt
10, in hand-to-hand combat. After a failed British counter-attack, Cornwallis surrendered on 19 October 1781.
. 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, skipping numerous ranks. Lafayette then helped prepare for a combined French and Spanish expedition against the British West Indies
. The Treaty of Paris
signed between Great Britain and the U.S. on 20 January 1783 made the expedition unnecessary.
In France, Lafayette worked with Thomas Jefferson to establish trade agreements between the United States and France. These negotiations aimed to reduce U.S. debt to France, and included commitments on tobacco and whale oil. He joined the French abolitionist group Society of the Friends of the Blacks
, which advocated the end of the slave trade and equal rights for free blacks. In 1783, in correspondence with Washington, he urged the emancipation of slaves; and to establish them as tenant farmer
s. Although Washington demurred, Lafayette purchased land in the Cayenne
for his plantation La Belle Gabrielle, to "experiment" with education, and emancipation.
In 1784, Lafayette returned to America, and visited all of the states except Georgia. The trip included a visit to Washington's farm at Mount Vernon on 17 August. In Virginia, Lafayette addressed the House of Delegates where he called for "liberty of all mankind" and urged emancipation. Lafayette advocated to the Pennsylvania Legislature for a federal union, and visited the Mohawk Valley
in New York for peace negotiations between the Iroquois, some of whom had met Lafayette in 1778. Lafayette 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 Lafayette and his male heirs "natural born Citizens" of the state, which made him a natural born citizen of the United States
after ratification of the new national Constitution. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia also granted him honorary citizenship.
Upon his return to France, it is said that Lafayette became involved in an affair with the comtesse Aglaé d'Hunolstein, that he broke off on 27 March 1783 by letter, at the insistence of her family. He became briefly linked amorously to Madame de Simiane; however, scholars are divided, whether Adrienne knew of these two extramarital affairs. Enemies of Lafayette made much of the court gossip.
Through the next years, Lafayette was active in the Hôtel de La Fayette in the rue de Bourbon, the headquarters of Americans in Paris, where Benjamin Franklin
, John Jay
and his wife Sarah Livingston, and John Adams
and his wife Abigail
, met every Monday, and dined in company with family and the liberal nobility, such as Clermont-Tonnerre
, and Madame de Staël.
King Louis XVI convoked the Assembly of Notables on 29 December 1786, in response to France's fiscal crisis
. The King appointed Lafayette to the body, in the comte d'Artois' division, which met on 22 February 1787. In an address first read to the assembly, then signed and endorsed by Lafayette, it was argued that proposed lowering unnecessary spending, which included, among other things, purchase of useless estates and gifts to courtiers. He called for a "truly national assembly", which represented the three classes of French society: clergy, nobility, and commons. On 8 August 1788, the King agreed to hold an Estates General the next year. Lafayette was elected to represent the nobility (Second Estate) from Riom
in the Estates General.
The Estates General convened on 5 May 1789; debate began on whether the delegates should vote by head or by Estate. If voting was by Estate then the nobility and clergy would be able to overturn the commons; if by head, then the larger Third Estate could dominate. Before the meeting, he agitated for the voting by head, rather than estate, as a member of the "Committee of Thirty". The issue was not resolved and, on 1 June, the Third Estate asked the others to join them. From 13 to 17 June many of the clergy and some of the nobility did so; on the 17th, the group declared itself the National Assembly
. Three days later the doors to their chambers were locked. This led to the Tennis Court Oath
, where the members swore to not separate until a Constitution was established. Lafayette, along with forty-six others, joined the National Assembly and on 27 June, the rest followed. On 11 July 1789, Lafayette presented a draft of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen". The next day, after the dismissal of Finance Minister Jacques Necker
, Camille Desmoulins
organized an armed mob. The King had the Royal Army under the duc de Broglie
surround Paris. On 13 July, the Assembly elected him their vice-president; the following day the Bastille was stormed
.
On 15 July, Lafayette was acclaimed commander-in-chief of the National Guard of France
, an armed force established to maintain order under the control of the Assembly. Lafayette proposed the name and the symbol of the group: a blue, white and red cockade
. On 5 October 1789, a Parisian crowd, composed mostly of rough women working in the markets selling fish, marched to Versailles
in response to the scarcity of bread. Members of the National Guard followed the march, and when Lafayette said that this march is non-sense, the National Guard's men openly defied his power and according to some sources, they said "We are going with you, or over you", then Lafayette reluctantly led the National Guard army to Versaille. At Versailles, the king accepted the Assembly's votes but refused requests to return to Paris. That evening, Lafayette replaced most of the royal bodyguards with National Guardsmen. At dawn, the crowd broke into the palace. Before it succeeded in entering the queen's bedroom, Marie Antoinette
fled to the king's apartments. Lafayette took the royal family onto the palace balcony and attempted to restore order. The crowd insisted that the king and his family move to Paris where they were installed in the Tuileries Palace
. At the balcony, King Louis simply appeared, and everyone started chanting "Vive le Roi!". Then when Maria Antoinette appeared with her children, she was told to send the children back, afterwards, when she came out alone, people shouted to shoot her, but when she stood her ground facing almost certain death, no one opened fire. After several seconds and the lowering of rifles, people started to chant "Vive la Reine!" ("Long live the Queen", now the crowd is including the Queen)
As leader of the National Guard, Lafayette attempted to maintain order. On 12 May 1790, he instituted, along with Jean Sylvain Bailly (mayor of Paris), a political club called the "Society of 1789" . The club's intention was to provide balance to the influence of the Jacobins
. On 14 July 1790, Lafayette took the civic oath on the Champs de Mars, 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."
He continued to work for order in the coming months. On 20 February 1791, the Day of Daggers
, Lafayette traveled to Vincennes in response to an attempt to liberate a local prison. Meanwhile, armed nobles converged around the Tuileries, afraid the unprotected king would be attacked. Lafayette returned to Paris to disarm the nobles. On 18 April, the National Guard disobeyed Lafayette and stopped the King from leaving for Saint-Cloud over Easter.
, nearly allowed the king to escape from France. As leader of the National Guard, Lafayette had been responsible for the royal family's custody. He was thus blamed by Danton
for the mishap and called a "traitor" to the people by Maximilien Robespierre
. These accusations portrayed Lafayette as a royalist, and damaged his reputation in the eyes of the public. The episode garnered support throughout the country for the Republican movement, and "polarized" the king's supporters.
Through the latter half of 1791, Lafayette's stature continued to decline. On 17 July, the Cordeliers organized an event, at the Champs de Mars, to gather signatures on a petition which called for a referendum on Louis XVI. The assembled crowd, estimated to be up to 10,000, hanged two men believed to be spies after they were found under a platform.
In response, the Assembly asked Bailly, the mayor of Paris, to "halt the disorder"; martial law was declared; and National Guard troops, under Lafayette, marched to the scene. Lafayette, at the head of the column, carried a red flag to signify martial law. The National Guard under Lafayette tried to disperse the crowd without the use of violence. The National Guards' first attempts were successful and the crowd dispersed. However, later that same day it assembled again, in part due to speeches given by Georges Danton
and Camille Desmoulins
. At some point stones were thrown at the troops. Lafayette is thought to have ordered his troops to fire warning shots into the air. When the crowd did not back down, Lafayette ordered his men to fire into the crowd. Senior Officers in the National Guard questioned after the event stated they found it hard to control the actions of the volunteer soldiers. Many injuries were reported though not all were fatal; this is generally thought to have been due to the disorganization and inexpert actions taken by the National Guard in the quelling of the disorder. Exact numbers of deaths are unknown; estimates generally range from a dozen to fifty. Because of these confusions, the sequence of events at the Champ de Mars remains unclear and contested.
In combination with the Flight to Varennes, this event, known as the 'Champs de Mars Massacre' (Fusillade du Champs de Mars), furthered the public's mistrust of Lafayette and Bailly; in the aftermath, Lafayette resigned from the National Guard and Bailly left his post as mayor. In November, Lafayette ran against Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
in the mayoral election to succeed Bailly, but lost by a large margin. Criticism plagued Lafayette's mayoral campaign: his role in the flight to Varennes and in the Champs de Mars massacre were denounced both by politicians on the left and right.
Lafayette returned to his home province of Auvergne
following the loss of the mayoral election. France declared war on Austria
on 20 April 1792, and preparations to invade the Southern Netherlands
(known at that time as the Austrian Netherlands, and in the future as Belgium
), were begun; Lafayette received command of one of the three armies, at Metz
. The war proceeded poorly: Lafayette, along with Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
and Nicolas Luckner
, asked the Assembly to begin peace proceedings, as the generals feared the army would collapse if forced to attack.
In June 1792, Lafayette criticized the growing influence of the radical clubs through a letter to the Assembly from his field post, and ended his letter by calling for radical parties to be "closed down by force". Earlier, in May, he had secretly proposed to a Brussels diplomat that the war be stopped until he achieved peace in Paris, perhaps by force. Lafayette's prior actions, despite the proposal's secrecy, caused suspicions that he planned a coup d'état. Marie-Antoinette advised authorities of Lafayette's plan, since she did not favor the constitution. Lafayette left his command and returned to Paris on 28 June, where he asked the Assembly for the radical parties to be outlawed, the National Guard to defend the monarchy, and for the Constitution to be upheld. His return augmented suspicions that he planned a coup d’état. Again, Lafayette and the Feuillants
proposed to save the constitutional monarchy and royal family by uniting his army with General Luckner's. Marie-Antoinette refused: Lafayette had lost the support of the monarchy and the radical parties of the Revolution.
