Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

2012-10-16T15:59:05Z

208.95.51.166:

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[[File:La Fayette concept.jpg‎|thumb|250px|Concept art.]]
'''Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette''' (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834) often known as simply '''Lafayette''', was a French aristocrat and military officer born in south central [[France]]. Lafayette was a general during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and a leader of the {{Wiki|National Guard (France)|Garde nationale}} during the {{Wiki|French Revolution}}.

During the American Revolution, Lafayette served as a Major-General in the [[Continental Army]] under [[George Washington]].

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Initially, Lafayette was treated as an unwanted foreign adventurer who did not have the backing of his own government, for he had defied the king of France by sailing across the Atlantic to participate in the American Revolution. He had purchased and titled his ship, ''La Victoire(the Victory), ''and secretly embarked to America disguised as a woman to evade capture.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Unlike other foreign aristocrats, Lafayette wrote a petition to the Continental Congress stating that he would serve at his own expense as a volunteer officer. The young nineteen year old also presented letters that revealed his many virtues and accomplishments. When Congress realized he was one of the richest noblemen in France connected to the royal line by marriage, he was appointed to one of the major generals of the continental army.


<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Lafayette joined the American army and swiftly endeared himself to the rebel cause due to his modesty and open affection for America. For the first time in his life, he was drawn into battle against the forces of Cornwallis at the Battle of Brandywine when the British marched on Philadelphia. In the midst of retreat, he dismounted and led his disbelieving men in a charge. A bullet struck him below the calf an went through his leg, thrilling the young major for it provided an emblem of courage to which another major general in the continental army, Baron de Kalb, commented that his wound was “an excellent bit of good fortune for it established Lafayette in the eyes of his American comrades.”


<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Lafayette returned to an enthusiastic public welcome in France in early 1779. Because of his earlier disobedience, he was excluded from official receptions for a short time and kept in a state of uncertain punishment for his actions. After he formally apologized to Louis XVI, however, the king forgave him. Lafayette then lobbied energetically for increased French support, securing more funds and an additional six thousand soldiers under Jean Baptiste and the Comte de Rochambeau’s command. While home, he also fathered his first son, Georges Washington de La Fayette, before returning to America in early 1780. Washington had no children on his own and invited Lafayette to look upon him as “a friend and father,” an offer which Lafayette readily accepted because he had lost his parents at an early age. Their bond also solidified a bond between the two nations.

Lafayette did more than any other allied commander to prepare the way for the British defeat at Yorktown. "The greatest American victory was also Lafayette’s most shining personal triumph,” wrote <span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stanley J. Idzerda, a prominent editor and<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">historian. Lafayette’s dedication to the cause of liberty, like that of Washington, whom he so admired, made him one of the greatest heroes in American history.

==References==
*''Jeux Video Magazine'' April 2012 issue: ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''P
*Paul, E. C. (1998, Michel capitaine du chesnoy, the marquis de Lafayette’s cartographer. The Magazine Antiques, 153, 170-177.
*John, S. B. (2007). The marquis de Lafayette at 250.'' Army, 57''(9), 108-108,110. 
*<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution, vol.4, p. xxiii”
*<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(76, 76, 76); line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Bridges, E. C. (2011). "The nation's guest": THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE'S TOUR OF ALABAMA.'' Alabama Heritage, ''(102), 8-17,60.

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Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette