Defying the explicit orders of King Louis XVI, who did not wish to provoke Great Britain, the marquis eluded authorities and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to assist the rebellious Americans in Although still a teenager who spoke little English and lacked any battle experience, Lafayette convinced the Continental Army to commission him a major general on July 31, Wounding of Lafayette at Brandywine.
He was shot in the leg during his first battle. During the Battle of Brandywine , near Philadelphia, on September 11, , Lafayette was shot in the calf.
Refusing treatment, the military novice managed to organize a successful retreat. Following a two-month recuperation, Lafayette was given command over his own division for the first time.
Lafayette named his only son after George Washington. The redcoats outflanked Washington and were trying to surround him. When Sullivan finally retreated, Lafayette reluctantly went with him, realizing only later that he had been shot in the leg.
Washington sent his own surgeon to care for him, and when Lafayette was taken to the hospital the General told the doctors to, "Treat him as if he were my son.
After Lafayette recovered, he became a valued member of Washington's close-knit military family. Lafayette in turn came to admire Washington's leadership more each day, especially during the winter at Valley Forge. Lafayette was overjoyed when news of the French alliance arrived in early But while he was feted as a hero, he was not placed at the head of the French army. Count Rochambeau was chosen instead. By the summer of , Lafayette was back in the United States. Washington sent him to Virginia to stop British raids along the James River.
When Cornwallis' forces arrived in Virginia, Lafayette harassed the British general until Washington and Rochambeau could lay siege to him at Yorktown. In October , there was no prouder soldier at Cornwallis' surrender than Lafayette. Lafayette again returned to France as a national hero. Lafayette remembered, "Our meeting was very tender and our satisfaction was mutual. Like Washington, he favored the creation of a strong central government. But unlike Washington he recommended an immediate end to slavery.
In fact, Lafayette spent the harsh winter of with Washington and his men at Valley Forge , suffering along with the other Continental soldiers in the frigid, disease-ridden encampment. He helped Washington at his darkest hour when he faced an internal threat from the Conway Cabal, a plot to drive Washington from his command.
Over the course of the next year, Lafayette more intensely pursued the glory he so desperately wanted. The Continental Congress charged him with leading an invasion of Canada. However, Lafayette met with much disappointment upon reaching the launch point at Albany, New York. Continental forces there amounted to less than half the number Congress promised.
Disappointed, he returned south, nearly escaping capture by the British that summer at Barren Hill, Pennsylvania and Delaware Bay. Lafayette managed to secure leave and returned home to France at the beginning of After Charles X was overthrown during the July Revolution in , Lafayette was presented with the opportunity to become dictator.
The aging statesman demurred to let rule pass to Louis-Philippe, and instead was reestablished as commander of the National Guard. Following a battle with pneumonia, he died on May 20, We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. He was married to Marie Antoinette and was executed for treason by guillotine in Henry the Navigator, a 15th century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade.
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