Why is lafayette famous

King Louis XVI ordered Lafayette to remain in France, but the defiant young nobleman ignored him and set sail for America in early When he finally arrived in Philadelphia, Congressmen James Lovell of Massachusetts refused to receive him, saying that Americans were tired of ambitious Frenchmen seeking glory. But upon realizing how wealthy and well-connected Lafayette actually was, and recognizing his sincere support for the American cause, Lovell recommended Lafayette's appointment as a Major-General.

Washington was immediately taken with Lafayette, especially when the Marquis explained, "I am here to learn, not to teach. 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. In , he returned to the U. He also took time to visit his old friend Jefferson at his home in Monticello. When he finally passed in , he made a final wish to be buried under soil taken from Bunker Hill in Boston.

Rev War Biography. Marquis de Lafayette. Title Major General, Marquis de Lafayette. Date of Birth - Death September 6, - May 20, Related Biographies. Given how you describe your work, and the empathy you've developed towards peoples' flaws, what can you write about that historians can't? For one thing, empathy can be really educational.

If you're trying to look at something from someone else's point of view, you learn about the situation.

You might not agree. But as I go on, I become maybe more objective because of this. Ultimately, there's something shocking about the truth. I'll give you an example. My last book was about the American takeover of Hawaii in the 19th century. It's the story of how native Hawaiians lost their country. It's a big part of their lives and it's a huge part of their culture. And if you go back to the historical record, there are kind of two narratives.

There's the narrative of the missionary boys and their descendants, how these New Englanders took over these islands. Then there's the native version of those events, which is necessarily and understandably upset about all of that. You're trying to parse complicated histories.

There's one line early in the Lafayette book that seems related to this: "In the United States there was no simpler, more agreeable time. And where does this temptation to just indulge nostalgia come from? I don't know. I just loathe that idea of the good old days. Immoral behavior is human nature. So I don't know why there's this human tendency to be nostalgic about the supposedly superior morals of previous generations.

Why is it so difficult to recognize and acknowledge the role that dysfunction has played? I think it has to do with this country. History is taught not as a series of chronological events, but as adventures in American exceptionalism. When I was growing up, I was taught America never lost a war because "America is God's chosen nation.

It's funny, one reason why Americans loved Lafayette was because of how much he loved them. In or , he's speaking before the joint houses of Congress and he says, "America will save the world. We love to think about ourselves as helpful and good. And sometimes, the historical record doesn't back that up. That's true of every country. But unlike every other country, we have all of these documents that say we're supposed to be better, that say all men are created equal.

All of the great accomplishments in American history have this dark backside. I feel very reverential of the Civil Rights Movement. But then you think, well, why was that necessary?

Or all of these great amendments we're so proud of. It's like, oh, everyone can vote? I thought we already said that. Let me say one more thing. You know that scene in Dazed and Confused where the history teacher tells the class that when you're celebrating the Fourth of July, you're celebrating a bunch of like old white guys who didn't want to pay their taxes? I'm not one of those people. I don't think it's all horrors and genocide and injustice.

I do think it's still valuable to celebrate those founding ideals. And there are some days that the idea that all men are created equal, that's the only thing I believe in. I think those ideals are still worth getting worked up about.

Just because Jefferson owned slaves, I don't think that completely refutes the Declaration. I think you have to talk about both things. I'm not completely pessimistic about it. That's what I love about nonfiction: if you just keep going back to the truth, it's the most useful and it's the most interesting.

I don't want to be a naysayer or a "yaysayer. What would that word be? It's what I do for a living so I would hope so. I have a few ideas floating around but I was actually so late.

And I still haven't recovered. My books, I think they seem breezy to read. I write them that way purposely. But it's incredibly time consuming to put all that together and edit out the informational clutter. I just hate jargon and pretentious obfuscation. Hounds that Lafayette sent to Washington helped to create a new breed of dog.

To increase the size of a pack of black-and-tan English foxhounds that had been given to him by his patron, Lord Fairfax, the future first president of the United States bred the hunting dogs with the imports.

The combination of the English hounds, descended from those brought to the American colonies by Robert Brooke in , and French canines helped to create the American Foxhound. Lafayette co-authored the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

An portrait of Lafayette that hangs in the House Chamber of the U. S Capitol. Lafayette is an honorary American citizen. In , Maryland conferred honorary citizenship upon Lafayette, and other colonies followed suit.