On 8 August, a vote of impeachment was held against him for abandoning his post, in which more than two thirds voted against. Two days later, a mob attacked the Tuileries and massacred the Swiss Guard. The King and his family sought refuge in the Legislative Assembly who, under armed threat, suspended Louis XVI and convoked the National Convention
. Commissioners dispatched by the Paris Commune arrived at Sedan
, where Lafayette now led the French Northern Army, to inform him of the events and to secure allegiance to the new government. Lafayette refused their offer of an executive role in the new government, and ordered them arrested, as he found them to be "agents of a faction which had unlawfully seized power." New commissioners came to Sedan and informed Lafayette that he had been relieved of his command. On 19 August, the Assembly declared Lafayette a traitor, giving him the almost certain prospect of being guillotined if he fell into the hands of the new, radical authorities in France.
Lafayette had already decided to flee with his similarly endangered staff officers to the Republic of the United Netherlands (Dutch Republic). Lafayette hoped to gather his family in Britain, then retire to the United States, but did not make it. Troops of the counter-revolutionary coalition of Austria and Prussia had been massing in the Southern Netherlands
, to invade France with the intention of restoring the old French monarchy. Flemish Austrian troops under Major General (later Field Marshal) Johann von Moitelle arrested Lafayette's party the evening of 17 August at Rochefort, Belgium
, at that time a village in the officially neutral Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Among those arrested with Lafayette were Jean Baptiste Joseph, chevalier de Laumoy
, Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de la Colombe
, Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth
, Charles César de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
, Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg
, Juste-Charles de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
, Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy
. From 25 August to 3 September 1792, he was held at Nivelles
; then transferred to Luxemburg
where an Austrian-Prussian-French royalist military tribunal
declared him, César de La Tour-Maubourg, Jean Bureaux de Pusy, and Alexandre de Lameth, all previously deputies in the French National Convention
, to be "prisoners of state" for their leading roles in the Revolution. The tribunal sentenced them to an incarceration that was to last until, as was anticipated by coalition rulers, a restored French king could render final judgment on the prisoners for their alleged political crimes. On 12 September 1792, a Prussian military escort received the men from their Austrian guards. The party travelled down the Moselle river
to Coblentz
, then down the Rhine river to the Prussian fortress-city of Wesel
, where the Frenchmen remained in the central citadel from 19 September to 22 December 1792. When victorious French revolutionary troops began to threaten the Rhineland
, King Frederick William II of Prussia
transferred the prisoners east to the citadel at Magdeburg
, where they remained an entire year, from 4 January 1793 to 4 January 1794.
When Frederick William decided that he could gain very little by continuing to battle the astonishingly effective revolutionary forces of the young Republic of France, and that there were much easier pickings for his army in the Kingdom of Poland, he stopped armed hostilities with the Republic and turned the state prisoners back over to his erstwhile coalition partner, the Habsburg
Austrian monarch Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
. Prussian escorts assembled Lafayette, Latour-Maubourg, and Bureaux de Pusy at Nysa
(Neisse) in Silesia
, near the northern border of the emperor's territories of the Czech lands
(today's Czech Republic
). On 17 May 1794, a further escort drove them by carriage to the border, where an Austrian military unit was waiting to receive them. The next day, around midnight, the Austrians delivered their captives into a barracks-prison, formerly a college of the Jesuits, in the fortress-city of Olomouc
(Olmütz), Moravia
. Lafayette occupied two rooms with thick walls and large windows covered by two sets of grills, overlooking the city's southern fortifications.
An international network of supporters centered in Philadelphia, London, Hamburg-Altona, and Paris lobbied for Lafayette's release and the amelioration of his prison conditions. It also established communications with him and helped him plot break-outs. The most spectacular escape attempt was sponsored by Alexander Hamilton
's sister-in-law Angelica Schuyler Church
and her husband John Barker Church
, a British Member of Parliament
who had once served as commissary general of the American Continental Army. They hired as agent a multilingual young physician from the British Electorate of Hanover
, Justus Erich Bollmann, who established contact with Lafayette in prison and acquired an assistant, a South Carolinian medical student named Francis Kinloch Huger. Remarkably, Lafayette had stayed his first night in America, in 1777, at the home of Huger's father Major Benjamin Huger
. With the help of Bollmann and Francis Huger, Lafayette managed to escape an escorted carriage drive in the countryside outside Olomouc, a drive granted by the emperor for health purposes. While the rescuers were subduing an unexpectedly ferocious Austrian sergeant, they shouted for Lafayette to ride off north toward the border, on the mount they had provided. However, Lafayette soon disappeared from his rescuers' sight and lost his way in the countryside. That evening, 8 November 1794, a tanner suspicious of Lafayette's ungrammatical, French-accented German, reported him to the mayor of village Rýžoviště (Braunseifen) near Šternberk, who laid an ambush, took Lafayette into custody, and returned him to Olomouc.
Lafayette's wife, Adrienne, had also been enduring a long captivity. It began on 17 September 1792, when she was placed under house arrest. Adrienne appealed to the Americans for assistance. For political reasons, the young nation could not officially assist the family, although they retroactively paid Lafayette $24,424 for his military service, and Washington personally sent money. In May 1794, during the Reign of Terror
, she was transferred to the La Force Prison
in Paris; she went from prison to prison, and, but for American diplomatic efforts on her behalf, would have shared the death of her sister, mother, grandmother, and other relatives at the guillotine
. Finally, after the fall of Robespierre and his radical Jacobin
party, she gained her release on 22 January 1795.
Adrienne organized the family's finances and appealed to the U.S. for American passports. James Monroe
secured passports for Adrienne from Connecticut, which had granted the entire Lafayette family citizenship. Their son Georges, who was hiding to avoid execution, was sent to the U.S. She, however, travelled with her two teenage daughters Anastasie and Virginie to Dunkirk and embarked for the Danish port of Altona (later Altona, Hamburg
) and the adjacent free imperial city
of Hamburg
. There she hired a bilingual servant, bought a carriage, and travelled southeast through the German states to Vienna
for an audience with Francis II
. Taken by surprise, Francis granted permission for her and the daughters to live with Lafayette in captivity. Lafayette, who had endured harsh solitary confinement since his escape attempt a year previously, was flabbergasted when soldiers opened his prison door to usher in his wife and daughters on 15 October 1795. For the next two years, the family spent the days confined together in Lafayette's original two rooms, while the daughters spent the nights in a third, adjacent room.
Through the press, diplomacy, and personal appeals, Lafayette's sympathizers on both sides of the Atlantic made their influence felt, most importantly on the French legislative chambers, Directory, foreign ministry, and army. A young, victorious general, Napoleon Bonaparte negotiated the release of the state prisoners at Olomouc, as a prelude to the Treaty of Campo Formio
. Thus Lafayette's captivity of over five years had come to an end. The Lafayette family and their comrades in captivity left Olomouc under Austrian escort early on the morning of 19 September 1797, crossed the Bohemian-Saxonian
border north of Prague
, and were officially turned over to the American consul
in Hamburg
on 4 October.
The French Directors and Napoleon Bonaparte saw Lafayette as a political rival, however, and did not want him to return to France. He remained in exile in the Danish province of Holstein
and the Batavian Republic
for two more years, until Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état of 18 Brumaire
, 9 November 1799. Lafayette used the change of regime to slip into France with a passport in the name of "Motier". He managed to convince an angry Napoleon that he planned to live in rural obscurity. Not wanting to serve in Napoleon's army, Lafayette resigned his commission. The Lafayettes retired to La Grange
, which Adrienne had inherited from her mother. Admirers soon came to La Grange, including Charles James Fox
.
, Jefferson asked if he would be interested in the governorship. Lafayette declined, citing personal problems and the desire to work for liberty in France. During a trip to Auvergne, Adrienne became ill, largely due to her time in prison. In 1807, 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.
under the Charter of 1815
, during the Hundred Days
, which called for Napoleon to abdicate after Waterloo. Lucien Bonaparte
came before the assembly to denounce abdication. Lafayette replied:
s became increasingly repressive.
In 1823, Lafayette was involved in the Saint-Amand Bazard conspiracy, in the premature Charbonnerie
insurrection at Belfort
. France intervened against the liberal government in Spain
, increasing patriotism, and discrediting dissent. In 1825 Charles X was crowned, and the ultra-loyalists consolidated power.
President James Monroe invited Lafayette to visit the United States from August 1824 to September 1825, in part to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary. During his trip, he visited all 24 American states, traveling more than 6000 miles (9,656 km). Lafayette arrived from France at Staten Island
in New York
, on 15 August 1824, to an artillery salute. The towns and cities he visited, including Fayetteville, North Carolina
, the first city named in his honour, gave him enthusiastic welcomes. During this tour he recognized and embraced James Armistead Lafayette, a free negro
who took his last name to honor him, while in Yorktown, the story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer. On 17 October 1824, Lafayette visited Mount Vernon and George Washington's tomb. On 4 November 1824, he visited Jefferson at Monticello
, and on the 8th he attended a public banquet at the University of Virginia
. Subsequently, he accepted an invitation for honorary membership to the University's Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
. In late August 1825, he returned to Mount Vernon. A military unit decided to adopt the title National Guard, in honour of Lafayette's celebrated Garde Nationale de Paris. This battalion, later the 7th Regiment
, was prominent in the line of march when Lafayette passed through New York before returning to France on the frigate USS Brandywine
. Late in the trip, he again received honorary citizenship of Maryland. Lafayette was feted at the first commencement ceremony of George Washington University in 1824. He was voted, by the U.S. Congress
, the sum of $200,000 and a township
of land located in Tallahassee, Florida
to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant
.
became more conservative, Lafayette re-emerged as a prominent public figure. He had been a member of the Chamber of Deputies
from Seine-et-Marne
since 1815 and had pursued the abdication of Napoleon. Throughout his legislative career, he continued to endorse causes such as freedom of the press, suffrage for all taxpayers, and the worldwide abolition of slavery. He was not as directly visible in public affairs as in previous years; however, he became more vocal in the events leading up to the July Revolution
of 1830.
