Marquis de Lafayette Biography

Dromo's Den

LAFAYETTE, or LA FAYETTE, Marie Jean Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de (1757–1834). A French general and statesman, and one of Washington's most faithful officers during the American Revolution. He was descended from an ancient family of Auvergne and was born Sept. 6, 1757, in the castle of Chavagnac in the Department of Haute-Loire. His father was killed at Minden in 1759, and in 1770 his mother also died, leaving him in possession of large family estates. In 1774 Lafayette married and in the same year entered the army. At the first news of the American Revolution Lafayette was seized with enthusiasm for the cause of the colonists. Evading the vigilance of the government officials, he fitted out a ship, and, sailing from Passages in Spain, landed on April 24, 1777, at Georgetown, S. C., with 11 companions, among them Baron de Kalb. His arrival in America did much to give new hope to the supporters of the Revolutionary cause, whom the ill success of the preceding campaign had greatly discouraged. On July 31, 1777, Congress bestowed on him the rank of major general, and he was soon after attached to the staff of General Washington, who speedily came to regard the young volunteer with the deepest affection and esteem. In the battle of Brandywine (Sept. 11, 1777) he was wounded while rallying the American troops. In December he was appointed to the command of an army destined for the invasion of Canada; but the expedition was abandoned for lack of resources, and Lafayette rejoined General Washington at Valley Forge in April, 1778. On the night of May 19 he was surprised by General Grant with a force of 5000 men, more than twice his own, at Barren Hill, some 12 miles from Valley Forge, but effected his retreat with the utmost skill. He fought brilliantly under Lee at Monmouth (June 28) and in August commanded with Sullivan and Greene the land expedition dispatched to coöperate with the French fleet in an attack on Newport. On the breaking out of war between France and England, Lafayette sailed for his native country (January, 1779), and it was largely through his exertions that the King dispatched a land force as well as a fleet to the aid of the Americans. In May Lafayette was back in service and was stationed with a corps of observation on the Hudson. He was a member of the court-martial that condemned Major André to death. In February, 1781, he was sent with 1200 New England troops to operate against Benedict Arnold in Virginia, and later, when the British strength in Virginia was increased by the arrival of Cornwallis at Petersburg with 5000 troops (May 20), Washington showed his confidence in Lafayette by continuing him in the command. On May 24 Cornwallis set out from Petersburg in pursuit of Lafayette, who was stationed near Richmond. "The boy cannot escape me," said Cornwallis. The "boy" retreated rapidly to the Rappahannock, effected a junction with 1000 Pennsylvanians under Wayne, and, reënforced by the militia from the mountains, offered Cornwallis battle near Albemarle. Cornwallis retreated to Richmond, and then to Williamsburg, with Lafayette at the head of 4000 men in pursuit. On July 6, he came in touch with the British at Green Springs; but the action was indecisive, and Cornwallis continued his retreat—to Yorktown. On the day after Cornwallis' surrender Lafayette was publicly thanked by Washington. In December, 1781, he sailed from Boston for home. On a visit to North America in 1784, after the conclusion of peace, he was received with tremendous enthusiasm.

After his return to France he devoted himself to improving the position of the French Protestants. His liberal views as displayed in the National Assembly in 1789 displeased the court, and he lost his rank as field marshal. He took an active part in the proceedings of the Assembly, of which he was vice president for some time. On the day after the storming of the Bastille he was made commander in chief of the National Guard in Paris. He perfected the organization of the National Guard throughout France and brought about the adoption of the tricolor, and on Oct. 5 and 6, 1789, when the King and the royal family were escorted back to Paris by the people, Lafayette accompanied them for their protection.

His popularity increased when he refused the command of the Garde Nationale in 1790, and it seemed for some time as if Lafayette held the destinies of France in his hand. With Bailly he founded, in 1790, the Club of the Feuillants (q.v.), representing the conservative element in the Constituent Assembly, whose efforts were directed towards the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Upon the flight of the King in June, 1791, he gave orders for his arrest; but his popularity vanished shortly afterward, when he ordered the soldiers to shoot upon the people on the Champ de Mars. He took part, however, in the proclamation of the constitution in the autumn of 1791, but tendered his resignation as commander of the National Guard soon after. In November, 1791, he was defeated for the office of mayor of Paris by Pétion, his failure being due to the opposition of the extreme Republicans and to the treachery of the court. He joined with the party of the Gironde in demanding war against Austria and Prussia and on the outbreak of war received the command of the army of Ardennes, with which he won the first victories of Philippeville, Maubeuge, and Florennes. Nevertheless the attacks of the Jacobins rendered his position precarious. The storming of the Tuileries by the people in June, 1792, disappointed him deeply, and he left the army to return to Paris to protest against the excesses of the populace, but found his influence gone and his life in danger. He was accused of treason and acquitted, but soon after commissioners were dispatched to seize him at the head of the army with which he intended to free the King and reëstablish the constitution. He fled to Flanders and on Aug. 19, 1792, was taken prisoner by the Austrians, who confined him in the citadel of Olmütz and subjected him to the most cruel treatment. He remained in captivity till Bonaparte obtained his liberation in 1797. He returned to France in 1799, but took no part in public affairs during the ascendancy of Napoleon, being opposed both to the Consulate and to the Empire. He sat in the French Second Chamber in 1815 during the Hundred Days and in the Chamber of Deputies from 1818 to 1824, as one of the Extreme Left. From 1825 to 1830 he was a leader of the opposition. In 1830 he took an active part in the revolution of July and figured again as commander of the National Guard. [see French Revolution] His last speech in the Chamber was made in 1834 shortly before his death, on behalf of the Polish political refugees. His visit to the United States in 1824–25, on invitation of Congress, was a memorable event. Congress voted him a grant of $200,000 and a township of land. He died in Paris May 20, 1834. Lafayette's son, George Washington Lafayette (1779–1849), and his grandsons and their descendants figured in French Republican politics of the nineteenth century. At the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Yorktown and the surrender of the British army, celebrated in 1881, a representative of the Lafayette family was present as a national guest. Monuments have been erected to him in various cities of America and France.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XIII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920)