Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette by Lafayette

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"I thought I had written you word that the Cardinal de Le Roche-Aimon
was abbe de St. Germain. It is said that M. de Briges has the barony
de Mercoeur. M. de la Vauguyon has died, little regretted either by
the court or by the town. The ball of last Thursday is put off to the
15th, that is to say, for week hence. I dined, the day before
yesterday, Thursday, with M. de la Tour d'Auvergne, who is on a
complimentary footing with M. de Turenne, now Duke de Bouillon. He
told us he should lose perhaps a million from politeness. You will
recognise him by that phrase.

"Adieu, dear cousin; my respects, if you please, to all the family; M.
de Fayon presents his to you, and I remain your obedient servant,

"LAFAYETTE."

6. A place in the household of a prince of royal blood. The Marshal de
Noailles wished for this arrangement. To prevent it without openly
opposing the will of those he loved, M. de Lafayette took an
opportunity of displeasing, by a few words, the prince, to whose
person they were desirous of attaching him, and all negotiations on
the subject were thus broken off. We do not believe that since that
period a reconciliation has ever taken place between him and Louis
XVIII.

7. In 1828, Mr. Jared Sparks, a distinguished American author,
intending to form a collection of the writings of Washington, which he
is at present publishing at Boston, made a voyage to France to
converse with M. de Lafayette, and consult the archives of foreign
affairs. He obtained from the general many anecdotes, letters, and
documents, of which extracts have enriched his publication. At the
close of vol. v., he has placed an appendix, containing the account of
the departure of M. de Lafayette from France, and his arrival in
America. We doubt not but that the details of that narration were
related, nay, perhaps even written, by the general himself. We shall
therefore quote some extracts from it without hesitation, which,
placed as notes, will completely elucidate the text of these memoirs.

"In the summer of 1776," says Mr. Sparks, "M. de Lafayette was
stationed on military duty at Metz, being then an officer in the
French army. It happened at this time that the Duke of Gloucester,
brother to the King of England, was at Metz, and a dinner was given to
him by the commandant of that place. Several officers were invited,
and among others Lafayette. Despatches had just been received by the
duke from England, and he made their contents the topic of
conversation; they related to American affairs, the recent declaration
of independence, the resistance of the colonists, and the strong
measures adopted by the ministry to crush the rebellion.

"The details were new to Lafayette; he listened with eagerness to the
conversation, and prolonged it by asking questions of the duke. His
curiosity was deeply excited by what he heard, and the idea of a
people fighting for liberty had a strong influence upon his
imagination; the cause seemed to him just and noble, from the
representations of the duke himself; and before he left the table, the
thought came into his head that he would go to America, and offer his
services to a people who were struggling for freedom and independence.
From that hour he could think of nothing but this chivalrous
enterprise. He resolved to return to Paris and make further inquiries.

When he arrived in that city, he confided his scheme to two young
friends, Count Segur and Viscount de Noailles, and proposed that they
should join him. They entered with enthusiasm into his views; but as
they were dependent on their families, it was necessary to consult
their parents, who reprobated the plan and refused their consent. The
young men faithfully kept Lafayette's secret: his situation was more
fortunate, as his property was at his own disposal, and he possessed
an annual revenue of nearly two hundred thousand livres.

"He next explained his intentions to the Count de Broglie who told him
that his project was so chimerical, and fraught with so many hazards,
without a prospect of the least advantage, that he could not for a
moment regard it with favor, nor encourage him with any advice which
should prevent him from abandoning it immediately. When Lafayette
found him thus determined, he requested that at least he would not
betray him for he was resolved to go to America. The Count de Broglie
assured him that his confidence was not misplaced; 'But,' said he, 'I
have seen your uncle die in the wars of Italy; I witnessed your
father's death at the battle of Minden; and I will not be accessary to
the ruin of the only remaining branch of the family: He then used all
his powers of argument and persuasion to divert Lafayette from his
purpose, but in vain. Finding his determination unalterable, the Count
de Broglie said, as he could render him no aid, he would introduce him
to the Baron de Kalb, who he knew was seeking an opportunity to go to
America, and whose experience and counsels might be valuable.--(The
Writings of George Washington, vol. v. Appendix, No. 1, p. 445.)