When the monarch proposed that theft from churches be made a capital crime, agitation against the Crown increased. On 27 July 1830, Parisians began erecting barricades throughout the city, and riots erupted. Lafayette established a committee as interim government. On 29 July 1830, the commission asked Lafayette to become dictator, but he demurred to offer the crown to Louis-Philippe. Lafayette was reinstated as commander of the National Guard by the new monarch, who revoked the post after Lafayette's inconsistent command during the trial of D'Artois's ministers and to marginalize the Republican opposition which Lafayette led de facto.
Lafayette spoke for the last time in the Chamber of Deputies on 3 January 1834. The winter was wet and cold, and the next month he collapsed at a funeral from pneumonia
. Although he recovered, the following May was wet and, after a thunderstorm, he became sick and bedridden. On 20 May 1834, Lafayette died. He was buried next to his wife at the Picpus Cemetery
under soil from Bunker Hill
, which his son Georges sprinkled upon him. King Louis-Philippe ordered a military funeral in order to keep the public from attending. Crowds formed to protest their exclusion from Lafayette's funeral.
François-René de Chateaubriand
reported on Lafayette's death, and expressed regret for participation in the early mistreatment of his reputation in France:
Lafayette was widely commemorated in the U.S. In 1824, the U.S. government named Lafayette Park in his honor; it lies immediately north of the White House in Washington, D.C. In 1826, Lafayette College
was chartered in Easton, Pennsylvania
. Lafayette was honored with a monument in New York City in 1917. Portraits display Washington and Lafayette in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. Numerous towns, cities, and counties across the United States were named in his honor.
On 4 July 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I, Colonel Charles E. Stanton
visited the grave of Lafayette and uttered the famous phrase "Lafayette, we are here." After the war, a U.S. flag was permanently placed at the grave site. Every year, on Independence Day
, the flag is replaced in a joint French-American ceremony. The flag remained even during the German
occupation of Paris during World War II.
On visiting Corsica
in 1943, General George S. Patton
commented on how the Free French forces had liberated the birthplace of Napoleon, and promised that the Americans would liberate the birthplace of Lafayette.
Already an American citizen, Lafayette was granted honorary United States citizenship
by Congress in 2002. The honor was also extended to all his descendants. The Order of Lafayette
was established in 1958 by U.S. Representative Hamilton Fish III
, a World War I veteran, to promote Franco-American friendship and to honor Americans who fought in France. The frigate Hermione, in which Lafayette returned to America, has been reconstructed in the port of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
, France.
Several warships were named after Lafayette. The French Navy
acquired USS Langley
in 1951 and renamed it La Fayette
. A modern stealth frigate is also named after Lafayette, and is also the name of a ship class, La Fayette
.
The French ocean liner SS Normandie
was to be the troopship
USS Lafayette
after being acquired by the US Government, but was destroyed by a fire before conversion to the new role was completed. The name was later given to a ballistic missile submarine
.
The city of Fayetteville, North Carolina
, is named after General Lafayette. While many cities are named after Lafayette, Fayetteville was the first and holds the distinction of being the only one he actually visited. He arrived in Fayetteville by horse-drawn carriage in 1825.
James McHenry
, whom Lafayette considered a good friend, built a country seat on 95 acres and named it Fayetteville in his honor. He purchased it in 1792 from a tract called Ridgely's Delight about a mile west of Baltimore.
Lafayette
, the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana
, was named after him.
Lafayette Park
, one of the first public parks created in 1833 by the City of Saint Louis
, Missouri
, was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1854.
Many streets around the United States are named for Lafayette, such as Lafayette Street in New Haven, Connecticut
, Lafayette Street in Williston Park and Lafayette Street (Manhattan)
. New York City actually has five Lafayette Streets, one in each borough
, as well as a Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn. US 1 in New Hampshire
, from the Massachusetts
border in Seabrook to Portsmouth, is named Lafayette Road.
Chavaniac-Lafayette
Chavaniac-Lafayette is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.The Château de Chavaniac, located in the commune, was the birth place of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette in 1757.-See also:...
, in the province of Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
in south central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and a leader of the Garde nationale
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
In the American Revolution, Lafayette served as a major-general in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
under George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...
, he still managed to organize a successful retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island
Battle of Rhode Island
The Battle of Rhode Island, also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Siege of Newport, took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of...
. In the middle of the war he returned to France to negotiate an increase in French support
France in the American Revolutionary War
France entered the American Revolutionary War in 1778, and assisted in the victory of the Americans seeking independence from Britain ....
. On his return, he blocked troops led by Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
at Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
while the armies of Washington and those sent by King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
under the command of General de Rochambeau
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and general who participated in the American Revolutionary War as the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force which came to help the American Continental Army...
, Adniralde Grasse
François Joseph Paul de Grasse
Lieutenant Général des Armées Navales François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse was a French admiral. He is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, which led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown...
, and Admiral de Latouche Tréville
Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville
Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville was a French admiral and a hero of the American Revolutionary War and of the Napoleonic wars.-Early life:...
prepared for battle against the British.
Back in France in 1788, Lafayette was called to the Assembly of Notables
Assembly of Notables
The Assembly of Notables was a group of notables invited by the King of France to consult on matters of state.-History:Assemblies of Notables had met in 1583, 1596–97, 1617, 1626, 1787, and 1788. Like the Estates General, they served a consultative purpose only...
to respond to the fiscal crisis. Lafayette proposed a meeting of the French Estates-General, where representatives from the three traditional orders of French society—the clergy, the nobility and the commoners—met. He served as vice president of the resulting body and presented a draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
. Lafayette was appointed commander-in-chief of the Garde nationale in response to violence. During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, Lafayette attempted to maintain order—to the point of ordering the Garde nationale to fire on demonstrators at the Champ de Mars
Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war...
in July 1791—for which he ultimately was persecuted by the Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
s. In August 1792, as the radical factions in the Revolution grew in power, Lafayette tried to flee to the United States through the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. He was captured by Austrians and spent more than five years in prison.
Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
secured his release from prison in 1797. He refused to participate in Napoleon's government, but was elected to the Chamber of Deputies under the Charter of 1815
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...
, during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
. With the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
, Lafayette became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
in 1815, a position he held until his death. In 1824, President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
invited Lafayette to the United States as the "nation's guest"; during the trip, he visited all twenty-four states. For his contributions to the American Revolution, many cities and monuments throughout the United States bear his name. During France's July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
of 1830, Lafayette declined an offer to become the French dictator; instead he supported Louis-Philippe's bid as a constitutional monarch. Lafayette died on 20 May 1834, and is buried in Picpus Cemetery
Picpus Cemetery
The Picpus Cemetery is the largest private cemetery in the city of Paris, France. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during the Revolution. It contains the remains of French aristocrats who had been guillotined during the French Revolution...
in Paris, under soil from Washington's grave at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
. He became a United States citizen during his lifetime, and received honorary United States citizenship
Honorary Citizen of the United States
A person of exceptional merit, generally a non-United States citizen, may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress, or by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Congress.Seven people have been so honored,...
in 2002.
Ancestry
Château de Chavaniac
The Château de Chavaniac is a fortified manor house of eighteen rooms furnished in the Louis XIII style located in Chavaniac-Lafayette, Haute-Loire, in Auvergne, France....
, in Chavaniac
Chavaniac-Lafayette
Chavaniac-Lafayette is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.The Château de Chavaniac, located in the commune, was the birth place of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette in 1757.-See also:...
, near Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.Its inhabitants are called Ponots.-History:Le Puy-en-Velay was a major bishopric in medieval France, founded early, though its early history is legendary...
, in the modern department of Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River.-History:Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
. His full name is rarely used; instead he is often referred to as the marquis de La Fayette or Lafayette. Biographer Louis R. Gottschalk
Louis R. Gottschalk
Louis Reichenthal Gottschalk was an American historian, an expert on Lafayette and the French Revolution. He taught for many years at the University of Chicago, where he was the Gustavus F. and Ann M...
says that Lafayette spelled his name both Lafayette and LaFayette.
Lafayette's lineage appears to be one of the oldest in Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
. Members of the family were noted for their contempt for danger. Lafayette's ancestor, Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Gilbert de La Fayette III, was a companion-at-arms who led Joan of Arc's
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
army in Orléans
Siege of Orléans
The Siege of Orléans marked a turning point in the Hundred Years' War between France and England. This was Joan of Arc's first major military victory and the first major French success to follow the crushing defeat at Agincourt in 1415. The outset of this siege marked the pinnacle of English power...
. His great-grandfather was the Comte de La Rivière, a former lieutenant general in the Royal Armées. According to legend, another ancestor acquired the Crown of Thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
during the 6th Crusade. Lafayette's uncle Jacques-Roch died fighting the Austrians and left the marquis title to Lafayette's father.
Lafayette's father, struck by a cannonball at the Battle of Minden
Battle of Minden
The Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...
in Westphalia, died on 1 August 1759. Lafayette became Lord of Chavaniac, but the estate went to his mother. Lafayette's mother and his maternal grandfather, Marquis de La Rivière, died, on 3 April and 24 April 1770 respectively, leaving Lafayette an income of 25,000 livres
French livre
The livre was the currency of France until 1795. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of both units of account and coins.-Etymology:...
