Major-General Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier (1757-1834)
Who was the Marquis de Lafayette?
In 1777 Lafayette purchased a ship, and with a crew of adventurers and other French officer volunteers set sail for America to fight in the revolution against the British
Due to his distinctive commitment to the cause and offer to serve at no salary, the Continental Congress appointed Lafayette a major general. Lafayette was assigned to George Washington’s staff, serving with distinction, leading America forces to several victories.
Lafayette was wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, as he recounted later in a letter to his wife: “the English honored me with a musket ball, which slightly wounded me in the let.”
In December, 1777, he went with Washington and the army into winger quarters at Valley Forge. On a return visit to France in 1779 Lafayette persuaded the French government to send aid to the Americans.
As Late as 1781, the fate of America’s War of Independence still lay in the balance.