Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/761

* LAFAYETTE. 687 LAFAYETTE. rank of major-general, and he was soon after attached to the staff of General Washington, who speedily came to regard the young vol- unteer with the deepest allection and esteem. In the battle of Brandy wine (September 11, 1777), he was wounded while rallying the American troops. In December he was ap- pointed to the command of an army destined lor the invasion of Canada, but the expedition was abandoned for lack of resources, and La- fayette rejoined General Washington at Valley Forge in April, 1778. On the night of May lOtl'i he was surprised by General Grant with a force of 5000 men, more than twice his own, at Bar- ren Hill, some twelve miles from Valley Forge, hut effected his retreat with the utmost skill. He fought brilliantly under Lee at ilonmouth (June 28), and in August commanded with Sullivan and Greene the land expedition dis- patched to cooperate with the French fleet in an attack on Xewport. On the breaking out of war between France and England, Lafayette sailed for his native country (.January, 1779), and it was largely through his exertions that the King dispatched a land force as well as a fleet to the aid of the Americans. In May Lafayette was back in service, and was stationed with a corps of observation on the Hudson. He was a member of the court-martial that condemned Major Andre to death. In February, 1781, he was .sent with 1200 New England troops to niierate against Benedict Arnold in Virginia, and later, when the British strength in Virginia was increased by the arrival of Cornwallis at Peters- burg with 5000 troops (May 20th). Washington showed his confidence in Lafayette by continuing him in the command. On May 24th Cornwallis set out from Petersburg in pursuit of Lafayette, who was stationed near Richmond. "The boy can- not escape me." said Cornwallis. The 'boy' re- treated rapidly to the Rappahannock, effected a junction with 1000 Pennsylvanians under Wavne, and. reinforced by the militia from the moun- tains, offered Cornwallis battle near Albemarle. Cornwallis retreated to Richmond, and then to Williamsburg, with Lafayette at the head of 4000 men in pursuit. On .July 6th he came in touch with the British at Green Springs, but the action was indecisive, and Cornwallis continued his retreat — to Yorktown. On the day after Comwallis's surrender. Lafayette was publicly thanked by Washington. In December, 1781, he sailed from Boston for home. On a visit to North America in 1784, after the conclusion of peace, he was received with tremendous enthu- siasm. Lafayette had imbibed liberal principles in America, and now eagerly sought to promote a thorough reform in his native countrv". He was called to the Assembly of Notables in 1787. and was one of those who most earnestly urged the calling of the States-General. He took part also in the movement which converted that body into the National Assembly in 1789. He took an active part in the proceedings of the Assembly, of which he was vice-president for some time. On the day after the storming of the Bastille, he was made conimander-in-chief of the National Guard in Paris. He perfected the organization of (he National Guard throughout France, and brought about the adoption of the tricolor. On October .5th and fith. 1789. be was forced to take part in the march on Versailles, whence the royal family were brought to live among their 'loving subjects' in Paris. In this first period of the Revolution it seemed as if Lafayette had the destinies of France in his hands. But the ex- citement of the nation was beyond all possibility of control. The extreme republicans soon came to dislike him, because he advocated a constitu- tional kingdom; and the Court party, especially the Queen, regarded him with equal aversion — in spile of the services he rendered them — because of his zeal for the new order of things. With I'ailly he founded, in 1790, the Club of the Feuil- lants (q.v. ), repre.--enting the conservative ele- ment in the Constituent Assembly, whose efforts were directed toward the establishment of a con- stitutional monarchy. In November, 1791, he v.as defeated for the office of Alayor of Paris by Petion, his failure being due to the opposition of the extreme republicans and to the treachery of the Court. He joined with the party of the Gironde in demanding war against Austria and Prussia, and on the outbreak of war received the command of the Army of Ardennes, with which he won the first victories of Philippeville, Maubeuge, and Florennes. Nevertheless, the calumnies of the Jacobins rendered his position a precarious one. He left his army to return to Paris to protest against the excesses of the populace, but found his influence gone and his life in danger. He was accused of treason and acquitted, but soon after commissioners were dis- patched to seize him at the head of his army lie tied to Flanders and on August 19, 1792, was taken prisoner by the Austrians, who confined him in the citadal of Olmiitz, and subjected him to the most cruel treatment. He remained in captivity till Bonaparte obtained his liberation in 1797. He returned to France in 1799, but took no part in public affairs during the ascendency of Napoleon, being opposed both to the Consulate and to the Empire. He sat in the French House of Representatives in 1815 during the Hundred Days and in the Chamber of Deputies from 1818 to 1824, as one of the Extreme Left. From 1825 to 1830 he was a leader of the opposition. In 1S."?0 he took an active part in the Revolution of July, and figured again as commander of the National CJuard. His life was identified with the history of France for upward of forty years, and no stain is known to rest on the purity "and disin- terestedness of his public service. No private misfortunes or losses incident to the forfeiture of his great estates by the Revolution of 1789 ever drew from him a revocation of his re- publican principles, or a sign of regret for the sacrifices which he had made for them. His visit to the United States in 1824-25. on invita- tion of Congress, was a memorable event. He was sought as a public guest in all parts of the country, his course was amid a universal tumult of honor and praise; and the nation thronged around him to testify with one voice its grati- tu<le and love. Congress voted him a grant of $200,000 and a township of land. He died in Paris May 20. 1S.S4. l^fayette's son, George Washington Ijifayette ( 1779- 1S49 1 . and his grand- sons and their desc-endants figured in French ifpublican politics of the nineteenth century. At the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Yorktown and the surrender of the British army, celebrated in 1881. a representative of the Lafay- ette family was present a.s a national guest. Con- sult : Mfiiioiies. correspondance et manuscrils du i/tii^nil Lafayette, published bv his family i8 vols., Paris, 1837-40); B^dolliire, Vie poli-