8. M. du Boismartin was the person sent to Bourdeaux to secure the
purchase and equipment of the ship that M. de Lafayette intended for
the United States.--(Sparks, loc. cit.)

9. It is a singular coincidence that, at the same time that General
Washington, who had never left America, reduced to corps of two
thousand men, did not despair of the common cause, the same sentiment
was animating, two thousand leagues from thence, the breast of a youth
of nineteen, who was destined to become one day his intimate friend,
partake with him the vicissitudes and happy termination of that
revolution, and afterwards carry back to another hemisphere the
principles of liberty and equality which formed its basis.

10. With the Prince de Poix. This journey lasted three weeks.

11. The Marquis de Noailles, brother to the Duke d'Aven, and uncle to
Madame de Lafayette.

12. M. de Lafayette learnt, at Bordeaux, that his intended departure
was known at Versailles, and that the order to prevent it had been
already issued. After having taken his ship to the common port of the
Passage, he returned himself to Bordeaux, and wrote to the ministers,
to his family and friends. Amongst the latter was M. de Coigny, to
whom he sent a confidential person, and who bade him entertain no
hopes of obtaining the permission he wished for. Pretending to repair
to Marseilles, where he had received an order to join his
father-in-law, who was going into Italy, he set off in a postchaise
with an officer named Mauroy, who was desirous of going to America.
Some leagues from Bordeaux he got on horseback, disguised as a
courier, and rode on before the carriage, which took the road to
Bayonne. They remained two or three hours in that town, and whilst
Mauroy was arranging some necessary affairs, M. de Lafayette remained
lying on some straw in the stable. It was the postmaster's daughter
who recognised the pretended courier Saint Jean de Luz, from having
seen him when returning from the Passage harbour to Bordeaux. (Sparks,
loc. cit.)

13. These memoirs, written until now in the first person, change here
to the third person, in spite of the kind of engagement taken in the
first page to continue them in the former manner. We are ignorant of
the cause of the inconsistency thus offered by the manuscript, which
is, however, completely written in the general's own hand.

14. See, at the end of these memoirs, amongst the various fragments,
fragment A.

15. The court of France despatched orders to the Leeward and Windward
Islands to stop him on his road, because the ship, not being able to
take out papers for North America, was to have stopped in the Spanish
islands. (Manuscript No. 1.) Mr. Sparks relates that M. de Lafayette
declared to the captain that the ship belonged to him, and that if he
offered the slightest resistance, he would take from him the command
and give it to the mate. But as he soon discovered that the real
motive of the captain's resistance was a cargo belonging to him of
8000 dollars, M. de Lafayette secured to him its full value upon his
own private fortune, and thus succeeded in overcoming all his
scruples. (Washington's writings, loc. cit.)

16. When they landed, says Mr. Sparks, a distant light served to guide
them. As they approached the house from whence it issued, the dogs
barked, and the people took them for a band of marauders landing from
an enemy's ship. They were asked who they were, and what they wanted.
Baron Kalb replied and all suspicions vanished. The next morning the
weather was beautiful. The novelty of all that surrounded him,--the
room, the bed covered with mosquito nets, the black servant who came
to ask his commands, the beauty and foreign aspect of the country
which he beheld from his windows, and which was covered by a rich
vegetation,--all united to produce on M. de Lafayette a magical
effect, and excite in him a variety of inexpressible sensations.
(Sparks, appendix.)

17. An American, who must not be confounded with the two brothers of
that name who commanded the one the English army, the other the
English fleet.

18. When he arrived at Philadelphia, M. de Lafayette delivered his
letters to Mr. Lovell, president of the committee for foreign affairs.
The next day he proceeded to congress: Mr. Lovell came out of the
meeting, and told him there was but little hope of his request being
acceded to. Suspecting that his letters had not been read, M. de
Lafayette wrote the note which will be found in the text. The
resolution of the congress concerning him, deliberated the 31st of
July, is expressed in the following manner: "Seeing that the Marquis
de Lafayette, on account of his great zeal in the cause of liberty in
which the United States are engaged, has quitted his family and
country, and has come to offer his services to the United States,
without demanding either pay or private indemnity, and that he desires
to expose his life in our cause,--resolved, that his services be
accepted, and that, on account of his zeal, illustrious family and
connexions, he shall have the rank and commission of major-general in
the army of the United States." The real intention of this resolution
was to give a rank to M. de Lafayette, and to leave to General
Washington the right and care of confiding to him a command in unison
with that rank. (Letters of Washington, 2nd part. V, p. 10, 35, and
128, and appendix No. I.)