. Upon the death of an uncle, the 12-year-old Lafayette inherited a handsome yearly income of 120,000 livres. Lafayette was raised by his paternal grandmother, Mme de Chavaniac, who had brought the château into the family with her dowry. Also in the household were Mme de Chavaniac's daughters Madeleine du Motier, and Charlotte de Guérin, the Baronne de Chavaniac.
Joining the American War
In 1775, Lafayette took part in his unit's annual training in MetzMetz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, where he met Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec
Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec
Charles François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec , second son of François-Marie de Broglie, 1st duc de Broglie, was a French soldier and diplomat from a distinguished French military family....
, the Army of the East's commander. When he first learned of that quarrel, he wrote, "My heart was enlisted and I thought only of joining the colors."
Lafayette returned to Paris in the fall and participated in sociétés de pensée (thinking groups) that discussed French involvement in the American Revolution. At these meetings, a frequent speaker, Abbé Guillaume Raynal
Guillaume Thomas François Raynal
Guillaume Thomas Raynal was a French writer and man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment.He was born at Lapanouse in Rouergue...
emphasised the "rights of man". He criticised the nobility, the clergy and the practice of slavery. The monarchy banned Raynal from speaking, and he expressed his views secretly in the Masonic Lodges of which Lafayette was a member.
On 7 December 1776, Lafayette arranged through Silas Deane
Silas Deane
Silas Deane was an American merchant, politician and diplomat. Originally a supporter of American independence Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and then as the United States' first foreign diplomat when he travelled to France to lobby the French government for aid...
, an American agent in Paris, to enter the American service as a major general. Lafayette visited his uncle Marquis de Noailles
Emmanuel-Marie-Louis, marquis de Noailles
Emmanuel Marie Louis de Noailles, marquis de Noailles was ambassador at Amsterdam from 1770 to 1776, at London 1776–1783, and at Vienna 1783–1792. He was the second son of Louis, 4th duc de Noailles. Lafayette visited him, in 1776, before embarking for America, as he promised.-See also:*...
, the Ambassador to Britain. During a ball at Lord George Germain's, he met Lord Rawdon
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings KG PC , styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783 and known as The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Irish-British politician and military officer who served as...
, met Sir Henry Clinton at the Opera, and met Lord Shelburne
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
at breakfast. Lafayette refused to toast King George, and left after three weeks. In 1777, the French government granted the American military one million livres in supplies after Minister Charles Gravier pressed for French involvement. De Broglie intrigued with his old subordinate, German Johann de Kalb
Johann de Kalb
Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb , born Johann Kalb, was a German soldier who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.-Early life:...
, (who had previously done a reconnaissance of America), to send French officers to fight alongside the Americans, (and perhaps set up a French generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
). De Broglie approached Gravier, suggesting assistance to the American revolutionaries. De Broglie then presented Lafayette, who had been placed on the reserve list, to de Kalb.
Departure for America
Returning to Paris, Lafayette found that the Continental CongressContinental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
did not have the money for his voyage; hence he acquired the sailing ship La Victoire himself. The king officially forbade him to leave after British spies discovered his plan, and issued an order for Lafayette to join his father-in-law's regiment in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, disobedience of which would be punishable by imprisonment. The British ambassador ordered the seizure of the ship Lafayette was fitting out at Bordeaux, and Lafayette was threatened with arrest. He travelled to Spain for support in the American cause. On 20 April 1777, he sailed for America, disguised as a woman, leaving his pregnant wife in France. The ship's captain intended to stop in the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to sell cargo; however Lafayette, fearful of arrest, bought the cargo to avoid docking at the islands. He landed on North Island near Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Low Country. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina,...
, on 13 June 1777.
American Revolution
Benjamin Huger (American Revolution)
Benjamin Huger was one of five Huger brothers from South Carolina who served in the American Revolutionary War. Huger became a close friend of Lafayette, having met him upon his arrival near Georgetown in 1777, and his son Francis Kinloch Huger had a role in getting Lafayette temporarily released...
, with whom he stayed two weeks before going to Philadelphia. The Continental Congress delayed Lafayette's commission, as they had tired of "French glory seekers". After Lafayette offered to serve without pay, however, Congress commissioned him a major-general on 31 July 1777. Since he was not assigned a unit, he nearly returned home.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
wrote to George Washington recommending acceptance of Lafayette as his aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
, hoping it would influence France to commit more aid. Washington accepted, and Lafayette met him at Moland House
Moland House
Moland House is an old stone farmhouse built around 1750, by John Moland , a prominent Philadelphia and Bucks County lawyer. Although physically located in Hartsville, Warwick Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, its mailing address is in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania...
in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
on 10 August 1777. When Washington expressed embarrassment at the state of the camp and 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. To address this, Washington told Lafayette that a division would not be possible as he was of foreign birth; however, Washington said that he would be happy to hold him in confidence as "friend and father".
Brandywine, Albany, and the Conway Cabal
John Sullivan
John Sullivan was the third son of Irish immigrants, a United States general in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress and a United States federal judge....
. Upon his arrival, Lafayette went with the Third Pennsylvania Brigade, under Brigadier Thomas Conway
Thomas Conway
Thomas Conway was a French soldier from Ireland who served as a major general in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became involved with the alleged Conway Cabal. He later served with Émigré forces during the French Revolutionary War.-Early life:Conway was born...
, and attempted to rally the unit to face the attack. In face of the British and Hessian superiority, Lafayette was shot in the leg. During the American retreat, Lafayette rallied the troops, allowing a more orderly retreat 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.
Lafayette returned to the field in November after two months of recuperation in the Moravian settlement at Bethlehem, PA, and received command of Major General Adam Stephen
Adam Stephen
Adam Stephen was a Scottish-born doctor and military officer. He came to North America, where he served in the Virginia colonial militia under George Washington during the French and Indian War. He served under Washington again in the American Revolutionary War, rising to lead a division of the...
's division. He assisted General Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
in reconnaissance of British positions in New Jersey; with 300 soldiers, he defeated a numerically superior Hessian force in Gloucester
Gloucester County, New Jersey
Gloucester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 288,288. Its county seat is Woodbury....
on 24 November 1777.
He returned to Valley Forge
Valley Forge
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...
for the winter, where the Horatio Gates
Horatio Gates
Horatio Lloyd Gates was a retired British soldier who served as an American general during the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga – Benedict Arnold, who led the attack, was finally forced from the field when he was shot in the leg – and...
led War Board asked him to prepare an invasion of Canada from Albany, New York. Thomas Conway
Thomas Conway
Thomas Conway was a French soldier from Ireland who served as a major general in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became involved with the alleged Conway Cabal. He later served with Émigré forces during the French Revolutionary War.-Early life:Conway was born...
hoped to replace Washington with Gates, who had been successful in the Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
. He concocted a plot known as the Conway Cabal
Conway Cabal
The Conway Cabal refers to a series of events in late 1777 and early 1778 suggesting that George Washington be replaced as commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was named after Brigadier General Thomas Conway, whose letters criticizing Washington were forwarded...
which separated Washington from Lafayette, one of Washington's firmest supporters. Lafayette alerted Washington of his suspicions about the plot before leaving. When Lafayette arrived in Albany, he found too few men to mount a Canadian invasion. He wrote to Washington of the situation, and made plans to return to Valley Forge. Before departing, he recruited the Oneida tribe
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
, who referred to Lafayette as Kayewla (fearsome horseman), to the American side. In Valley Forge, he criticized the War Board's decision to attempt an invasion of Canada in winter. The Continental Congress agreed, and Gates was removed from the Board. Meanwhile, treaties signed by America and France were made public in March 1778, and France formally recognised American independence.
Barren Hill, Monmouth and Rhode Island
Battle of Barren Hill
The Battle of Barren Hill was a minor engagement during the American Revolution. On May 20, 1778, a British force attempted to encircle a smaller Continental force under the Marquis de Lafayette...
, Pennsylvania. The next day, the British heard that Lafayette had made camp nearby and sent 5,000 men to capture him. On 20 May, General Howe led a further 6,000 soldiers and ordered an attack on Lafayette's left flank. The flank scattered, and Lafayette organized a retreat while the British remained indecisive. To feign numerical superiority, he ordered men to appear from the woods on an outcropping known as Barren Hill (now Lafayette Hill
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
Lafayette Hill is a small unincorporated community in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.Lafayette Hill is located just west of Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill neighborhood, and south of Plymouth Meeting...
) and to fire upon the British periodically. Lafayette's troops simultaneously escaped via a sunken road. Lafayette was then able to cross Matson's Ford with the remainder of his force.
Unable to trap Lafayette, the British resumed their march north from Philadelphia to New York; the Continental Army, including Lafayette, followed and finally attacked at the Monmouth Courthouse
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28, 1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court...
in New Jersey. At Monmouth, Washington appointed General Charles Lee
Charles Lee (general)
Charles Lee was a British soldier who later served as a General of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. Lee served in the British army during the Seven Years War. After the war he sold his commission and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II...
to lead the attacking force. On the 28th of June, Lee moved against the British flank; however, soon after fighting began, he began acting strangely. Lafayette sent a message to Washington to urge him to the front; upon his arrival he found Lee's men in retreat. Washington rallied the American force and repelled two British attacks. Due to the day's heat, fighting ended early and the British withdrew in the night.
The French fleet arrived in America on 8 July 1778 under Admiral d'Estaing
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing was a French general, and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the British during the Seven Years' War...
