Background
Born in the Auvergne, France in 1757, Lafayette was orphaned before his second birthday when his father was killed at the Battle of Minden. His mother died in 1770, while he was studying at the Collège du Plessis of the University of Paris. He joined the King's Musketeers in 1771 and purchased a commission as captain in 1774, after marrying into the powerful Noailles family. Wealth and a reception at the French court were not enough to satisfy him. In 1776 he offered his services to the Continental Army and was commissioned a major general.
War and Diplomacy
Serving as an unpaid volunteer without a command, Lafayette distinguished himself at once, fighting gallantly and suffering a leg wound at Brandywine on 11 September 1777. When he returned to duty in December, it was as aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington. His support was invaluable to Washington in the bleak days of Valley Forge. By the time he fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, he had an excellent reputation and a close relationship with Washington, who named him liaison officer when the French fleet arrived.
In 1779 he returned to France with messages from the Continental Congress. He helped arrange for more French soldiers to help the Americans. He was promoted to colonel in the French army for his efforts. Returning to the colonies, he was given command of the Virginia light infantry. He refused to let the British near his smaller force until Gen. Charles Cornwallis moved into Yorktown. Here once again his skills between French and American forces were of great value in setting up the siege of Yorktown. When he returned to France in 1782, it was as a major general in the French army.
An Eventful Life
Lafayette was only twenty-five and had done more than most people do in a long life. Upon the fall of the Bastille in 1789, he took command of the Paris National Guard to secure the city and promote reform. After briefly commanding the French army in the war with Austria, he was charged with treason, fled to Austria, and was imprisoned there for five years as a revolutionary. In 1815 he served in the Chamber of Deputies and took part in many French and European political movements to advance democracy and the rights of man. When he toured America from 1824 to 1825 as part of the celebrations of the American Revolution, he was received with wild enthusiasm. In the French Revolution of 1830 he once again commanded the National Guard.
When he died in 1834, he was buried in American soil brought to Paris for his grave.
Symbol of Democracy
Lafayette was a skilled commander but, it was his role as a symbol that immortalized him. At first he was a symbol to the Americans of the support of the outside world for their cause. Later, he was a symbol to the French of the value of that cause. By the end of his life, he had come to symbolize the worldwide hope for democracy and the rights of man, and he was looked to by Belgians, Irish, Greeks, and South Americans as inspiration for their freedom struggles. But in the end, no one adored him quite as much as the Americans, and when an American army landed in France in 1917 to fight alongside the French in World War I, it was an American general who said, "Lafayette, we are here!"
Bibliography
"Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Du Motier." American Eras, Volume 3: The Revolutionary Era, 1754-1783. Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
Born in the Auvergne, France in 1757, Lafayette was orphaned before his second birthday when his father was killed at the Battle of Minden. His mother died in 1770, while he was studying at the Collège du Plessis of the University of Paris. He joined the King's Musketeers in 1771 and purchased a commission as captain in 1774, after marrying into the powerful Noailles family. Wealth and a reception at the French court were not enough to satisfy him. In 1776 he offered his services to the Continental Army and was commissioned a major general.
War and Diplomacy
Serving as an unpaid volunteer without a command, Lafayette distinguished himself at once, fighting gallantly and suffering a leg wound at Brandywine on 11 September 1777. When he returned to duty in December, it was as aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington. His support was invaluable to Washington in the bleak days of Valley Forge. By the time he fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, he had an excellent reputation and a close relationship with Washington, who named him liaison officer when the French fleet arrived.
In 1779 he returned to France with messages from the Continental Congress. He helped arrange for more French soldiers to help the Americans. He was promoted to colonel in the French army for his efforts. Returning to the colonies, he was given command of the Virginia light infantry. He refused to let the British near his smaller force until Gen. Charles Cornwallis moved into Yorktown. Here once again his skills between French and American forces were of great value in setting up the siege of Yorktown. When he returned to France in 1782, it was as a major general in the French army.
An Eventful Life
Lafayette was only twenty-five and had done more than most people do in a long life. Upon the fall of the Bastille in 1789, he took command of the Paris National Guard to secure the city and promote reform. After briefly commanding the French army in the war with Austria, he was charged with treason, fled to Austria, and was imprisoned there for five years as a revolutionary. In 1815 he served in the Chamber of Deputies and took part in many French and European political movements to advance democracy and the rights of man. When he toured America from 1824 to 1825 as part of the celebrations of the American Revolution, he was received with wild enthusiasm. In the French Revolution of 1830 he once again commanded the National Guard.
When he died in 1834, he was buried in American soil brought to Paris for his grave.
Symbol of Democracy
Lafayette was a skilled commander but, it was his role as a symbol that immortalized him. At first he was a symbol to the Americans of the support of the outside world for their cause. Later, he was a symbol to the French of the value of that cause. By the end of his life, he had come to symbolize the worldwide hope for democracy and the rights of man, and he was looked to by Belgians, Irish, Greeks, and South Americans as inspiration for their freedom struggles. But in the end, no one adored him quite as much as the Americans, and when an American army landed in France in 1917 to fight alongside the French in World War I, it was an American general who said, "Lafayette, we are here!"
Bibliography
"Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Du Motier." American Eras, Volume 3: The Revolutionary Era, 1754-1783. Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC