Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de La Fayette (1757 – 1834), was an American hero. Orphaned early in life, Lafayette joined the French Royal Army in 1771. After having achieved the rank of general in 1776 at only 19 years of age, he became inspired by stories of the American colonists’ struggles against British oppression and sailed across the Atlantic to join the uprising.
Lafayette was shot in the leg at the Battle of Brandywine and spent the difficult winter in Valley Forge with Washington. The two became quite close and Washington began to refer to him as “my adopted son.” In May 1778, Lafayette eluded capture by the British and successfully led American troops in defending Monmouth Courthouse in New Jersey from attack.
By 1779, the Americans desperately needed more money and arms. Lafayette sailed back to France to persuade King Louis XVI to offer more help. When he returned with both money and arms in 1780, Washington gave him command of the Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. In 1781, Lafayette laid siege to the British at Yorktown until Washington arrived with additional troops. General Cornwallis was trapped and forced to surrender, thus ending the war.