, with whom General Washington planned to attack Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. 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 in the attack but was rebuffed. On 9 August, the American force attacked the British without consulting d'Estaing. When the Americans asked the admiral to leave his fleet in Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
, d'Estaing refused and attacked the British under Lord Howe. The attack dispersed the British fleet, but a storm damaged the French ships.
D'Estaing moved his ships north to Boston for repairs. When the fleet arrived, Bostonians rioted because they considered the French departure from Newport a desertion. John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a 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 Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
and Lafayette were dispatched to calm the situation, and then Lafayette returned to Newport to prepare for the retreat made necessary by d'Estaing's departure. For these actions, Lafayette was cited by the Continental Congress for "gallantry, skill and prudence". However he realized that the Boston riot might undermine the Franco-American alliance in France, so he requested and was given permission to return to France.
Return to France
In February 1779, Lafayette returned to Paris. For disobeying the king by going to America, he was placed under house arrest for two weeks. Nevertheless, his return was triumphant. Benjamin Franklin's grandson presented him with a 4,800 livre gold-encrusted sword commissioned by the Continental Congress, and the king asked to see him. Louis XVI, pleased with the soldier after Lafayette proposed schemes for attacking the British, restored his position in the dragoonDragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s. Lafayette used his position to lobby for more French aid to America. Working with Franklin, Lafayette secured another 6,000 soldiers to be commanded by General Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau.
Lafayette received news that Adrienne had borne him a son, Georges Washington Lafayette. After his son's birth, he pushed for additional commitments of support from France for the American Revolutionary War. He ordered new uniforms and arranged for the fleet's departure. Before returning to America, Lafayette and the French force learned that they would be operating under American command, with Washington in control of military operations. In March 1780, Lafayette gave power of attorney
Power of attorney
A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
to business manager Jacques-Philippe Grattepain-Morizot and Adrienne, and left France, departing for America aboard the Hermione, from Rochefort. He arrived in Boston on 28 April carrying the then secret news that he had secured French reinforcements (5,500 men and 5 frigates) for George Washington.
Virginia and Yorktown
Enoch Poor
Enoch Poor was a brigadier general in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He was a ship builder and merchant from Exeter, New Hampshire.-Biography:...
and Edward Hand
Edward Hand
-Early life and career:Hand was born in Clyduff, King's County, Ireland January 10, 1742, and was baptised in Shinrone. His father was John Hand. Among his immediate neighbours were the Kearney family, ancestors of U.S. President Barack Obamba [1]...
. These units disbanded late that year and provided LaFayette with additional valuable field command experience.
George Washington drew upon that experience in late February of 1781, placing LaFayette in command of three regiments of light infantry from New England and New Jersey. The regiments were commanded by Colonel Joseph Vose of Massachusetts, LTC Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat of France, and LTC Francis Barber (Colonel)
Francis Barber
Francis Barber was the Jamaican manservant of Samuel Johnson in London from 1752 until Johnson's death in 1784. Johnson made him his residual heir, with £70 a year to be given him by Trustees, expressing the wish that he move from London to Lichfield in Staffordshire, Johnson's native city...
of New Jersey. In all there were about 1,200 light infantry troops. They were sent to Virginia to defend against Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
and to replace Baron von Steuben. Lafayette evaded Cornwallis' attempts to capture him in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. In June, Cornwallis received orders from London to proceed to the Chesapeake Bay and to oversee construction of a port, in preparation of an attack on Philadelphia. As the British column travelled, Lafayette followed in a bold show of force that encouraged new recruits. In June, Lafayette's men were joined by forces under General (Mad) Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
. Soldiers deserted both leaders; Wayne executed six for desertion. Lafayette offered to release his men from service because of the great danger ahead; all of his men remained.
On 4 July, the British left Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
and prepared to cross the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
. Cornwallis sent only an advance guard across the river, with intentions to trap, should Lafayette attack. Lafayette ordered Wayne to strike
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 Marquis de Lafayette, was ambushed near the plantation by...
on 6 July with roughly 800 soldiers. Wayne found himself vastly outnumbered against the full British force and, instead of retreating, led a bayonet charge. The charge bought time for the Americans, and Lafayette ordered the retreat. The British did not pursue. The result 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
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, and Lafayette took up position on Malvern Hill
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 Civil War....
. This maneuver trapped the British when the French fleet arrived. On 14 September 1781, Washington's forces joined Lafayette's, which had succeeded in containing the British until supplies and reinforcements arrived. On 28 September, with the French fleet blockading the British, the combined forces attacked in the Siege of Yorktown. Lafayette's 400 men on the American right took redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
9 after Alexander Hamilton's forces had charged redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
10, in hand-to-hand combat. After a failed British counter-attack, Cornwallis surrendered on 19 October 1781.
Return to France and visit to America
Lafayette returned to France on 18 December 1781. He was welcomed as a hero, and on 22 January 1782, was received at VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. He witnessed the birth of his daughter, whom he named Marie-Antoinette Virginie upon Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
's recommendation. He was promoted to maréchal de camp, skipping numerous ranks. Lafayette then helped prepare for a combined French and Spanish expedition against the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
. The Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
signed between Great Britain and the U.S. on 20 January 1783 made the expedition unnecessary.
In France, Lafayette worked with Thomas Jefferson to establish trade agreements between the United States and France. These negotiations aimed to reduce U.S. debt to France, and included commitments on tobacco and whale oil. He joined the French abolitionist group Society of the Friends of the Blacks
Society of the Friends of the Blacks
The Society of the Friends of the Blacks was a group of French men and women, mostly white, who were abolitionists . The Society was created in Paris in 1788, and remained in existence until 1793...
, which advocated the end of the slave trade and equal rights for free blacks. In 1783, in correspondence with Washington, he urged the emancipation of slaves; and to establish them as tenant farmer
Tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
s. Although Washington demurred, Lafayette purchased land in the Cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
for his plantation La Belle Gabrielle, to "experiment" with education, and emancipation.
In 1784, Lafayette returned to America, and visited all of the states except Georgia. The trip included a visit to Washington's farm at Mount Vernon on 17 August. In Virginia, Lafayette addressed the House of Delegates where he called for "liberty of all mankind" and urged emancipation. Lafayette advocated to the Pennsylvania Legislature for a federal union, and visited the Mohawk Valley
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....
in New York for peace negotiations between the Iroquois, some of whom had met Lafayette in 1778. Lafayette 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 Lafayette and his male heirs "natural born Citizens" of the state, which made him a natural born citizen of the United States
Natural born citizen of the United States
Status as a natural-born citizen of the United States is one of the eligibility requirements established in the United States Constitution for election to the office of President or Vice President...
after ratification of the new national Constitution. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia also granted him honorary citizenship.
Upon his return to France, it is said that Lafayette became involved in an affair with the comtesse Aglaé d'Hunolstein, that he broke off on 27 March 1783 by letter, at the insistence of her family. He became briefly linked amorously to Madame de Simiane; however, scholars are divided, whether Adrienne knew of these two extramarital affairs. Enemies of Lafayette made much of the court gossip.
Through the next years, Lafayette was active in the Hôtel de La Fayette in the rue de Bourbon, the headquarters of Americans in Paris, where Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
and his wife Sarah Livingston, and John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
and his wife Abigail
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
, met every Monday, and dined in company with family and the liberal nobility, such as Clermont-Tonnerre
Stanislas Marie Adelaide, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre
Stanislas Marie Adélaïde, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre was a French politician.-Early life and career:Born in Pont-a-Mousson, in what is today the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France...
, and Madame de Staël.
Assembly of Notables and Estates-General
Causes of the French Revolution
The Causes of the French Revolution were the significant historical factors that led to the revolution of 1789 in France.Although France in 1785 faced economic difficulties, mostly concerning the equitability of taxation, it was one of the richest and most powerful nations of Europe...
. The King appointed Lafayette to the body, in the comte d'Artois' division, which met on 22 February 1787. In an address first read to the assembly, then signed and endorsed by Lafayette, it was argued that proposed lowering unnecessary spending, which included, among other things, purchase of useless estates and gifts to courtiers. He called for a "truly national assembly", which represented the three classes of French society: clergy, nobility, and commons. On 8 August 1788, the King agreed to hold an Estates General the next year. Lafayette was elected to represent the nobility (Second Estate) from Riom
Riom
Riom 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 seat of the dukes of Auvergne. The city was of Gaulish origin, the Roman Ricomagus...
in the Estates General.
The Estates General convened on 5 May 1789; debate began on whether the delegates should vote by head or by Estate. If voting was by Estate then the nobility and clergy would be able to overturn the commons; if by head, then the larger Third Estate could dominate. Before the meeting, he agitated for the voting by head, rather than estate, as a member of the "Committee of Thirty". The issue was not resolved and, on 1 June, the Third Estate asked the others to join them. From 13 to 17 June many of the clergy and some of the nobility did so; on the 17th, the group declared itself the National Assembly
National Assembly (French Revolution)
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
. Three days later the doors to their chambers were locked. This led to the Tennis Court Oath
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789...
, where the members swore to not separate until a Constitution was established. Lafayette, along with forty-six others, joined the National Assembly and on 27 June, the rest followed. On 11 July 1789, Lafayette presented a draft of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen". The next day, after the dismissal of Finance Minister Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker was a French statesman of Swiss birth and finance minister of Louis XVI, a post he held in the lead-up to the French Revolution in 1789.-Early life:...
, Camille Desmoulins
Camille Desmoulins
Lucie Simplice Camille Benoît Desmoulins was a journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. He was a childhood friend of Maximilien Robespierre and a close friend and political ally of Georges Danton, who were influential figures in the French Revolution.-Early...
organized an armed mob. The King had the Royal Army under the duc de Broglie
Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie
Victor François de Broglie, 2nd duc de Broglie was a French aristocrat and soldier and a marshal of France...
surround Paris. On 13 July, the Assembly elected him their vice-president; the following day the Bastille was stormed
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
.
