I would never have had the courage to tackle a project as vast as Lafayette’s life without the example and encouragement of Simon Schama, University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University. Schama, who sponsored my dissertation, was the first person I called when I initially contemplated working on Lafayette. My thoughts have returned many times to his enthusiastic words.
My research benefited from the guidance of librarians and archivists on two continents. I spent several fruitful weeks in the Manuscript Reading Room of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where I had the good fortune to work with Laura Kells and Karen Stuart, who, as members of the team that microfilmed Lafayette’s papers at the Château de La Grange, provided expert direction. At the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections of the Carl A. Kroch Library of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, I was fortunate to be assisted by Laurent Ferri, curator of the library’s 2007 exhibition La Fayette: Citizen of Two Worlds. Anna Berkes, research librarian, aided me at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and Diane Windham Shaw, Special Collections librarian and college archivist at the David Bishop Skillman Library at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pennsylvania, assisted me with the library’s extensive Marquis de Lafayette Collections. I am grateful to staff members at the Special Collections Research Center of the University of Chicago Library, who helped me make my way through the Louis Gottschalk Papers housed there. In New York, I relied on the assistance of the staff at Columbia University’s Avery Library and Butler Library, the Frick Art Reference Library, New York University’s Bobst Library, the New-York Historical Society Library, and the New York Public Library. I am grateful, too, for help received at French archives and libraries, including the Archives Départementales de Seine-et-Marne, the Archives Nationales (CARAN), the Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Individuals at museums and historical societies have given generously of their time and resources. I am especially grateful to Susan R. Stein, Richard Gilder Senior Curator and Vice President for Museum Programs at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, who offered more support, advice, and information than I could have hoped for and introduced me to curator Elizabeth Chew and Director of Gardens and Grounds Peter J. Hatch. At the New-York Historical Society, Kathleen Hulser shared her copious research and, together with Kathleen O’Connor, invited me to contribute to the educational texts and programming associated with the 2007 exhibition French Founding Father: Lafayette’s Return to Washington’s America, and the exhibition’s curator, Richard Rabinowitz, met with me at his Brooklyn home.
French institutions have been equally welcoming. I am particularly grateful to Elaine Uzan Leary, executive director of the American Friends of Blérancourt, for facilitating my visit to the Musée Franco-Américain du Château de Blérancourt. Curator Anne Dopffer kindly arranged for my reception there, and Valérie Coindeau and Catherine Dejoye were immensely gracious. At the Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon I was welcomed by curators Frédéric Lacaille, Alexandre Maral, and Juliette Trey, and by Delphine Dubois, chargée d’études documentaires. Curator Valérie Bajou provided the introductions. In turn, Frédéric Lacaille introduced me to Anthony Petiteau and Dominique Prévot at the Musée de l’Armée. At the Musée du Quai Branly, Stéphane Martin, Laurence Reculet, and Nanette Snoep conferred with me about the museum’s collections of Native American items.
Two foundations were especially helpful. My understanding of Lafayette benefited immeasurably from the kindness of Joseph Baillio and Guy Wildenstein, who provided me with an introduction to Monsieur Renand, president of the Fondation Josée et René de Chambrun, which owns and maintains the Château de La Grange. At the Fondation Chambrun, Isabelle-Sophie Grivet arranged for an unforgettable private tour of La Grange with Madame Houssenbay. Thanks to the hospitality of director Ger Luijten and curatorial assistant Sarah Van Ooteghem of the Fondation Custodia, I was able to spend an afternoon in the Hôtel Turgot, which was built as a mirror image of Lafayette’s (now destroyed) Paris town house.