19. He was presented, for the first time, to Washington, says Mr.
Sparks, at a dinner, at which several members of congress were
present. When they were separating, Washington drew Lafayette aside,
expressed much kindness for him, complimented him upon his zeal and
his sacrifices, and invited him to consider the headquarters as his
own house, adding, with a smile that he could not promise him the
luxuries of a court, but that as he was become an American soldier, he
would doubtless submit cheerfully to the customs and privations of a
republican army. The next day Washington visited the forts of the
Delaware, and invited Lafayette to accompany him. (Sparks, ibid.)

20. See fragment B.

21. From Bethlehem he wrote to M. de Boulle, governor of the Windward
Islands, to propose to him to attack the English islands under
American colours. That general approved of the project, and forwarded
it to the court, who would not, however, accept it. At the same
period, M. de Lafayette, although in disgrace himself at court, wrote
to the Count de Maurepas, to propose to him a still more important
enterprise against the English factories, but also under American
colours. The old minister, from prudential motives, did not adopt this
project, but he spoke publicly in praise of it, and expressed, ever
after, a great partiality for Lafayette. "He will end, one day," said
he, smiling, "by unfurnishing the palace of Versailles to serve the
American cause; for when he has taken anything into his head, it is
impossible to resist him."--(Note by M. de Lafayette.)

22. This name is very illegible in the manuscript.

23. The celebrated Alexander Hamilton, one of the authors of the
_Federalist_.

24. Journal of Congress, 1st December, 1777.

25. See fragment C, at the end of the Memoirs.

26. After having thus declared himself, he wrote to congress that "he
could only accept the command on condition of remaining subordinate to
General Washington, of being but considered as an officer detached
from him, and of addressing all his letters to him, of which those
received by congress would be but duplicates." These requests, and all
the others he made, were granted. (Manuscript No. 2.)

27. He had the discretion to renounce an expedition which, undertaken
without proper means, would have produced fatal effects upon the whole
northern part of the United States. At Georgetown, the present
residence of congress, some anxiety was experienced, because they
feared that M. de Lafayette had trusted himself upon the lakes in the
season of the year when the ice begins to melt. The counter orders
that were sent him would have arrived too late; and when it became
known that he had himself renounced the expedition, he received the
thanks of congress and of the minister of war, General Gates, who, in
spite of the line of conduct Lafayette had pursued during his quarrel
with General Washington, had always expressed great respect and esteem
for him. (Manuscript No. 1.)

28. It is singular that the oath of renunciation to Great Britain and
her king, which every one employed in the continental service was
obliged to take at that time, should have been administered in one
half of the United States by a Frenchman of twenty years of age.
(Manuscript No. 2.)

29. See, after these Memoirs, fragment D.

30. The two battalions formed to arrest the enemy's march were placed
by General Washington himself. When, after having expressed his own
feelings of dissatisfaction, he wished to give himself time to form
his army on the heights behind the passage, he left there
Major-General Lafayette, Brigadier-General Knox, commanding the
artillery, and some officers of his staff. The colonels were good
officers, and the battalions conducted themselves perfectly well. When
the army was ranged in order of battle, General Greene commanded the
right of the first line, Lord Stirling the left, and Lafayette the
second line. (Manuscript No. 2.)

31. General Washington was never greater in battle than this action.
His presence stopped the retreat; his arrangements secured the
victory. His graceful bearing on horseback, his calm and dignified
deportment, which still retained some trace of the displeasure he had
experienced in the morning, were all calculated to excite the highest
degree of enthusiasm. (Manuscript No. 2.)