National Guard, Versailles, and Day of Daggers
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
, an armed force established to maintain order under the control of the Assembly. Lafayette proposed the name and the symbol of the group: a blue, white and red cockade
Cockade
A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colors which is usually worn on a hat.-Eighteenth century:...
. On 5 October 1789, a Parisian crowd, composed mostly of rough women working in the markets selling fish, marched to Versailles
The March on Versailles
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 of Paris who, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were...
in response to the scarcity of bread. Members of the National Guard followed the march, and when Lafayette said that this march is non-sense, the National Guard's men openly defied his power and according to some sources, they said "We are going with you, or over you", then Lafayette reluctantly led the National Guard army to Versaille. At Versailles, the king accepted the Assembly's votes but refused requests to return to Paris. That evening, Lafayette replaced most of the royal bodyguards with National Guardsmen. At dawn, the crowd broke into the palace. Before it succeeded in entering the queen's bedroom, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
fled to the king's apartments. Lafayette took the royal family onto the palace balcony and attempted to restore order. The crowd insisted that the king and his family move to Paris where they were installed in the Tuileries Palace
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
. At the balcony, King Louis simply appeared, and everyone started chanting "Vive le Roi!". Then when Maria Antoinette appeared with her children, she was told to send the children back, afterwards, when she came out alone, people shouted to shoot her, but when she stood her ground facing almost certain death, no one opened fire. After several seconds and the lowering of rifles, people started to chant "Vive la Reine!" ("Long live the Queen", now the crowd is including the Queen)
As leader of the National Guard, Lafayette attempted to maintain order. On 12 May 1790, he instituted, along with Jean Sylvain Bailly (mayor of Paris), a political club called the "Society of 1789" . The club's intention was to provide balance to the influence of the Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
. On 14 July 1790, Lafayette took the civic oath on the Champs de Mars, 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."
He continued to work for order in the coming months. On 20 February 1791, the Day of Daggers
Day of Daggers
The Day of Daggers or 'Day of Poignards' was an event during the French Revolution which occurred on 28 February 1791 when the Marquis de Lafayette arrested 400 armed aristocrats at the Tuileries in Paris...
, Lafayette traveled to Vincennes in response to an attempt to liberate a local prison. Meanwhile, armed nobles converged around the Tuileries, afraid the unprotected king would be attacked. Lafayette returned to Paris to disarm the nobles. On 18 April, the National Guard disobeyed Lafayette and stopped the King from leaving for Saint-Cloud over Easter.
Decline: Flight to Varennes, Champs de Mars, and the Parisian Mayoral election
On 20 June 1791, an unsuccessful plot, called the Flight to VarennesFlight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
, nearly allowed the king to escape from France. As leader of the National Guard, Lafayette had been responsible for the royal family's custody. He was thus blamed by Danton
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
for the mishap and called a "traitor" to the people by Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
. These accusations portrayed Lafayette as a royalist, and damaged his reputation in the eyes of the public. The episode garnered support throughout the country for the Republican movement, and "polarized" the king's supporters.
In response, the Assembly asked Bailly, the mayor of Paris, to "halt the disorder"; martial law was declared; and National Guard troops, under Lafayette, marched to the scene. Lafayette, at the head of the column, carried a red flag to signify martial law. The National Guard under Lafayette tried to disperse the crowd without the use of violence. The National Guards' first attempts were successful and the crowd dispersed. However, later that same day it assembled again, in part due to speeches given by Georges Danton
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
and Camille Desmoulins
Camille Desmoulins
Lucie Simplice Camille Benoît Desmoulins was a journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. He was a childhood friend of Maximilien Robespierre and a close friend and political ally of Georges Danton, who were influential figures in the French Revolution.-Early...
. At some point stones were thrown at the troops. Lafayette is thought to have ordered his troops to fire warning shots into the air. When the crowd did not back down, Lafayette ordered his men to fire into the crowd. Senior Officers in the National Guard questioned after the event stated they found it hard to control the actions of the volunteer soldiers. Many injuries were reported though not all were fatal; this is generally thought to have been due to the disorganization and inexpert actions taken by the National Guard in the quelling of the disorder. Exact numbers of deaths are unknown; estimates generally range from a dozen to fifty. Because of these confusions, the sequence of events at the Champ de Mars remains unclear and contested.
In combination with the Flight to Varennes, this event, known as the 'Champs de Mars Massacre' (Fusillade du Champs de Mars), furthered the public's mistrust of Lafayette and Bailly; in the aftermath, Lafayette resigned from the National Guard and Bailly left his post as mayor. In November, Lafayette ran against Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve was a French writer and politician.Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve was the son of a at Chartres. Though it is known that he was trained as a lawyer, very few specifics are known about Petion’s early life, as he was virtually unknown prior to the French Revolution...
in the mayoral election to succeed Bailly, but lost by a large margin. Criticism plagued Lafayette's mayoral campaign: his role in the flight to Varennes and in the Champs de Mars massacre were denounced both by politicians on the left and right.
Conflict and imprisonment
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
following the loss of the mayoral election. France declared war on Austria
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
on 20 April 1792, and preparations to invade the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
(known at that time as the Austrian Netherlands, and in the future as Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), were begun; Lafayette received command of one of the three armies, at Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. The war proceeded poorly: Lafayette, along with Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and general who participated in the American Revolutionary War as the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force which came to help the American Continental Army...
and Nicolas Luckner
Nicolas Luckner
Nikolaus, Count Luckner was a German in French service who rose to become a Marshal of France. ....
, asked the Assembly to begin peace proceedings, as the generals feared the army would collapse if forced to attack.
In June 1792, Lafayette criticized the growing influence of the radical clubs through a letter to the Assembly from his field post, and ended his letter by calling for radical parties to be "closed down by force". Earlier, in May, he had secretly proposed to a Brussels diplomat that the war be stopped until he achieved peace in Paris, perhaps by force. Lafayette's prior actions, despite the proposal's secrecy, caused suspicions that he planned a coup d'état. Marie-Antoinette advised authorities of Lafayette's plan, since she did not favor the constitution. Lafayette left his command and returned to Paris on 28 June, where he asked the Assembly for the radical parties to be outlawed, the National Guard to defend the monarchy, and for the Constitution to be upheld. His return augmented suspicions that he planned a coup d’état. Again, Lafayette and the Feuillants
Feuillant (political group)
The Feuillants were a political grouping that emerged during the French Revolution. It came into existence from a split within the Jacobins from those opposing the overthrow of the king and proposing a constitutional monarchy. The deputies publicly split with the Jacobins when they published a...
proposed to save the constitutional monarchy and royal family by uniting his army with General Luckner's. Marie-Antoinette refused: Lafayette had lost the support of the monarchy and the radical parties of the Revolution.
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
. Commissioners dispatched by the Paris Commune arrived at Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
, where Lafayette now led the French Northern Army, to inform him of the events and to secure allegiance to the new government. Lafayette refused their offer of an executive role in the new government, and ordered them arrested, as he found them to be "agents of a faction which had unlawfully seized power." New commissioners came to Sedan and informed Lafayette that he had been relieved of his command. On 19 August, the Assembly declared Lafayette a traitor, giving him the almost certain prospect of being guillotined if he fell into the hands of the new, radical authorities in France.
Lafayette had already decided to flee with his similarly endangered staff officers to the Republic of the United Netherlands (Dutch Republic). Lafayette hoped to gather his family in Britain, then retire to the United States, but did not make it. Troops of the counter-revolutionary coalition of Austria and Prussia had been massing in the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
, to invade France with the intention of restoring the old French monarchy. Flemish Austrian troops under Major General (later Field Marshal) Johann von Moitelle arrested Lafayette's party the evening of 17 August at Rochefort, Belgium
Rochefort, Belgium
Rochefort is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur close to the Ardennes. On January 1, 2006 Rochefort had a total population of 12,038. The total area is 165.27 km² which gives a population density of 73 inhabitants per km²...
, at that time a village in the officially neutral Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Among those arrested with Lafayette were Jean Baptiste Joseph, chevalier de Laumoy
Jean Baptiste Joseph, chevalier de Laumoy
Jean Baptiste Joseph, chevalier de Laumoy French engineer, fought in the American Revolutionary War, and was on the staff of Lafayette and was captured with him, by the Austrians....
, Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de la Colombe
Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de la Colombe
Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de la Colombe was an aide de camp to Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, during the Revolutionary War.-Revolutionary War:...
, Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth
Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth
Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth was a French soldier and politician.He was born in Paris. Having served in the American War of Independence under Rochambeau, he was sent in 1789 as deputy to the States-General by the nobles of the bailliage of Péronne...
, Charles César de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
Charles César de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
Marie-Charles-César de Faÿ, comte de la Tour-Maubourg , was a French soldier and politician during the French Revolution, and of the First French Empire...
, Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg
Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg
Marie Victor Nicolas de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg was a French cavalry commander starting under the Ancien Régime of France, and rising to prominence during the First French Empire...
, Juste-Charles de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
Juste-Charles de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
Juste-Charles de Faÿ de la Tour-Maubourg married Anastasie de La Fayette , the daughter of marquis de Lafayette, and Adrienne de La Fayette....
, Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy
Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy
Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy was a French military engineer, and politician, during the French Revolution.-Military career:...