Generous financial support made this research possible. The New School contributed to the project from start to finish through sources including General Research Funds, Student Assistant Funds, and a prepromotion leave. A Fellowship Research Grant from Earhart Foundation in Ann Arbor, Michigan, enabled me to travel to Lafayette’s birthplace, the Château de Chavaniac, in the Auvergne region of France, and to many other sites. I cannot express sufficient gratitude to Dennis L. Bark, chairman of the board of trustees, for his unstinting support and true kindness. I must also thank Mr. and Mrs. Bark for their abundant warmth and hospitality, and for introducing me to Monsieur and Madame Aubert-Lafayette, descendants of the marquis, who welcomed me to their home in the Auvergne. Thanks to these financial resources, I have had the pleasure of working with several of the most intelligent, hardworking, and collegial research assistants a person could hope for. In New York, I benefited from the able assistance of Alison Charny and Jenny Florence. In France, I was aided by Rebecca Cavanaugh, Jessica Fripp, Véronica Langberg, and Sara Phenix. I also benefited from the company and driving skills of James Hogan.
Since 2007, I have honed my analysis of Lafayette by delivering papers at conferences and symposia, where I benefited immeasurably from the scholarship and camaraderie of fellow speakers and from the supportive and thought-provoking responses of audiences. I have presented Lafayette material at events organized by: the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies; Barnard College; Bard Graduate Center for Decorative Arts, Design, and Material Culture; the College Art Association; the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era; the New-York Historical Society; the Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium; Skidmore College; the Society for French Historical Studies; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; University of Sydney; and the Western Society for French History. For inviting me to participate in these and other events, I am grateful to colleagues including Giovana Assenso-Termini, Jeffrey Collins, Jim Frakes, Mimi Hellman, Mark Ledbury, Jennifer Milam, Mary Sheriff, and Rebecca Spang. I also thank editors Dan O’Brien and Fritz Allhoff for including my essay “Transplanting Liberty: Lafayette’s American Garden” in their volume Gardening: Philosophy for Everyone—Cultivating Wisdom (2010).
I have benefited from less formal but no less fruitful exchanges with scholars throughout the United States and France. Lloyd S. Kramer, professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, helped me understand the field of Lafayette studies. Kramer’s UNC colleague Jay M. Smith generously shared his research on the Beast of the Gévaudan before his book on the subject was published. Miranda Spieler, professor of history at the American University of Paris, called my attention to the complications that bedeviled Lafayette’s experiment in the gradual emancipation of slaves. I have enjoyed many conversations with Dena Goodman, Lila Miller Collegiate Professor of History and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, on topics including the intersection of sociability, politics, and Enlightenment in eighteenth-century France. Oren Jacoby, the director of Lafayette: The Lost Hero (2010), brought me on as a consultant to his documentary and introduced me to Lafayette descendant Sabine Renault Sablonière, who welcomed me to her Paris home.
Other scholars who have helped advance my thinking include: Samuel Edgerton, professor of art emeritus at Williams College, with whom I had multiple conversations about eighteenth-century stoves; Ulrich Leben, research scholar at the Bard Graduate Center, who shared his vast knowledge about the furniture maker Bernard Molitor; Melissa Hyde, associate professor of art history at the University of Florida, who hosted me at her Paris apartment; Meredith Martin, professor of art history at New York University, who shared unpublished research with me; Ellen G. Miles, curator of painting and sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery, who pointed me in the direction of a portrait presumed to depict Lafayette; Paul S. Spalding, Joel Scarborough Professor of Religion at Illinois College, who
spoke with me about Lafayette’s imprisonment. In Paris, I learned a great deal from Susan Taylor-Leduc, dean of Parsons Paris, whom I value as a colleague, a friend, and a Paris guide. Carole Blumenfeld, who discussed with me Louise-Adéone Drölling (Madame Joubert); and Laurence Chatel de Brancion, who welcomed me to her home and gave me a copy of her beautiful book on Lafayette.
New York friends and colleagues have provided a steady stream of support by reading drafts, commenting on talks, and more. Jonathan Lopez devoted tremendous amounts of time and effort to the project. I am deeply grateful for his encouragement and for his valuable comments on two complete drafts. At The New School, Elaine Abelson, Oz Frankel, John Vanderlippe, Jeremy Varon, and other members of the Committee on Historical Studies discussed the paper I delivered at a brown bag workshop. David Brody, Alan Gilbert, Sarah E. Lawrence, Michelle Majer, James and Michelle Nevius, and Henry Raine were among those who responded to lectures, commented on drafts of chapters, and directed me to a wide range of material related to Lafayette. Oliver Grubin solved my long-standing problem of locating the pornographic print of Lafayette riding an ostrich.