32. See, after these Memoirs, the fragment E.

33. See fragment F.

34. The following was written by M. de Lafayette twenty years after
the presumed date of the memoirs:--"Lord Carlisle refused,--and he was
right. The challenge, however, excited some jokes against the
commission and its president, which, whether well or ill founded, are
always disadvantageous to those who become their objects."--(Manuscript
No. 1.) "Lord Carlisle was right: but the challenge appearing the
result of chivalric patriotism, party spirit took advantage of the
circumstance, and the feeling which had inspired this irregular step
was generally approved."--(Manuscript No. 2.)

35. General Washington--who, when Lafayette was wounded at Brandywine,
said to the surgeon, "_Take care of him as if he were my son, for I
love him the same_"--expressed for him, during this illness, the most
tender and paternal anxiety.--(Manuscript No. 1.)

FRAGMENTS

EXTRACTED FROM VARIOUS MANUSCRIPTS.~[1]

Footnote:

1. We have already mentioned these manuscripts. The one we
term _Manuscript No. 1_, consists of a rapid sketch of the American
life of General Lafayette; the other one, or _Manuscript 2_, is
entitled, _Observations on some portion of the American History, by a
Friend of General Lafayette_. Both appear to have been written about
the period of the empire. Fragment A is drawn from the Manuscript No.
2.

* * * * *

A.

DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA IN 1777.

The histories of the American war and revolution are, generally
speaking, very favourable to M. de Lafayette; the life of Washington,
by Mr. Marshall, is especially so. There is one phrase, however, (page
410 of the third volume of the London edition,) which requires some
explanation. "_He left France ostensibly in opposition to his
sovereign_." This circumstance is treated in a more lucid and exact
manner in the following works:--_The History, etc., by William Gordon,
D.D._, vol. ii., pages 499 and 500. _London_, 1788.--_The History of
the American Revolution, by Dr. Ramsay_, vol. ii., page 11.
_Philadelphia_, 1789.

The importance of this step was increased by a peculiar circumstance.
The preparations for the purchase and equipment of the vessel had
delayed Lafayette's departure until the period which had been long
previously fixed upon for an excursion of some weeks into England; this
enabled him to conceal his departure; the American commissioners were
well pleased to take advantage of this accident. Lafayette refused the
proposals which were made him in London to visit the ports, or to do
anything which could be construed into an abuse of confidence. He did
not conceal his partiality for the American insurgents; but he
endeavoured to profit by the parade with which, from political motives,
the king and his ministry received at that period all persons coming
from the court of France, and the attention which was paid them. The
Marquis de Noailles, the ambassador, was his uncle. Lafayette felt no
scruple in compromising the diplomatic character of this representation
of the King of France, so that the _maximum_ of the favourable effect
that his departure could produce was obtained in England.

The same result took place in France. It would be difficult at this
period to imagine into what a state of political and military
insignificance the nation and government had been reduced during the
war of seven years, and, above all, after the partition of Poland. The
French ministry had personally, at that period, the reputation of great
circumspection; the few indirect relations it permitted itself to hold
with the agents of the insurgent colonies were only managed through the
medium of unacknowledged agents, and were discovered the moment the
ambassador pretended to become acquainted with them, or that the
Americans could have drawn any advantage from them. Amongst the
departures on which the ministers were kind enough to close their eyes,
there were only four engineers for whom this toleration was in truth a
secret mission.~[1] One word from Lord Stormont was sufficient to
procure the detention, discharge, and sometimes imprisonment of the
Americans admitted into our ports: their liberty or property was only
restored to them surreptitiously, and as if escaping from the vigilance
of a superior.

Amidst this labyrinth of precautions, feebleness, and denials, the
effect may be conceived that was produced at Versailles by the bold
step taken by a youth of distinguished birth and fortune, allied to one
of the first families of the court, by whom the King of England and his
ministers would fancy themselves braved and even laughed at, and whose
departure would leave no doubt as to the connivance of the ambassador
and government of France. The displeasure of the rulers was roused to
the highest pitch: a portion of Lafayette's family shared in this
displeasure. He had secretly traversed France. Having met near Paris
with Carmichael, secretary of the American agents, he had urged the
immediate departure of his vessel from Bordeaux, preferring to complete
the necessary arrangements at the Spanish port of Passage. He returned
himself to Bordeaux, in the hope of obtaining a consent which he
considered would be useful to his cause. The return of his courier
having informed him that they would not condescend to give an answer to
such an indiscreet request, he hastened to quit France himself in the
disguise of a courier, and lost no time in setting sail.