. From 25 August to 3 September 1792, he was held at Nivelles
Nivelles
Nivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
; then transferred to Luxemburg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
where an Austrian-Prussian-French royalist military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
declared him, César de La Tour-Maubourg, Jean Bureaux de Pusy, and Alexandre de Lameth, all previously deputies in the French National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, to be "prisoners of state" for their leading roles in the Revolution. The tribunal sentenced them to an incarceration that was to last until, as was anticipated by coalition rulers, a restored French king could render final judgment on the prisoners for their alleged political crimes. On 12 September 1792, a Prussian military escort received the men from their Austrian guards. The party travelled down the Moselle river
Moselle River
The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
to Coblentz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, then down the Rhine river to the Prussian fortress-city of Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
, where the Frenchmen remained in the central citadel from 19 September to 22 December 1792. When victorious French revolutionary troops began to threaten the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, King Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
transferred the prisoners east to the citadel at Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, where they remained an entire year, from 4 January 1793 to 4 January 1794.
When Frederick William decided that he could gain very little by continuing to battle the astonishingly effective revolutionary forces of the young Republic of France, and that there were much easier pickings for his army in the Kingdom of Poland, he stopped armed hostilities with the Republic and turned the state prisoners back over to his erstwhile coalition partner, the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Austrian monarch Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
. Prussian escorts assembled Lafayette, Latour-Maubourg, and Bureaux de Pusy at Nysa
Nysa, Poland
Nysa is a town in southwestern Poland on the Nysa Kłodzka river with 47,545 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nysa County. It comprises the urban portion of the surrounding Gmina Nysa, a mixed urban-rural commune with a total population of 60,123 inhabitants...
(Neisse) in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, near the northern border of the emperor's territories of the Czech lands
Czech lands
Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
(today's Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
). On 17 May 1794, a further escort drove them by carriage to the border, where an Austrian military unit was waiting to receive them. The next day, around midnight, the Austrians delivered their captives into a barracks-prison, formerly a college of the Jesuits, in the fortress-city of Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
(Olmütz), Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. Lafayette occupied two rooms with thick walls and large windows covered by two sets of grills, overlooking the city's southern fortifications.
An international network of supporters centered in Philadelphia, London, Hamburg-Altona, and Paris lobbied for Lafayette's release and the amelioration of his prison conditions. It also established communications with him and helped him plot break-outs. The most spectacular escape attempt was sponsored by Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
's sister-in-law Angelica Schuyler Church
Angelica Schuyler Church
Angelica Schuyler Church was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, wife of British MP John Barker Church, sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton , and a prominent member of the social elite wherever she lived; first in New York, then in Paris, London and New York again...
and her husband John Barker Church
John Barker Church
John Barker Church was born in Lowestoft, England, befriended the cause of the American Revolution , was Commissary General of the French Army in America, and financially aided the new government. Returning to England after the war, he was elected a Member of Parliament...
, a British Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who had once served as commissary general of the American Continental Army. They hired as agent a multilingual young physician from the British Electorate of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
, Justus Erich Bollmann, who established contact with Lafayette in prison and acquired an assistant, a South Carolinian medical student named Francis Kinloch Huger. Remarkably, Lafayette had stayed his first night in America, in 1777, at the home of Huger's father Major Benjamin Huger
Benjamin Huger (American Revolution)
Benjamin Huger was one of five Huger brothers from South Carolina who served in the American Revolutionary War. Huger became a close friend of Lafayette, having met him upon his arrival near Georgetown in 1777, and his son Francis Kinloch Huger had a role in getting Lafayette temporarily released...
. With the help of Bollmann and Francis Huger, Lafayette managed to escape an escorted carriage drive in the countryside outside Olomouc, a drive granted by the emperor for health purposes. While the rescuers were subduing an unexpectedly ferocious Austrian sergeant, they shouted for Lafayette to ride off north toward the border, on the mount they had provided. However, Lafayette soon disappeared from his rescuers' sight and lost his way in the countryside. That evening, 8 November 1794, a tanner suspicious of Lafayette's ungrammatical, French-accented German, reported him to the mayor of village Rýžoviště (Braunseifen) near Šternberk, who laid an ambush, took Lafayette into custody, and returned him to Olomouc.
Lafayette's wife, Adrienne, had also been enduring a long captivity. It began on 17 September 1792, when she was placed under house arrest. Adrienne appealed to the Americans for assistance. For political reasons, the young nation could not officially assist the family, although they retroactively paid Lafayette $24,424 for his military service, and Washington personally sent money. In May 1794, during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, she was transferred to the La Force Prison
La Force Prison
La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris.Originally the private residence of the Duke of la Force, the structure was converted into a prison in 1780....
in Paris; she went from prison to prison, and, but for American diplomatic efforts on her behalf, would have shared the death of her sister, mother, grandmother, and other relatives at the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
. Finally, after the fall of Robespierre and his radical Jacobin
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
party, she gained her release on 22 January 1795.
Adrienne organized the family's finances and appealed to the U.S. for American passports. James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
secured passports for Adrienne from Connecticut, which had granted the entire Lafayette family citizenship. Their son Georges, who was hiding to avoid execution, was sent to the U.S. She, however, travelled with her two teenage daughters Anastasie and Virginie to Dunkirk and embarked for the Danish port of Altona (later Altona, Hamburg
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
) and the adjacent free imperial city
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. There she hired a bilingual servant, bought a carriage, and travelled southeast through the German states to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
for an audience with Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
. Taken by surprise, Francis granted permission for her and the daughters to live with Lafayette in captivity. Lafayette, who had endured harsh solitary confinement since his escape attempt a year previously, was flabbergasted when soldiers opened his prison door to usher in his wife and daughters on 15 October 1795. For the next two years, the family spent the days confined together in Lafayette's original two rooms, while the daughters spent the nights in a third, adjacent room.
Through the press, diplomacy, and personal appeals, Lafayette's sympathizers on both sides of the Atlantic made their influence felt, most importantly on the French legislative chambers, Directory, foreign ministry, and army. A young, victorious general, Napoleon Bonaparte negotiated the release of the state prisoners at Olomouc, as a prelude to the Treaty of Campo Formio
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...
. Thus Lafayette's captivity of over five years had come to an end. The Lafayette family and their comrades in captivity left Olomouc under Austrian escort early on the morning of 19 September 1797, crossed the Bohemian-Saxonian
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
border north of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, and were officially turned over to the American consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
on 4 October.
The French Directors and Napoleon Bonaparte saw Lafayette as a political rival, however, and did not want him to return to France. He remained in exile in the Danish province of Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
and the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
for two more years, until Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état of 18 Brumaire
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
, 9 November 1799. Lafayette used the change of regime to slip into France with a passport in the name of "Motier". He managed to convince an angry Napoleon that he planned to live in rural obscurity. Not wanting to serve in Napoleon's army, Lafayette resigned his commission. The Lafayettes retired to La Grange
Château de la Grange-Bléneau
The Château de la Grange-Bléneau is a castle in the commune of Courpalay in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.-History:Recorded since the 13th century, the castle has belonged to several families: Courtenay, Aubusson-La Feuillade and d'Aguesseau. Ownership passed from Henriette d'Aguesseau...
, which Adrienne had inherited from her mother. Admirers soon came to La Grange, including Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
.
Later life
Lafayette was unwilling to cooperate with Napoleon's government. In 1804, Napoleon was crowned Emperor after a plebiscite in which Lafayette did not participate. He remained relatively quiet, although he spoke publicly on Bastille Day events. After the Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, Jefferson asked if he would be interested in the governorship. Lafayette declined, citing personal problems and the desire to work for liberty in France. During a trip to Auvergne, Adrienne became ill, largely due to her time in prison. In 1807, 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.
The Hundred Days
He was elected to the Chamber of RepresentativesChambre des représentants de France
The Chambre des représentants was the popularly-elected lower body of the French Parliament set up under the Charter of 1815. The body had 629 members who were to serve five-year terms...
under the Charter of 1815
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...
, during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, which called for Napoleon to abdicate after Waterloo. Lucien Bonaparte
Lucien Bonaparte
Lucien Bonaparte, Prince Français, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano , born Luciano Buonaparte, was the third surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and his wife Letizia Ramolino....
came before the assembly to denounce abdication. Lafayette replied:
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.
Charbonnerie
Louis XVIII and the ultra-royalistUltra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
s became increasingly repressive.
In 1823, Lafayette was involved in the Saint-Amand Bazard conspiracy, in the premature Charbonnerie
Carbonari
The Carbonari were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in Spain, France, Portugal and possibly Russia. Although their goals often had a patriotic and liberal focus, they lacked a...
insurrection at Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
. France intervened against the liberal government in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, increasing patriotism, and discrediting dissent. In 1825 Charles X was crowned, and the ultra-loyalists consolidated power.
Grand tour of America
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on 15 August 1824, to an artillery salute. The towns and cities he visited, including Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
, the first city named in his honour, gave him enthusiastic welcomes. During this tour he recognized and embraced James Armistead Lafayette, a free negro
Free Negro
A free Negro or free black is the term used prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States to describe African Americans who were not slaves. Almost all African Americans came to the United States as slaves, but from the earliest days of American slavery, slaveholders set men and women free...
who took his last name to honor him, while in Yorktown, the story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer. On 17 October 1824, Lafayette visited Mount Vernon and George Washington's tomb. On 4 November 1824, he visited Jefferson at Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
, and on the 8th he attended a public banquet at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. Subsequently, he accepted an invitation for honorary membership to the University's Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is a debating and literary society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest organization at The University and one of the oldest continuously existing debating societies in North America....
. In late August 1825, he returned to Mount Vernon. A military unit decided to adopt the title National Guard, in honour of Lafayette's celebrated Garde Nationale de Paris. This battalion, later the 7th Regiment
New York Guard
The New York Guard is the State Defense Force of New York State. As of June 2008, the New York Guard, a recognized command under the New York State's Military law, has line-item funding in the state budget....
