3/18/2023 0 Comments The hero of two worldsFollowing a hard winter at Valley Forge, in May of 1778, he outwitted the British, who were intent on capturing him at Bunker Hill, before engaging in a shaky attack at Monmouth Courthouse which ended in a stalemate with the British.Īfter traveling to France to press Louis XVI for more aid, Lafayette assumed increased military responsibility upon his return to the American war effort. General George Washington requested doctors to take special care of the wounded Frenchman, igniting a strong bond between the two men which lasted until Washington’s death. His first major combat duty came during the September 1777 Battle of Brandywine, when he was shot in the leg while helping to organize a retreat. Lafayette Joins Continental ArmyĬombined with his knowledge of formation-style European warfare and his imaginative suggestions for skirmish tactics to combat the British quickly allowed him to rise to the rank of major-general in the Continental Army. Initially rebuffed by colonial leaders, he soon impressed them with his passion and willingness to serve for free. Inspired by stories of the colonists’ struggles against British oppression, Lafayette sailed to the newly declared United States in 1777, intent on joining the uprising. Born into a wealthy family in 1757 France, Marquis de Lafayette, or simply Lafayette, as he was known in the colonies, lost his father during a battle in the Seven Years’ War, followed by his mother and grandfather who both died in 1770, leaving Lafayette with little family but a vast inheritance.
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