–By Katie Farthing
He became a commissioned officer in the French army at 13 and married his teenage sweetheart just two years later. His betrothed, Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, was just 14 at the time. His name was a mouthful, even by French standards—with eight names preceding his surname.
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette—otherwise known as the Marquis de La Fayette or, simply, Lafayette—had somewhat of a crush on the fledgling United States. He signed on to serve under Gen. George Washington, without compensation, during the Revolutionary War when he was still a teen. He and Adrienne even named a son Georges Washington Lafayette after his American hero.
Chuck Schwam, executive director of the American Friends of Lafayette (AFL), notes that England would have won the war had it not been for the French. Without the Marquis ginning up interest in the American Revolution on his home turf, the French would never have offered their help.
Lafayette was so enamored with the colonist’s struggle for independence that he was determined to offer the colonies a hand. But the American Continental Congress was out of money, so he personally bankrolled his transatlantic voyage, paying £112,000 in 1777—over £2 million today for his own vessel, La Victoire.
He served as a major general, commanded troops at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777,
and crossed the ocean several times before sailing back to lead troops against British General Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, ending the war and securing American independence.
Marquis de La Fayette. Photos courtesy of Lafayette 200
The 2024–2025 Lafayette 200 tour map.
Historic interpreter Mark Schneider as Marquis de La Fayette.
Nearly 50 years later, Lafayette returned to the colonies in 1824 at the request of President James Monroe for what was meant to be a triumphant, three-month return tour. The general was so loved by the American public he stayed for 13 months as the “Guest of the Nation.”
Of all the places Lafayette visited, the most memorable was Virginia. His fourth child, a daughter, was named for his favorite state: Marie Antoinette Virginie. After tweaking his tour dates to spend time with old war friends, the general lounged for weeks at Monticello with Thomas Jefferson and Montpelier with James Madison.
The AFL began celebrating Lafayette 200 in August to commemorate the bicentennial of the Marquis’ farewell tour. Over 400 days and covering 6,000 miles, it continues well into 2025 with stops in the 24 states he visited. The festivities will blaze a trail of patriotism and gratitude stretching to St. Louis and New Orleans and more than a dozen sites scheduled throughout Virginia. Lafayette200.org
This article originally appeared in our December 2024 issue.