, was prominent in the line of march when Lafayette passed through New York before returning to France on the frigate USS Brandywine
USS Brandywine (1825)
USS Brandywine was a wooden-hulled, three-masted Frigate of the United States Navy bearing 44 guns which had the initial task of conveying the Marquis de Lafayette back to France...
. Late in the trip, he again received honorary citizenship of Maryland. Lafayette was feted at the first commencement ceremony of George Washington University in 1824. He was voted, by the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the sum of $200,000 and a township
Township (United States)
A township in the United States is a small geographic area. Townships range in size from 6 to 54 square miles , with being the norm.The term is used in three ways....
of land located in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant
Lafayette Land Grant
The Lafayette Land Grant was a gift by the government of the United States of just over of real estate in central Leon County, Florida, United States.-Origins:...
.
Accession of Louis-Philippe
As the restored monarchy of Charles XCharles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
became more conservative, Lafayette re-emerged as a prominent public figure. He had been a member of the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
from Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...
since 1815 and had pursued the abdication of Napoleon. Throughout his legislative career, he continued to endorse causes such as freedom of the press, suffrage for all taxpayers, and the worldwide abolition of slavery. He was not as directly visible in public affairs as in previous years; however, he became more vocal in the events leading up to the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
of 1830.
Death
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Although he recovered, the following May was wet and, after a thunderstorm, he became sick and bedridden. On 20 May 1834, Lafayette died. He was buried next to his wife at the Picpus Cemetery
Picpus Cemetery
The Picpus Cemetery is the largest private cemetery in the city of Paris, France. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during the Revolution. It contains the remains of French aristocrats who had been guillotined during the French Revolution...
under soil from Bunker Hill
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, which his son Georges sprinkled upon him. King Louis-Philippe ordered a military funeral in order to keep the public from attending. Crowds formed to protest their exclusion from Lafayette's funeral.
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.-Early life and exile:...
reported on Lafayette's death, and expressed regret for participation in the early mistreatment of his reputation in France:
In this year of 1834, Monsieur de Lafayette died. I may already have done him an injustice in speaking of him; I may have represented him as a kind of fool, with twin faces and twin reputations; a hero on the other side of the Atlantic, a clown on this. It has taken more than forty years to recognize qualities in Monsieur de Lafayette which one insisted on denying him. At the rostrum he expressed himself fluently and with the air of a man of breeding. No stain attaches to his life; he was affable, obliging and generous.
Honors
American President Andrew Jackson ordered that Lafayette be accorded the same funeral honours as John Adams and George Washington. Therefore, 24-gun salutes were fired from military posts and ships, each shot representing a U.S. state. Flags flew at half mast for thirty-five days, and "military officers wore crepe for six months". The Congress hung black in chambers and asked the entire country to dress in black for the next thirty days.Lafayette was widely commemorated in the U.S. In 1824, the U.S. government named Lafayette Park in his honor; it lies immediately north of the White House in Washington, D.C. In 1826, Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
was chartered in Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
. Lafayette was honored with a monument in New York City in 1917. Portraits display Washington and Lafayette in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. Numerous towns, cities, and counties across the United States were named in his honor.
On 4 July 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I, Colonel Charles E. Stanton
Charles E. Stanton
Charles E. Stanton was a Colonel in the United States Army during World War I, and as chief disbursing officer an aide to general John J. Pershing. On July 4, 1917 he visited the tomb of French Revolution and American Revolution hero Marquis de La Fayette and said, "Lafayette, we are here!" to...
visited the grave of Lafayette and uttered the famous phrase "Lafayette, we are here." After the war, a U.S. flag was permanently placed at the grave site. Every year, on Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, the flag is replaced in a joint French-American ceremony. The flag remained even during the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupation of Paris during World War II.
On visiting Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
in 1943, General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
commented on how the Free French forces had liberated the birthplace of Napoleon, and promised that the Americans would liberate the birthplace of Lafayette.
Already an American citizen, Lafayette was granted honorary United States citizenship
Honorary Citizen of the United States
A person of exceptional merit, generally a non-United States citizen, may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress, or by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Congress.Seven people have been so honored,...
by Congress in 2002. The honor was also extended to all his descendants. The Order of Lafayette
Order of Lafayette
The Order of Lafayette is a patriotic, hereditary, nonpartisan, and fraternal organization established in New York City in 1958 by Colonel Hamilton Fish III , a former Congressman from New York and decorated veteran of the First World War...
was established in 1958 by U.S. Representative Hamilton Fish III
Hamilton Fish III
Hamilton Fish III was a soldier and politician from New York State...
, a World War I veteran, to promote Franco-American friendship and to honor Americans who fought in France. The frigate Hermione, in which Lafayette returned to America, has been reconstructed in the port of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
, France.
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
acquired USS Langley
USS Langley (CVL-27)
USS Langley was an 11,000-ton that served the United States Navy from 1943 to 1947, and French Navy as the La Fayette from 1951 to 1963. Named for Samuel Pierpont Langley, American scientist and aviation pioneer, Langley received nine battle stars for World War II service...
in 1951 and renamed it La Fayette
La Fayette (R96)
The La Fayette was an 11,000-ton that served French Navy as the from 1951 to 1963. She was the first French vessel named after the 18th century general Marquis de Lafayette...
. A modern stealth frigate is also named after Lafayette, and is also the name of a ship class, La Fayette
La Fayette (F710)
The La Fayette is a second-line multi-mission stealth frigate of the French Marine Nationale. She is the second French vessel named after the 18th century general Marquis de Lafayette. She is the lead ship of the class. The same class is also used by the Royal Saudi Navy.The ship has appeared in...
.
The French ocean liner SS Normandie
SS Normandie
SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.Her novel...
was to be the troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
USS Lafayette
USS Lafayette (AP-53)
USS Lafayette was the French luxury liner following the latter's seizure under the maritime right of angary in New York by the United States after the Fall of France....
after being acquired by the US Government, but was destroyed by a fire before conversion to the new role was completed. The name was later given to a ballistic missile submarine
USS Lafayette (SSBN-616)
USS Lafayette , the lead ship of her class of ballistic missile submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named to honor Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette , a French military hero who fought with and significantly aided the Continental Army during the American...
.
The city of Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
, is named after General Lafayette. While many cities are named after Lafayette, Fayetteville was the first and holds the distinction of being the only one he actually visited. He arrived in Fayetteville by horse-drawn carriage in 1825.
James McHenry
James McHenry
James McHenry was an early American statesman. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland and the namesake of Fort McHenry...
, whom Lafayette considered a good friend, built a country seat on 95 acres and named it Fayetteville in his honor. He purchased it in 1792 from a tract called Ridgely's Delight about a mile west of Baltimore.
Lafayette
Lafayette
-People:* General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette , French general and American Revolutionary War general* Adrienne de La Fayette , wife of marquis de Lafayette* Georges Washington de La Fayette , son of marquis de Lafayette...
, the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, was named after him.
Lafayette Park
Lafayette Square, St. Louis
Lafayette Square is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri that is bounded on the north by Chouteau Avenue, on the south by Interstate 44, on the east by Truman Parkway and on the west by South Jefferson Avenue. It surrounds Lafayette Park, which is the city's oldest public park, created by...
, one of the first public parks created in 1833 by the City of Saint Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1854.
Many streets around the United States are named for Lafayette, such as Lafayette Street in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Lafayette Street in Williston Park and Lafayette Street (Manhattan)
Lafayette Street (Manhattan)
Lafayette Street is a major north-south street in New York City's Lower Manhattan, which runs roughly parallel to Broadway to the west. Originally, the part of the street below Houston Street was called Elm Place....
. New York City actually has five Lafayette Streets, one in each borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
, as well as a Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn. US 1 in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, from the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
border in Seabrook to Portsmouth, is named Lafayette Road.
Lafayette in sculpture
- pedimentPedimentA pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
on the Tippecanoe County Courthouse, Lafayette, IndianaLafayette, IndianaLafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
, 1882 - LaFayette FountainLaFayette FountainLafayette Fountain A fountain by sculptor Lorado Taft located on the grounds of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in Lafayette, Indiana.The fountain is composed of a number of tiered bowls with a marble statue of the Marquis de LaFayette on top....
by Lorado TaftLorado TaftLorado Zadoc Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.-Early years and education:...
in Lafayette, IndianaLafayette, IndianaLafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
, 1887
- Statue of Lafayette and WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
by Bartholdi, Place des États-UnisPlace des États-UnisThe Place des États-Unis is a public space in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, about 500 m south of the Place de l'Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe....
(United States Plaza), ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 1895 - Equestrian statue by Paul Bartlett, Metz, France 1919, destroyed by German occupation forces and replaced by another statue by M . Goutin in 2004
See also
- Lafayette CollegeLafayette CollegeLafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
- LaFayette MotorsLaFayette MotorsThe 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:...
- Place des États-UnisPlace des États-UnisThe Place des États-Unis is a public space in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, about 500 m south of the Place de l'Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe....
External links
- https://www.nyhistory.org/web/default.php?section=exhibits_collections&page=exhibit_detail&id=2917008French Founding Father at the New-York Historical SocietyNew-York Historical SocietyThe New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...
] - The Cornell University Library Lafayette Collection
- The Marquis de Lafayette collection, Cleveland State University
- Lafayette College, The Marquis de Lafayette Collections
- Marquis de Lafayette Collection, Library of Congress
- Martha Joanna Lamb, Lafayette letters from prison, The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries, pp. 353–376