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Namesake
Marie Joseph du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette -- born at Chateau Chavaniac, Auvergne, France, on 6 September 1757 -- entered the French Army at the age of 14, and six years later left France to assist the American colonists in their fight for independence from Great Britain. His military contributions to the victory of the Americans were climaxed by the final campaign in which his skillful maneuvering played a major part in the defeat of the British at Yorktown. Taking the gratitude of the American people with him, he returned to France in 1781 and later aided his own people in the disturbed days of the French Revolution. As commander of France's eastern Army, Lafayette was captured by the Austrians in August 1792. He was imprisoned for five years, and released after Napoleon's rise to power. For the rest of his life he actively participated in movements for liberty and freedom in France and the world. He died in Paris on 20 May 1834.
Photo: Marquis de Lafayette. Portrait by Charles Wilson Peale, 1781
Images of American Political History |
Bill Gonyo |