Marquis de Lafayette (September 6, 1757-May 20, 1834) was a descendant of one of the oldest French families, with ancestors who fought in the Crusades and alongside of Joan of Arc. His father died when he was a child, and when he was a youth, he was trained in the French Military. At age 19, Marquis de Lafayette purchased a ship and sailed to America, arriving June 13, 1777.
He was appointed a Major General in the Continental Army, though he paid his own expenses. Lafayette endured the freezing winter at Valley Forge, was wounded at Brandywine, and fought with distinction at the Battles of Gloucester, Barren Hill, Monmouth, Rhode Island and Green Spring. He and Ben Franklin persuaded King Louis XVI to send General Rochambeau with ships and 6,000 soldiers to America's aid. Lafayette led troops against the traitor Benedict Arnold and commanded at Yorktown, pressuring Cornwallis to surrender.
George Washington, who considered Lafayette like a son, belatedly wrote back to him from Mount Vernon, June 25, 1785:
<My Dear Marquis...I stand before you as a culprit: but to repent and be forgiven are the precepts of Heaven: I do the former, do you practice the latter, and it will be participation of a divine attribute. Yet I am not barren of excuses for this seeming inattention; frequent absences from home, a round of company when at it, and the pressure of many matters, might be urged as apologies for my long silence...I now congratulate you, and my heart does it more effectually than my pen, on your safe arrival in Paris, from your voyage to this Country.> 1757ML001
Lafayette joined the French abolitionist Society of the Friends of the Blacks, which advocated the end of the slave trade and equal rights for blacks. On May 10, 1786, George Washington wrote from Mount Vernon to Marquis de Lafayette:
<Your late purchase of an estate in the colony of Cayenne, with a view of emancipating the slaves on it, is a generous and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit would diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of this country.> 1757ML002
On August 15, 1787, in a letter from Philadelphia to the Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington wrote:
<I am not less ardent in my wish that you may succeed in your plan of toleration in religious matters. Being no bigot myself to any mode of worship, I am disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in the church with that road to Heaven which to them shall seem the most direct, plainest and easiest, and the least liable to exception.> 1757ML003
On May 28, 1788, George Washington wrote to Marquis de Lafayette regarding the U.S. Constitution:
<A few short weeks will determine the political fate of America...I will confess to you sincerely, my dear Marquis; it will be so much beyond anything we had a right to imagine or expect eighteen months ago, that it will demonstrate as visibly the Finger of Providence, as any possible event in the course of human affairs can ever designate it.> 1757ML004
When the French Revolution began, President Washington wrote to Marquis de Lafayette, July 28, 1791:
<I assure you I have often contemplated, with great anxiety, the danger to which you are personally exposed...To a philanthropic mind the happiness of 24 millions of people cannot be indifferent; and by an American, whose country in the hour of distress received such liberal aid from the French, the disorders and incertitude of that Nation are to be particularly lamented.
We must, however, place a confidence in that Providence who rules great events, trusting that out of confusion He will produce order, and, notwithstanding the dark clouds which may threaten at present, that right will ultimately be established....
On the 6 of this month I returned from a tour through the southern States, which had employed me for more than three months. In the course of this journey I have been highly gratified in observing the flourishing state of the Country, and the good dispositions of the people. Industry and economy have become very fashionable in these parts, which were formerly noted for the opposite qualities, and the labors of man are assisted by the Blessings of Providence.> 1757ML005
Lafayette tried to maintain order in France as the French Revolution began, but fell out of favor.
Marquis de Lafayette was eventually imprisoned for five years by the Emperor in Germany, with his wife and two daughters choosing to be imprisoned with him. On May 15, 1796, from Philadelphia, President Washington wrote on his behalf to the Emperor of Germany:
<I take the liberty of writing this private letter to your Majesty...I retain a strong and cordial sense of the services rendered to them by the Marquis de Lafayette; and my friendship for him has been constant and sincere...
Permit me only to submit to your Majesty's consideration, whether his long imprisonment, and the confiscation of his estate, and the indigence and dispersion of his family, and the painful anxieties incident to all these circumstances, do not form an assemblage of sufferings, which recommend him to the mediation of Humanity?
Allow me, Sir! on this occasion to be its organ; and to entreat that he may be permitted to come to this country on such conditions and under such restrictions, as your Majesty may think it expedient to prescribe...
May the Almighty and Merciful Sovereign of the Universe keep your Majesty under His protection and guidance.> 1757ML006
Napoleon later negotiated his release.
On June 10, 1792, from Philadelphia, President Washington wrote to Marquis de Lafayette:
<And to the Care of that Providence, whose interposition and protection we have so often experienced, do I cheerfully commit you and your nation, trusting that He will bring order out of confusion, and finally place things upon the ground on which they ought to stand.> 1757ML007
Jefferson asked him to be the Governor of the Louisiana Territory, but he declined.
