Georges Washington de La Fayette
Encyclopedia
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, and Adrienne de La Fayette
Adrienne de La Fayette
Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, marquise de La Fayette , the daughter of Jean de Noailles, and Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, married Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette....
. Lafayette named his son in the honour of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, with whom he fought in the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
Life
From 1783, La Fayette grew up in the Hôtel de La Fayette, at 183 rue de Bourbon, ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Their home was the headquarters of Americans in Paris, such as Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Mr. and Mrs. John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
, and Mr. and Mrs. John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
who met every Monday, and dined in company with family, and the liberal nobility, such as Clermont-Tonnerre
Stanislas Marie Adelaide, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre
Stanislas Marie Adélaïde, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre was a French politician.-Early life and career:Born in Pont-a-Mousson, in what is today the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France...
, Madame de Staël, Morellet
André Morellet
André Morellet was a French economist and writer. He was one of the last of the philosophes, and in this character he figures in many memoirs, such as those of Madame de Rémusat....
, and Marmontel
Jean-François Marmontel
Jean-François Marmontel was a French historian and writer, a member of the Encyclopediste movement.-Biography:He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin...
.
Reign of Terror
La Fayette went into hiding, after 10 September 1792, with his tutor Felix Frestrel, while his mother was under house arrest and then in prison.His great-grandmother, Catherine de Cossé-Brissac duchesse de Noailles, his grand-mother, Henriette-Anne-Louise d'Aguesseau
Henriette-Anne-Louise d'Aguesseau
Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, Duchess of Noailles, Princess of Tingry , was the heiress of her grandfather, Henri François d'Aguesseau, and wife of Jean Paul François de Noailles, Count and Duke of Ayen.-Family:...
, duchesse d'Ayen, and aunt, Anne Jeanne Baptiste Louise vicomtesse d'Ayen, were guillotined, on 22 July 1794.
In April 1795, Georges was sent to America with Frestrel, and studied at Harvard. Following that, he was a houseguest of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
at the presidential mansion
President's House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The President's House in Philadelphia at 524-30 Market Street was the third Presidential mansion. It was occupied by President George Washington from November 1790 to March 1797 and President John Adams from March 1797 to May 1800....
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and at Mount Vernon, Virginia
Mount Vernon, Virginia
Mount Vernon is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Nearby CDPs are Fort Belvoir , Groveton, Virginia and Hybla Valley, Virginia , and Fort Hunt, Virginia...
.
On 15 October 1795, his mother joined Marquis de Lafayette, along with his sisters Anastasie, and Virginie, in the prison fortress of Olmütz. All of their money and baggage were confiscated. On 18 September 1797, the family was released, under the terms of the treaty of Campo-Formio (18 October 1797).
They recuperated at Lhemkuln, Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
near his aunt Madame de Montagu, and great-aunt Madame de Tessé
Madame de Tessé
Adrienne Catherine, comtesse de Noailles de Tessé , daughter of Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, sister of the Jean-Louis-Paul-François, 5th duc de Noailles, aunt of Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, held a salon, and corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, in the early 19th century.-Life:On 20 June...
.
In 1798, Georges returned from America. In 1799, they moved to Vianen, near Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. Georges was turned back at the French border as an exile, and he stayed with his father, while his mother Adrienne returned to France. After Napoleon's plebiscite, on 1 March 1800, he restored Lafayette's citizenship, and removed their names from the émigrés list.
Army service
Georges entered the army, was wounded at the Battle of Mincio, in 1800, and later was aide-de-camp to General Grouchy, and was with him at the Battle of EylauBattle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
, 1807, where he gave up his horse, after Grouchy's had been killed, at the risk of his own life. Napoleon's distrust of his father's independence rendered promotion improbable, and Georges de La Fayette retired into private life in 1807.
Restoration
He entered the Chamber of DeputiesChamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
and voted consistently on the Liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
side. He was away from Paris during the revolution of July 1830, but he took an active part in the Campagne des banquets
Campagne des banquets
The Campagne des banquets were political meetings during the July Monarchy in France which destabilized the King of the French Louis-Philippe. The campaign officially took place from 9 July 1847 to 25 December 1847, but in fact continued until the February 1848 Revolution during which the Second...
, which led up to the French Revolution of 1848
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
.
Lafayette's visit to America
He accompanied his father on his triumphant visit to America in 1824 and 1825. They observed a volunteer fire company turnout in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He met George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis , the step-grandson of United States President George Washington, was a nineteenth-century American writer, orator, and agricultural reformer.-Family:...
at Arlington House
Arlington House
Arlington House may refer to:*Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial*Arlington House a hostel for the homeless in London, England, and one of the Rowton Houses...
, visited Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
. He met Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, at Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
.
Family
In 1802, Georges de Lafayette married Emilie de Tracy, daughter of the Comte de Tracy. They had three daughters and two sons: Natalie, who married Adolphe Perrier; Malthilde, who married Maurice de Pusy (1799–1864, son of Jean-Xavier Bureau de PusyJean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy
Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy was a French military engineer, and politician, during the French Revolution.-Military career:...
); Clémentine, who married "Gustave" Auguste Bonnin de La Bonninière de Beaumont; Oscar Thomas Gilbert, marquis de La Fayette (1815–1881), liberal politician; and Edmond.
Oscar Thomas Gilbert Motier de La Fayette (1815–1881), was educated at the École Polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
, and served as an artillery officer in Algeria. He entered the Chamber of Representatives in 1846 and voted, like his father, with the extreme Left. After the revolution of 1848 he received a post in the provisional government, and as a member of the Constituent Assembly he became secretary of the war committee. After the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in 1851, he retired from public life, but emerged on the establishment of the third republic, becoming a life senator in 1875. His brother Edmond Motier de La Fayette (1818–1890) shared his political opinions. He was one of the secretaries of the Constituent Assembly, and a member of the senate from 1876 to 1888.
Legacy
The appearance of the young Georges Washington is known from a painting, The oathOath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
of La Fayette at the Fête de la Fédération
Fête de la Fédération
The Fête de la Fédération of the 14 July 1790 was a huge feast and official event to celebrate the establishment of the short-lived constitutional monarchy in France and what people of the time considered to be the happy conclusion of the French Revolution the outcome hoped for by the...
, 14 July 1790, in which he is standing on the right alongside his father. The painting is visible at the Musée Carnavalet.
See also
- Franco-American allianceFranco-American allianceThe Franco-American alliance refers to the 1778 alliance between Louis XVI's France and the United States, during the American Revolutionary War. Formalized in the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, it was a military pact in which France provided arms and money, and engaged in full-scale war with Britain. ...
- La Fayette familyLa Fayette familyGilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette married Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles , the daughter of Jean-Paul-François, 5th duc de Noailles, and Henriette d'Aguesseau...
- President's House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)President's House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)The President's House in Philadelphia at 524-30 Market Street was the third Presidential mansion. It was occupied by President George Washington from November 1790 to March 1797 and President John Adams from March 1797 to May 1800....
— Third Presidential Mansion.