Lafayette

Harlow Giles Unger

Description

Acclaim for Lafayette

"I found Mr. Unger's book exceptionally well done. It's an admirable account of the marquis's two revolutions-one might even say his two lives-the French and the American. It also captures the private Lafayette and his remarkable wife, Adrienne, in often moving detail." -Thomas Fleming, author, Liberty!: The American Revolution

"Harlow Unger's Lafayette is a remarkable and dramatic account of a life as fully lived as it is possible to imagine, that of Gilbert de Motier, marquis de Lafayette. To American readers Unger's biography will provide a stark reminder of just how near run a thing was our War of Independence and the degree to which our forefathers' victory hinged on the help of our French allies, marshalled for George Washington by his 'adopted' son, Lafayette. But even more absorbing and much less well known to the general reader will be Unger's account of Lafayette's idealistic but naive efforts to plant the fruits of the American democracy he so admired in the unreceptive soil of his homeland. His inspired oratory produced not the constitutional democracy he sought but the bloody Jacobin excesses of the French Revolution."-Larry Collins, coauthor, Is Paris Burning? and O Jerusalem!

"A lively and entertaining portrait of one of the most important supporting actors in the two revolutions that transformed the modern world."-Susan Dunn, author, Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light

"Harlow Unger has cornered the market on muses to emerge as America's most readable historian. His new biography of the marquis de Lafayette combines a thoroughgoing account of the age of revolution, a probing psychological study of a complex man, and a literary style that goes down like cream. A worthy successor to his splendid biography of Noah Webster."-Florence King, Contributing Editor, National Review

"Enlightening! The picture of Lafayette's life is a window to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history."-Michel Aubert La Fayette
List of Illustrations.

Acknowledgments.

Chronology.

Preface.

PART ONE: THE BEST OF TIMES.

1. The Young Knight.

2. The Quest.

3. First Blood.

4. Boy General.

5. An American Winter.

6. The Alliance.

7. Return to Royal Favor.

8. The Traitor and the Spy.

9. Ride to Glory.

10. "The Play is Over".

11. Conqueror of Cornwallis.

12. Completing the Quest.

PART TWO: THE WORST OF TIMES.

13. The Notables and the "Not Ables".

14. "I Reign in Paris".

15. Guardian Angel.

16. Prisoners of the Mob.

17. The Most Hated Man in Europe.

18. The Prisoners of Olmütz.

19. Resurrection.

10. Apotheosis.

21. Les Adieux.

Epilogue.

Notes.

Selected Bibliography of Principal Sources.

Index.

Sujets

• Historical
• Lettres et linguistique
• Biography
• Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette
• History of the United States
• World History
• United States Declaration of Independence
• History of France
• American Revolution
• American Revolutionary War
• Autobiography
• Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette
• Lafayette

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 03 août 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470243565
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Lafayette

Lafayette, in his uniform as a French brigadier general and mar chal de camp, in 1782, from an engraving by Ad le Ethiou of the painting at Versailles. ( From the author s collection .)
Lafayette

H ARLOW G ILES U NGER
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2002 by Harlow Giles Unger. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Unger, Harlow G., date.
Lafayette / Harlow Giles Unger.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-39432-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834. 2. Generals-United States-Biography. 3. United States. Army- Biography. 4. Generals-France-Biography. 5. Statesmen-France-Biography. 6. United States-History-Revolution, 1775-1783-Participation, French. 7. United States-History-Revolution, 1775-1783-Biography. I. Title.
E207.L2 U45 2002
944.04 092-dc21
[B]
2002071327
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my dear friends Andr and Eva Mandel
To my brother Roger H. Unger, M.D .
and To my son Richard C. Unger
The happiness of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; She is destined to become the safe and venerable asylum of virtue, of honesty, of tolerance, and of peaceful liberty.
Lafayette, June 7, 1777
Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Preface
P ART O NE T HE B EST OF T IMES
1 The Young Knight
2 The Quest
3 First Blood
4 Boy General
5 An American Winter
6 The Alliance
7 Return to Royal Favor
8 The Traitor and the Spy
9 Ride to Glory
10 The Play Is Over
11 Conqueror of Cornwallis
12 Completing the Quest
P ART T WO T HE W ORST OF T IMES
13 The Notables and the Not Ables
14 I Reign in Paris
15 Guardian Angel
16 Prisoners of the Mob
17 The Most Hated Man in Europe
18 The Prisoners of Olm tz
19 Resurrection
20 Apotheosis
21 Les Adieux
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography of Principal Sources
Index
Illustrations