Fifty years after the Revolution began, Marquis de Lafayette visited America. He traveled over 6,000 miles to 24 States. On June 17, 1825, the cornerstone for the Bunker Hill Monument was laid. Daniel Webster spoke to a crowd of 20,000, which included General Marquis de Lafayette:
<God has granted you this sight of your country's happiness ere you slumber in the grave forever. He has allowed you to behold and to partake the reward of your patriotic toils; and He has allowed to us, your sons and countrymen, to meet you here, and in the name of the present generation, in the name of your country, in the name of liberty to thank you!> 1757ML008
Many ships, streets, parks and cities were named after him, including Fayetteville, North Carolina. When word came to America that Marquis de Lafayette had died, President Andrew Jackson wrote to Congress, June 21, 1834:
<The afflicting intelligence of the death of the illustrious Lafayette has been received by me this morning. I have issued the general order inclosed to cause appropriate honors to be paid by the Army and Navy to the memory of one so highly venerated and beloved by my countrymen, and whom Providence has been pleased to remove so unexpectedly from the agitating scenes of life.> 1757ML009
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1757ML001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. June 25, 1785, George Washington writing from Mount Vernon, returning the correspondence of Marquis de Lafayette. William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington-A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 7440 N. Shadeland, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250, 1988; based almost entirely on materials reproduced from The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799/John Clement Fitzpatrick, editor), p. 304. John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, from the Original Manuscript Sources 1749-1799, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944).
1757ML002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. May 10, 1786, George Washington wrote in a letter written from Mount Vernon to Marquis de Lafayette. William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington-A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 7440 N. Shadeland, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250, 1988; based almost entirely on materials reproduced from The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799/John Clement Fitzpatrick, editor), p. 322. John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, from the Original Manuscript Sources 1749-1799, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944).
1757ML003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. August 15, 1787, George Washington wrote in a letter written from Philadelphia to the Marquis de Lafayette. Jared Sparks, ed., The Writings of George Washington 12 vols. (Boston: American Stationer's Company, 1837; NY: F. Andrew's, 1834-1847), Vol. IX, p. 262. William J. Johnson, George Washington-The Christian (St. Paul, MN: William J. Johnson, Merriam Park, February 23, 1919; Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1919; reprinted Milford, MI: Mott Media, 1976; reprinted Arlington Heights, IL: Christian Liberty Press, 502 West Euclid Avenue, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004, 1992), pp. 153-154.
1757ML004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. May 28, 1788, George Washington wrote in a letter from Mount Vernon to Marquis de Lafayette. William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington-A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 7440 N. Shadeland, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250, 1988; based almost entirely on materials reproduced from The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799/John Clement Fitzpatrick, editor), p. 398. John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, from the Original Manuscript Sources 1749-1799, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944).
1757ML005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. July 28, 1791, George Washington wrote in a letter written from Philadelphia to Marquis de Lafayette. Jared Sparks, ed., The Writings of George Washington 12 vols. (Boston: American Stationer's Company, 1837; NY: F. Andrew's, 1834-1847), Vol. X, p. 179. William J. Johnson, George Washington- The Christian (St. Paul, MN: William J. Johnson, Merriam Park, February 23, 1919; Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1919; reprinted Milford, MI: Mott Media, 1976; reprinted Arlington Heights, IL: Christian Liberty Press, 502 West Euclid Avenue, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004, 1992), p. 201. William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington-A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 7440 N. Shadeland, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250, 1988; based almost entirely on materials reproduced from The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799/John Clement Fitzpatrick, editor), pp. 553-555. John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, from the Original Manuscript Sources 1749-1799, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944).
1757ML006. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. May 15, 1796, George Washington wrote in a letter written from Philadelphia to the Emperor of Germany. William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington-A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 7440 N. Shadeland, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250, 1988; based almost entirely on materials reproduced from The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799/John Clement Fitzpatrick, editor), p. 633. John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, from the Original Manuscript Sources 1749-1799, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944).
1757ML007. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. June 10, 1792, George Washington wrote in a letter written from Philadelphia to Marquis de Lafayette. William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington-A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 7440 N. Shadeland, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250, 1988; based almost entirely on materials reproduced from The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799/John Clement Fitzpatrick, editor), p. 571. John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, from the Original Manuscript Sources 1749-1799, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944).
1757ML008. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. June 17, 1825, Daniel Webster in an oration celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. David Josiah Brewer, World's Best Orations (St. Louis: F.P. Kaiser, 1901), Vol. 10, pp. 3828-3846. Ronald Reid, ed., Three Centuries of American Rhetorical Discourse-An Anthology and a Review (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc., 1988), p. 213.
1757ML009. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Marquis de Lafayette. June 21, 1834, Jackson, Andrew in a message to Congress. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. II, pp. 54-55.