I am indebted to Caroline Weber, who encouraged me to try my hand at writing for nonacademic audiences and introduced me to our mutual agent, Rob McQuilkin. It was Rob who first suggested that I write on Lafayette, and although the project took longer than he might have hoped, he has been a patient, constant, and charming supporter. My editor at Knopf, Vicky Wilson, has been equally gracious and supportive. Her sound advice and valuable insights have made this a far better book. It has been a pleasure working with her assistant, Audrey Silverman.
NOTES
Note: All translations are my own unless otherwise indicated.
ABBREVIATIONS
ANOM: Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer, Aix-en-Provence, France.
AP: Archives parlementaires.
Cornell: Arthur H. and Mary Marden Dean Lafayette Collection, $4611. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, NY.
Encyclopédie: Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, eds. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres. 28 vols. Paris: Brunet, 1751–72.
Gottschalk: Louis Gottschalk Papers, Special Collections Resource Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
LAAR: Stanley J. Idzerda, et al., eds., Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790. 5 vols. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1977–83.
LOC: Marquis de Lafayette Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Mémoires: Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Mémoires, correspondance et manuscrits du Général Lafayette, publiés par sa famille. 6 vols. Paris: H. Fournier l’Aîné, 1837–38.
PGWC: The Papers of George Washington. Confederation Series. 6 vols. W. W. Abbot, et al., ed., Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1987–.
PGWP: The Papers of George Washington. Presidential Series. 17 vols. W. W. Abbot, et al., ed., Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1987–.
PGWR: The Papers of George Washington. Retirement Series. 4 vols. W. W. Abbot, et al., ed., Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1987–.
PGWRW: The Papers of George Washington. Revolutionary War Series. 22 vols. W. W. Abbot, et al., ed., Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1987–.
INTRODUCTION
Gilbert du Motier: The name Lafayette has been spelled in various ways, with the most frequent alternative being “La Fayette.” My selection of “Lafayette” is in keeping with the preferences of the two most distinguished Lafayette scholars, Louis Gottschalk and Stanley J. Idzerda, and with common American usage. On this spelling, see Louis Gottschalk, Lafayette Comes to America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935), 153–54. Lafayette’s first name, too, has variations: although he always referred to himself as Gilbert, he was baptized Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert. Henry Mosnier, Le château de Chavaniac-Lafayette, description—histoire—souvenirs (Le Puy: Marchessou Fils, 1883), 15.
Carved in 1790: Anne L. Poulet, et al., Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment (Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2003), 260.
fashionable salons of Paris: Antoine Lilti, Le monde des salons: Sociabilité et mondanité à Paris au XVIIIe siècle (Paris: Fayard, 2005), 382–84.
marten-fur cap: Stacy Schiff, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America (New York: Henry Holt, 2005), 38–39.
“there is more support”: André Morellet to William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, Sunday, May 4, 1777. Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 80.
“decidedly inclined”: Jules Cloquet, Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette (London: Baldwin and Cradock, 1835), 8.
open and frank expression: Even the royalist Comte d’Espinchal, who grew to despise Lafayette during the French Revolution, conceded that Lafayette had a “sweet and honest” appearance. Joseph Thomas Anne Espinchal, as quoted in Étienne Charavay, Le général La Fayette, 1757–1834 (Paris: Société de l’Histoire de la Révolution Française, 1898), 538.
“love of glory”: Mémoires, 1:6.
“a life without glory”: Lafayette to Adrienne, May 30, 1777, Mémoires, 1:85.
“Glory”: Lafayette to Washington, February 19, 1778, LAAR, 1:301.
“reputation”: Dictionnaire de l’Académie française (Paris: Brunet, 1762), 14:61.
hoped for glory: Christopher Leslie Brown, Moral Capital: Foundations of British Abolitionism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 437–42, argues that a quest for public recognition motivated some of the era’s notable abolitionists, including Lafayette. Liliane Willens, “Lafayette’s Quest for ‘Glory’ in the American Revolution,” Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century 205 (1982): 167–68, examines the role of reputation in Lafayette’s decision to sail for America.