Maps
The Battle of Brandywine Creek
Lafayette s campaign, Virginia cape
The siege of Yorktown
Illustrations
Lafayette as a French brigadier general and mar chal de camp, at twenty-five
The Ch teau de Chavaniac
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette, Lafayette s father
Julie de La Rivi re de La Fayette, Lafayette s mother
The six-year-old Lafayette and his aunt Charlotte
Lafayette at eleven
The duc d Ayen
The duchesse d Ayen
Lafayette, the sixteen-year-old groom
Adrienne de Noailles, Lafayette s fourteen-year-old bride
Menu, Lafayette wedding dinner
Lafayette, captain of the Dragons de Noailles, at eighteen 16
The comte de Vergennes
The comte de Broglie
Baron Johann de Kalb
George Washington
Major General Nathanael Greene
The Peale portrait of Lafayette, in American major general s uniform
King Louis XVI
Cartoon of the comte d Estaing
The comte de Rochambeau
Benedict Arnold
Lord Cornwallis
Admiral de Grasse
The surrender at Yorktown
Lafayette s children
Lafayette and James the slave
Queen Marie-Antoinette and her children
The Assembl e des Notables
Gouverneur Morris
Storming the Bastille
Bailly and Lafayette greet the king
Georges-Jacques Danton
Maximilien Robespierre
Jean-Paul Marat
The F te de la F d ration
Mob presents severed head to National Assembly
The beheading of King Louis XVI
Lafayette in chains
Adrienne Lafayette after release from prison
Napol on I
The Ch teau de La Grange
King Louis XVIII
American triumphal arch
Charles X
Lafayette enthrones the duc d Orl ans in 1830
Lafayette in his garden, at seventy-five
Lafayette s grave in Picpus Cemetery, Paris
Acknowledgments

The Lafayette family, Michel and Genevi ve Aubert La Fayette, were exceptionally generous in welcoming me to their beautiful Ch teau de Vollore* in the Auvergne, where they not only shared their collection of Lafayette memorabilia and documents but stood ready to serve as consultants at every stage in the development of this book. Also of great help were the curatorial staff at the Ch teau de Chavaniac, Lafayette s birthplace and childhood home.
Of all those who helped me with this book, however, my deepest thanks must go to my dear friends of more than forty-five years, Andr and Eva Mandel, to whom I have dedicated this book. For two years, they willingly helped me in my research, translating archaic language, hunting for hard-to-find, out-of-print books, photographs, and documents, locating Lafayette descendants, and driving me over hundreds of miles of dusty roads in the Auvergne- at times through driving rain-on the trail of Lafayette and his family.
In the United States, my wonderful friend and literary agent, Edward Knappman, was, as always, kind and generous with his wise counsel and his help in locating a number of hard-to-find, out-of-print works that proved essential for this book-and in sharing his wisdom. The always gracious Louise Jones, the librarian at the Yale Club of New York City, was also helpful, as were Peter Jaffe, of the rare books department of Argosy Book Store in New York, my former editor, Randi Ladenheim Gil, and Sibylle Kazeroid, an excellent proofreader. Economist Jonathan Falk was also most generous in contributing his time and extensive knowledge. Finally, my deepest thanks, as always, to my editor and friend, Hana Lane, for her constant guidance and wise counsel in every phase of this book.
*The Ch teau de Vollore, in Courpi re, is the site of Les Concerts de Vollore , an annual music festival held in July. Although the ch teau is still the home of the Lafayette family, its Lafayette Memorial room is open to the public, along with an art gallery, conference rooms, and guest suites.
Chronology

1757
September 6. Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette born in Chavaniac, France.
1759
Father killed in Battle of Minden.
1768
L moves to Paris.
1770
Mother dies.
1771
Enrolls in Black Musketeers at the Palace of Versailles.
1774
Marries Marie-Adrienne-Fran oise de Noailles.
1775
Joins Noailles regiment at Metz; enrolls in Freemasons; daughter Henriette born.
1776
Enlists in American Continental army as major general.
1777
Sails for America; joins Washington s staff; wounded at Battle of Brandywine; Battle of Saratoga; routs Hessians at Gloucester; assigned command of Canada invasion; helps expose Conway Cabal; daughter Anastasie born; Henriette dies.
1778
Valley Forge; negotiates treaty with Indians; Battle of Barren Hill; Battle of Monmouth; d Estaing s French fleet arrives; Battle of Newport.
1779
L returns to France; wins French support for American Revolution; birth of son, George-Washington Lafayette.
1780
L returns to America; Rochambeau arrives with French fleet, 4,000 troops; treason of Benedict Arnold; hanging of Major Andr .
1781
L s Virginia campaign; traps Cornwallis; French fleet blocks Cornwallis escape by sea; siege of Yorktown; Cornwallis surrender.
1782
L returns to France; awarded Cross of Saint-Louis; becomes mar chal de camp; daughter Virginie born.
1783
Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War; Britain recognizes American independence.
1784
L s farewell tour of United States; forges treaty between Indians and Americans; last visit with Washington; Congress names him ambassador without portfolio in Europe; Jefferson replaces Franklin in France.
1785
L returns to France; visits Frederick the Great; buys plantation in French Guyana to free slaves; negotiates trade deals for U.S. whale oil, books, paper, agricultural products.
1786
Louis XVI convenes Assembly of Notables; L demands sweeping economic and social reforms under constitutional monarchy.
1787
First French provincial assemblies meet; L elected to Auvergne assembly; votes to curb royal spending; Americans ratify Constitution.
1788
King strips L of marshal s rank; second Assembly of Notables.
1789
King convenes Estates General; conversion to