LAFAYETTE 



LAFAYETTE 



The present city is five miles northeast oi 

 the site of the old Miami Indian village. Onia- 

 tanon, where the French built a fort in 1720. 

 This was probably the first military post estab- 

 lished in Indiana. About seven miles north 

 of the city the Indians were defeated by Gen- 

 eral Harrison in the famous Battle of Tippe- 

 canoe. The battleground is marked by a fine 

 granite shaft, and is now the property of the 

 state. Lafayette was settled in 1820, and was 

 incorporated in 1854. 



LAFAYETTE, MARIE JEAN PAUL YVES ROCH 

 GILBERT DU MOTIER, Marquis de (1757-1834), a 

 famous French soldier and statesman, who 

 holds in the affections of the American people 

 a place as high as do the heroes of their own 

 country. He was 

 born in the castle 

 of Chavagnac, in 

 Auvergne, Sep- 

 tember 6, 1757. 

 and was left an 

 orphan in pos- 

 session of large 

 estates, when but 

 thirteen years of 

 age. When sev- 

 enteen years old, 

 he married' and 

 entered the army, MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE 



.mil three years later, fired by youthful enthu- 

 siasm for the new republic proclaimed in 

 America, set out with eleven companions in 

 a ship fitted out by himself, to offer his serv- 

 !<- to the colonists. 



A Youthful Major-General . He was at once 

 made a major-general in the American Revolu- 

 tionary army, and in spite of his youth, soon 

 became one of the most efficient members of 

 Washington's staff. At no time did he com- 

 mand a large force, but in every position in 

 which he was placed he showed great courage 

 and developed unusual military skill. At 

 Brandywine, at Barren Hill and under Lee at 

 Monmouth (see MONMOUTH, BATTLE OF) he 

 won well-deserved praise, but in 1779 felt com- 

 pelled to return to France, for against his own 

 country England had declared war. 



After performing notable service at home 

 for the colonists by enlisting French sympathy, 

 securing reinforcements of soldiers and financial 

 ! ance, he returned in May, 1780, to 

 America. He was a member of the court of 

 officers who tried Major Andre (see ANDRE, 

 .lo! i.\) and condemned him to death. His 

 most distinguished military service was against 



Benedict Arnold in Virginia in 1781. and in the 

 campaigns against Cornwallis, which led up to 

 the decisive battle of Yorktown. For his part 

 in the victory of Yorktown, which practically 

 decided the war, he received the public thanks 

 of his great commander-in-chief. See REVOLU- 

 TIONARY WAR ix AMERICA. 



Later Visits to America. Lafayette revisited 

 America twice, in 1784 and again in 1824-1825. 

 and both times was received with the most 

 cordial enthusiasm and affection. The latter 

 visit was, in fact, in the nature of a triumphal 

 progress, for Lafayette's firm support of demo- 

 cratic principles in France had increased the 

 esteem in which he was held in America. Con- 

 gress voted him a grant of $200,000 and a town- 

 ship of land in Florida. He was sent hpme on 

 a new vessel named the Brandywine, in mem- 

 ory of the first battle in which he distinguished 

 himself in America. During the years that 

 have since passed twenty-three cities and 

 towns in the United States, besides many coun- 

 ties, have been named in his honor. 



A Reformer at Home. On his return to 

 France in 1782 Lafayette at once showed his 

 desire for reform. In 1787 he was called to the 

 Assembly of Notables, and he took a promi- 

 nent part in the calling of the States-General 

 and its transformation into the National 

 Assembly. In that body he presented a decla- 

 ration of rights based on the Declaration of 

 Independence of the American colonies. After 

 the Bastille (which see) had fallen he was made 

 commander-in-chief of the National Guard, 

 which he did much to organize on an efficient 

 basis. It was he who proposed the tricolor 

 cockade, and he who saved the lives of the 

 king and queen, Louis XVI and Marie 

 Antoinette, at the time of the attack on Ver- 

 sailles. See FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



Influence Lost and Regained. But the period 

 of his great influence was passing, for he man- 

 aged to satisfy neither party. His demand for 

 order and moderation angered the radicals; his 

 republican zeal won him the hatred of the 

 Royalist party, and at times his life was in 

 danger. When war was declared against 

 Austria and Prussia he was placed in command 

 of an army on the frontier, but in August, 

 1792, the Jacobins (which see) sent messen- 

 gers to remove him from his command and 

 arrest him. Escaping from these, he fell into 

 the hands of the Austrians, who held him 

 prisoner for five years. Napoleon Bonaparte 

 (see NAPOLEON I) procured his release, but 

 L-il'ayette did not favor the ambitions of the 