Washington his adoptive father: See, for instance, Lafayette to Washington, April 16, 1785, in which Lafayette identifies himself as “your Bosom friend, your adoptive son.” PGWC, 2:505.
books on American history: An analysis of various private libraries confiscated during the French Revolution termed Lafayette’s library “l’illustration extrême” of collections featuring books on the American War of Independence. Agnès Marcetteau-Paul and Dominique Varry, “Les bibliothèques de quelques acteurs de la Révolution, de Louis XVI à Robespierre,” Mélanges de la Bibliothèque de la Sorbonne 9 (1989): 201.
“a favourite Servant”: Lafayette to Jeremiah Wadsworth, April 16, 1785, LAAR, 5:319.
“he has planted a tree”: Jared Sparks, Memoirs of the Life and Travels of John Ledyard, from His Journals and Correspondence (London: Henry Colburn, 1828), 214.
“the man has drawn few eulogies”: Patrice Guennifey, “Lafayette,” in A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution, edited by François Furet and Mona Ozouf, translated by Arthur Goldhammer (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989), 224.
“true moderation consists”: Mémoires, 6:46. I was directed to this quote by Sylvia Neely, Lafayette and the Liberal Ideal, 1814–1824: Politics and Conspiracy in an Age of Reaction (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991), 109. According to his Mémoires, Lafayette spoke these words as part of a discourse pronounced in the Chamber of Deputies on June 4, 1819, but Neely places the speech on June 3.
“I have been reproached”: April 19, 1815, Mémoires, 5:406. I was directed to this quote by Neely, Lafayette and the Liberal Ideal, 23.
CHAPTER 1: FAMILY PRIDE
Château de Chavaniac: See Hadelin Donnet, Chavaniac Lafayette: Le Manoir des deux mondes (Paris: Le Cherche midi, 1990); Mosnier, Le château de Chavaniac-Lafayette, 21–22.
“Clermont”: Arthur Young, Travels During the Years 1787, 1788 and 1789, Undertaken More Particularly with a View of Ascertaining the Cultivation, Wealth, Resources, and National Prospe
rity, of the Kingdom of France (London: 1792), 160–61.
Although the senior branch: Mémoires, 1:6. My understanding of Lafayette’s lineage is indebted to Louis Gottschalk, Lafayette Comes to America, 6–11. (A note on Lafayette biographies: although myriad authors have told Lafayette’s story, I cite only those biographies that provided me with specific interpretations or pieces of information. All of the biographies I consulted do, however, appear in the bibliography.)
descended from the junior branch: The death of Lafayette’s uncle is described by Lafayette in “Autobiographie de La Fayette par lui-même” in Charavay, La Fayette, Appendix I, 532.
“left the province”: “Autobiographie” in Charavay, La Fayette, 531–32.
newly titled marquis: Mémoires du duc de Luynes sur la cour de Louis XV (1735–1758), 17 vols. (Paris: 1860–65). I was directed to this source by Gottschalk, Lafayette Comes to America, 9, note 15.
“high birth, or so they say”: Mémoires du duc de Luynes, 1:102.
“broke his head”: Mémoires du duc de Luynes, 2:36.
widowed Marquise de Lafayette: On Lafayette’s family, see Gottschalk, Lafayette Comes to America, 7–12.
local legend: “Autobiographie” in Charavay, La Fayette, 533.
Roch-Gilbert wed Marie-Julie de La Rivière: Mémoires du duc de Luynes, 13:277.
the convent where: A convent education was typical for noblewomen and did not signify a religious calling. On women’s education in the eighteenth century, see Martine Sonnet, L’éducation des filles au temps des Lumières (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1987).
1,000 livres a year: Gottschalk, Lafayette Comes to America, 11.
Rivière influence: Gottschalk, Lafayette Comes to America, 11, asserts that Roch-Gilbert owed his rank to his in-laws, noting that no Motier had ever reached that level.
The Marquis Page 39