Lafayette and American independence
The Marquis de Lafayette was one of the best-known foreign volunteers in the American Revolution. The young French aristocrat served in the Continental Army, formed a lasting friendship with George Washington, and helped sustain French support for American independence. His return to the United States in 1824 brought him an extraordinary public welcome nearly half a century after his first arrival.
Family and the decision to volunteer
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was born on September 6, 1757, and died on May 20, 1834. His father’s death left him heir to the family title while he was still a small child. Family wealth and military connections shaped his upbringing, but his decision to fight in America brought him into conflict with the wishes of the French Crown.
Lafayette received an aristocratic education and entered the French military as a teenager. In 1774, he married Adrienne de Noailles. They had four children: Henriette, Anastasie, Georges Washington, and Virginie. Henriette died in childhood. Adrienne supported Lafayette through periods of military absence, political danger, and imprisonment, and died in 1807.
Lafayette supported the American independence movement before France formally entered the war. He traveled to America in 1777 despite royal restrictions and offered to serve without pay. His position and later diplomacy helped the American cause, although the French alliance resulted from the work of many officials and diplomats, not Lafayette alone.
Lafayette’s service in the Continental Army
The Continental Congress appointed Lafayette a major general on July 31, 1777; Washington did not grant the commission himself. Lafayette was wounded at Brandywine that September and later gained command of a division. His Virginia campaign in 1781 helped keep Cornwallis’s army under observation while American and French forces concentrated for the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis surrendered his army there in October 1781; that surrender did not itself formally end the war, which continued until the peace settlement of 1783.
Friendship with Washington
Lafayette’s friendship with Washington became one of the most enduring relationships of his life. Washington came to regard him with deep affection, while Lafayette admired the older commander’s leadership. Lafayette’s military service and willingness to share the hardships of his troops helped turn an initially uncertain appointment into an effective role in the army.
Lafayette returned to France during the war and continued advocating for American support. After returning to America, he worked with Washington and other commanders during the final campaigns. The relationship continued through correspondence after the Revolution. Lafayette later pressed Washington on the question of emancipation, showing that their friendship could include disagreement as well as admiration.
Lafayette’s later life and American return
In France, Lafayette participated in the French Revolution and became associated with constitutional government. He fled France in 1792 and was imprisoned by forces opposed to the Revolution, spending much of his captivity in Austrian custody before his release in 1797. In 1824–1825, as a guest of the United States, he visited all twenty-four states then in the Union. He later supported the accession of Louis-Philippe during France’s July Revolution of 1830 but became disillusioned with the new regime. His career on both sides of the Atlantic earned him the name “Hero of Two Worlds.”
Learn More
Marquis de Lafayette — Valley Forge National Historical Park
Washington on Lafayette’s Appointment, August 19, 1777 — Library of Congress
George Washington in the American Revolution
Who’s Who in the American Revolution — Free eBook
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