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Rh Lafayette went on to Bordeaux. There he learned that the court had information of his movements and had issued an order for his arrest. To avoid this he sailed with his ship to Pasage, a Spanish port, where his preparations were completed. Here he received letters from his family and the ministry which led him to return for a short time to Bordeaux. A letter which he now wrote to the government, begging permission to proceed with his enterprise, remained unanswered. In a private letter to Maurepas, he observed that "silence gives consent," and he should go on. There was more than mere pleasantry in this. He doubtless understood well enough that the royal disapproval of his movements was in great part assumed for the sake of appearances. He set sail from Pasage, 26 April, 1777, taking with him De Kalb and eleven other officers, and landed, 14 June, at Georgetown, S. C, whence he proceeded to Charleston. After a journey of more than a month on horseback he arrived in Philadelphia, where congress was in session. Congress was at that time beset with so many applications from foreign officers in quest of adventure, and in some instances, as in that of Du Coudray {q. v.), these applications led to so much jealousy and discontent that Lafayette at first met with a rather cold reception; but, after he had declared his wish to serve as a volunteer and at his own expense, congress (31 July, 1777) appointed him major-general. The next day he was introduced to Washington, and the life-long friendship between the two was at once begun. As it appeared that his appointment was for the present merely honorary, Lafayette served for a time as a sort of volunteer aide upon Washington's staff. At the battle of Brandywine, 11 Sept., he behaved very gallantly and received a wound in the leg, which laid him up for two months. During this time he remained under the care of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem. On 25 Nov., in a reconnaissance of Gen. Greene against Cornwallis's position at Gloucester Point, Lafayette with 300 men defeated a superior force of Hessians. In recognition of this service he was appointed, 4 Dec, to command the division of Washington's army lately under Gen. Stephen, who had been removed for alleged misconduct in the battle of Germantown. The intrigue known as the "Conway cabal," for removing Washington from the chief command of the Continental army and putting Gates in his place, seemed at this time to be faring prosperously. Among the schemes of the intriguers was one for an invasion of Canada, which Washington was known to disapprove. It was thought that with the aid of Stark enough Green Mountain boys could be enlisted to join with a small force of regulars stationed at Albany, so as to make up an invading army of 4,000 men. The command of this small army was offered by the board of war to Lafayette, and it was hoped that on his arrival in Canada the French population of that country would hail him as their deliverer, and would forthwith rise against the British. Lafayette's appointment was dated 23 Jan., 1778, and at the same time Washington's enemy, Conway, was made second in command. His first information of the appointment was conveyed in a letter of 24 Jan. from Gates, enclosed in one from that officer to Washington. Lafayette did not accept the command until he had first consulted with Washington, and he furthermore insisted that De Kalb, who outranked Conway, should accompany the expedition. On arriving at Albany it appeared that the scheme was a fiasco quite worthy of the shallow intriguers who had conceived it. The few regulars at Albany were in no-wise equipped for a winter march, no help could be got from Stark, and not a volunteer could be found in any quarter. The new alliance with France (6 Feb., 1778) had put an end to the desire of the New England people for conquering Canada. They feared that France might insist upon retaining it at the end of the war, and they greatly preferred Great Britain to France for a neighbor. The failure of this scheme was a serious blow to the enemies of Washington, to whose camp Lafayette joyfully returned early in April. Throughout the whole affair he showed much sagacity along with unswerving fidelity to Washington.

On 19 May the British Gen. Grant, with an overwhelming force, surprised him at Barren Hill, near Philadelphia: but Lafayette succeeded in withdrawing his troops and artillery without loss. Here he gave proof of the skill in handling men which afterward characterized his campaign in Virginia. Washington's confidence in him was shown soon afterward at the battle of Monmouth. 28 June. The command of the force entrusted with the attack upon Clinton's rear division was at first assigned to Lee as the officer highest in rank next to Washington. When Lee expressed his unwillingness to undertake the attack, Washington at once assigned this very important operation to Lafayette. On the eve of the battle Lee changed his mind, and begged for the command which he had before refused. The operation was accordingly assigned to Lee, and Lafayette commanded one of the divisions of his force. When the strange disorder and retreat began, he was one of the first to suspect Lee's treachery, and sent a messenger to Washington to hasten his arrival upon the field. During the remainder of the battle, Lafayette commanded the second line with ability. He was sent, 21 July, with two brigades of infantry, to operate under Sullivan in Rhode Island. After the destructive storm of 19 Aug., he tried in vain to dissuade D'Estaing from taking the fleet away to Boston; and, 29 Aug., rode on horseback from Newport to Boston to urge the admiral's speedy return; next day a gallop of eighty miles in eight hours brought him back to Rhode Island just in time to assist in superintending the retreat of the American forces. For his zealous efforts in this campaign he received from congress a vote of thanks.

Having witnessed the ill success of this important enterprise, due chiefly to the misunderstandings and want of co-operation between the French and American commanders, Lafayette now thought that he could for a while be more useful to the American cause in France than in the United States. The alliance between the two countries would now insure him a favorable reception at court, in spite of the technical irregularity of his first departure for America, and the opportunity to visit wife and family could not but be grateful to the young soldier. He obtained leave of absence from congress, 21 Oct., but was seized with a fever which kept him for several weeks