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Marquis was born in Chavaniac, France, on September 6, 1757. His father, Michel Louis Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, was campaigning in the Seven Years' War at the time of his son's birth and was killed at the Battle of Minden in 1759.
Young La Fayette's education began at Chavaniac under the instruction of Abbé Fayon. In 1768 La Fayette and his mother took up residence in the city of Paris, where the young marquis attended the Collège du Plessis. He proved to be a fair student and was considered superior to most of his classmates in various studies, especially that of Latin.
The death of his mother and grandfather in 1770 left La Fayette, at the age of 13, in possession of a large fortune. He chose to enter the army, a career followed by many of his ancestors, and in 1771 joined the Black Musketeers. His military career suffered a temporary setback when reorganization of the army put him on the inactive list on June 11, 1776.
The outbreak of the American Revolution presented La Fayette with an opportunity to continue his military career in America. Through Silas Deane, the American agent in Paris, he was promised a major-generalship in the American Army. Before he could embark for America, however, it was necessary to obtain family approval, and the Noailles family was powerful enough to bring official pressure against the proposed expedition. King Louis XVI forbade his leaving. He was arrested at Bordeaux, and orders were issued for the seizure of the ship, which was sent on to Spain, however. La Fayette escaped and set sail from Spain on April 20, 1777.
The legend that he traveled to America to defend republican principles is not sustained by facts. Apparently he went to America in quest of glory. After a slow voyage, La Fayette landed near Georgetown, going north to Philadelphia where he was received coolly, a foreign lad of just 19 years aspiring to a major-generalship. When the situation was explained to him, La Fayette emphasized his willingness to serve as a volunteer without pay or pension. This placed a new light on an embarrassing situation, and Congress commissioned him a major-general. His family and position in France were among the factors influencing this decision.
La Fayette took part in various military campaigns of the American Revolution, and while he did not distinguish himself as a master of the art and science of warfare, his record was good. He saw action first in the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, and was slightly wounded in the battle. General George Washington gave La Fayette command of a division. La Fayette's various intrigues, however, caused Washington no little embarrassment. La Fayette harbored plans for an expedition against the British West Indies and for another against Canada. While his conduct was undoubtedly motivated by loyalty to France and the United States, it added to the complexity of Washington's problems. When the alliance between France and the United States was signed, February 6, 1778, La Fayette's status was altered. His country became an ally and as such he became more than a foreign volunteer. Under the new circumstances of war between Britain and France, La Fayette asked for and was granted leave to consult Louis XVI for orders. Leaders of the American cause were aware of his potential value as liaison between the United States and France. La Fayette embarked for France on January 11, 1779, after having participated in the Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778.
On his return to France La Fayette spent a week in the custody of his wife's grandfather, the Duc de Noailles, as punishment for having violated Louis XVI's order to remain in France. He soon received a pardon and once more engaged in court life. For the next few months he was occupied in planning an invasion of England, but when the expedition proved impossible he returned to America, arriving at Marblehead, Massachussets, April 27, 1780.
Washington entrusted La Fayette with the defense of Virginia. He was present at the siege of Yorktown and at the British surrender, October 19, 1781. On Christmas Day 1781 he sailed from Boston harbor for France, reaching Lorient, January 17, 1782. La Fayette later served as Benjamin Franklin's aide in France and in Spain, where negotiations for peace took place. He visited the United States again in 1784.
Until the convening of the French Notables in 1787 to discuss reform measures with Louis XVI and his ministers, La Fayette was not active in public life. Despite the fact that the Assembly of Notables was a consultative body and was dissolved before accomplishing any reform, La Fayette, as a member of the Notables, attracted attention by his demand that Louis XVI convoke the Estates General. Louis XVI's subsequent calling of the Estates General justified La Fayette's position, which in 1787 gained him the reputation of a renegade nobleman among his own class but established him as a liberal among the bourgeoisie and literate masses. As a representative in the Estates General and the National Assembly from May 5, 1789, to September 30, 1791, La Fayette was extremely active. He served as commanding general of the National Guard of Paris from July 15, 1789, to September 18, 1791.
As commander of the National Guard he had the task of maintaining order in the midst of revolution. On the night of October 5-6, 1789, he marched to Versailles to guard the royal family. After the King and Queen were installed in the Tuileries, La Fayette was again given the task of guarding them. When the royal family escaped on June 20, 1791, he was held responsible. The capture of the royal family at Varennes somewhat relieved his embarrassment. On July 17, 1791, his guardsmen fired into a crowd at the Champ de Mars. Four days after the king accepted this arrangement on September 14, 1791, La Fayette resigned as commander of the Paris National Guard and retired to his estate.
After the declaration of war against Austria, April 20, 1792, La Fayette's army went into action between Philippeville and Lauterburg. The unseasoned French troops performed poorly. By July 11, 1792, the invaders were on French soil. Almost simultaneously a mob in Paris resolved to march upon the Tuileries to dethrone Louis XVI. On the night of August 10, 1792, the royal family was forced to take refuge in the Manege, the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly. La Fayette attempted to lead his troops back to Paris to restore the king and to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. When his men rejected this suggestion and the Legislative Assembly proscribed him, La Fayette, on August 19, 1792, deserted his troops and became a prisoner of war in various Prussian and Austrian prisons. Napoleon Bonaparte secured his release by the Treaty of Campo Formio, 1797, and he returned to France in 1799.
During the Consulate, 1799 to 1804, and the First Empire, 1804 to 1814, La Fayette lived in retirement. After 1815 he again became a parliamentary representative. He revisited the United States in 1824-1825, returning to France to represent Meaux in the Chamber of Deputies from 1825 to 1834. In the Revolution of 1830, he opposed the reactionary Charles X, who was deposed.
He died in Paris on 20 May, 1834.
Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. He was the author of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, written in 1789. For his accomplishments in the service of both France and the United States, he is sometimes known as "The Hero of the Two Worlds".
In the national Assembly he favored a strong monarchy and extension of reform. Lafayette was a firm believer in a constitutional monarchy. He supported religious toleration, emancipation of the colonial slaves, freedom of the press, suppression of class privileges, and penal reform. Lafayette believed in a bicameral legislature, as the United States had.
He became the first elected foreign member of American Philosophical Society.
Quotes from others about the person
Marc Leepson concluded his study of Lafayette's life: "The Marquis de Lafayette was far from perfect. He was sometimes vain, naive, immature, and egocentric. But he consistently stuck to his ideals, even when doing so endangered his life and fortune."
A contract was arranged betrothing him to Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, the granddaughter of the Duc de Noailles. The ceremony, performed April 11, 1774, before he was 17 years old, brought La Fayette into one of the most influential families in France. Adrienne, his bride, was 15. The young couple took part in Paris court life, and La Fayette served in the Noailles regiment.
