“Gen. Lafayette –
We have been commissioned by the citizens of Fauquier to receive you, in their names and individually we congratulate you upon your visit. It will afford a fit opportunity to express the gratitude cherished by all for your great services and undeviating friendship to America, in every vicissitude. Permit us to greet you as a friend and a father.”
~Inman Horner to Lafayette on the north bank of the Rappahannock
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The French General Marie Jean Paul Gilbert
Motier, later known as the Marquis de Lafayette was born in 1757 to a
poor but noble French family. At age two his father was killed by
British forces in the Seven Years’ War, leaving his mother with the task
of maintaining connections within the French Royal Court so that the
young Lafayette could someday have a position in society. Her efforts
met with limited success, however, and in 1770, she too passed away.
By age 19, Lafayette was married with two
children and was harboring an interest in fighting the British in the
American Revolution. In March 1777, Silas Deane, the American envoy to
France commissioned Lafayette as a major general without pay in the
Continental Army. Lafayette arrived in Georgetown, S.C. on June 14,
1777.
Lafayette served throughout the American
Revolution, but his most notable contribution may be seen in the October
1781 Battle of Yorktown. Lafayette’s efforts prior to this crucial
battle resulted in French ships blockading the James River; cutting off
British Gen. Charles Cornwallis from reinforcements. Cornwallis was
soon forced to surrender.
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