The government, to appease as far as possible, the English ambassador,
despatched two light vessels to the Leeward and Windward Islands to
stop Lafayette. At that period, the French navigators did not risk
steering straight towards the American continent; they first repaired
to the West Indies, and, taking out papers for France, they ranged as
close as possible to the American coast, and endeavoured to seize a
favourable moment or pretext to steal into a harbour. Lafayette's
vessel had followed the common course of all expeditions; but its
youthful owner, who had several officers with him, and had won the
affection of the crew, obliged the captain to take a straightforward
direction. A lucky gale of wind drove off the frigates that had been
cruising on the preceding day before Georgetown, and he sailed into
that port, having been protected by fate against the various obstacles
which had been opposed to his enterprise.

But whilst the French government thus seconded the views of the English
government, the departure of young Lafayette produced, in Paris, in the
commercial towns, in all societies, and even at court, a sensation that
was very favourable to the American cause. The enthusiasm it excited
was in a great measure owing to the state of political stagnation into
which the country had so long been plunged, the resentment excited by
the arrogance of England, her commissioner at Dunkirk, her naval
pretensions, and the love inherent in all mankind of bold and
extraordinary deeds, especially when they are in defiance of the
powerful, and to protect the weak in their struggle for liberty. To
these peculiar circumstances may be imputed the increased interest and
attention, the strong national feeling, and the constantly augmenting
force of public opinion to which the French government at length
yielded, when, in its treaties with the United States, it formed
engagements with them, and commenced a war with England, which were
both equally opposed to its real character and inclination.

Footnote:

1: MM. de de Gouvion, Duportail, Laradiere, and Laumoy.

B.

FIRST INTERVIEW BETWEEN GENERAL WASHINGTON AND GENERAL LAFAYETTE.

The appearance of the two brothers Howe before the capes of the
Delaware had given rise to the supposition that it was upon that side
they intended to land. General Washington repaired with his army
towards the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. That army had been
recruiting during the winter. Washington went to Philadelphia to attend
a public dinner given in honour of him. It was then Lafayette was
introduced to him. This young foreigner had travelled by land over the
southern states, and had made a direct application to the congress,
requesting to serve at first as volunteer, and to serve at his own
expense. The members were much struck with two requests differing so
widely from those of several other officers, and of one in particular,
an officer of artillery, who had made great pretensions on his arrival,
and had soon afterwards drowned himself in the Schuylkill. The rank of
major-general (the highest in the American army) was given to
Lafayette. Washington received the young volunteer in the most friendly
manner, and invited him to reside in his house as a member of his
military family, which offer Lafayette accepted with the same frankness
with which it was made.

He remained there until he was appointed to the command of a division.
The court of France had required that the American envoys should write
to America to prevent Lafayette from being employed in their army. They
did not hasten to despatch that letter, and, when its contents became
known, the popularity of Lafayette was so great that it could not
produce any effect. It is thus evident, that from the first moment of
his embracing the American cause every obstacle was thrown in his way;
all of which, however, he encountered and surmounted. (Manuscript No.
1.)

C.

ON THE MILITARY COMMANDS DURING THE WINTER OF 1778, AND THE FRENCH IN
THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES.

Amongst the various means employed to deprive the general-in-chief of
his friends, attempts were made to awaken the ambition of Lafayette,
who already enjoyed much popularity in the army and in the country, and
who besides appeared to the enemies of Washington, from his relations
with Europe, one of the men whom it was most important to draw into
their party. They fancied they should gain him over by offering him the
government of the north, which Gates had just quitted, and by the hope
of an expedition into Canada. General Washington received a packet from
the minister of war, enclosing a commission for Lafayette as an
independent commander-in-chief, with an order to repair to the congress
to receive instructions. The general placed it in his hands, without
allowing himself any observation on the subject. Lafayette immediately
declared to three commissioners of congress, who happened to be at that
moment in the camp, "that he would never accept any command independent
of the general, and that the title of his aide-de-camp appeared to him
preferable to any other that could be offered him." When General
Washington received the order of congress, he only said to his young
friend, whilst placing the letter in his hand, "I prefer its being for
you rather than for any other person."

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