“embarrass me beyond measure”: Washington to Major General William Heath, July 27, 1777, PGWRW, 10:438.
“to learn and not to teach”: “Memoir of 1779,” LAAR, 1:394.
“What the designs of Congress”: Washington to Benjamin Harrison, August 19, 1777, LAAR, 1:104.
“never meant”: Benjamin Harrison to Washington, August 20, 1777, LAAR, 1:106.
Washington welcomed him: Mémoires, 1:20.
“a friendly Affection”: The American Commissioners to [George Washington], c. August-September 1777, LAAR, 1:107.
“rallying the troops”: Mémoires, 1:25.
“surrounded by citizens”: Ibid., 1:26.
“the Marquis La Fayette was wounded”: Washington to John Hancock, September 11, 1777, PGWRW, 11:201.
seven hundred men: John W. Jordan, “Bethlehem During the Revolution: Extracts from the Diaries in the Moravian Archives at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 13, no. 1 (1889): 78.
particularly attentive: Joseph Mortimer Levering, A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741–1892 (Bethlehem, PA: Times Publishing Company, 1903), 465.
“inaction”: Mémoires, 1:28.
“a very intelligent and pleasant young man”: Jordan, “Bethlehem During the Revolution,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 12, no. 4 (1888): 406, note 4.
“the gentle religion”: Mémoires, 1:26.
Lafayette proposed his ventures: This paragraph is based on Mémoires, 1:28–29, note 1.436.
“intimate friend”: Lafayette to Adrienne, October 1, 1777, LAAR, 1:437.
“being honour’d with the name of French”: Lafayette to Laurens, November 18, 1777, LAAR, 1:152.
CHAPTER 5: DISENCHANTMENT
“What a date”: Lafayette to Adrienne, January 6, 1778, LAAR, 1:458–59.
some three thousand men: On January 1, 1778, Lafayette had under his command Brigadier Generals Muhlenberg, Scott, and Woodford with 3,086 men. “Arrangement of the Continental Army,” January 1, 1778, PGWRW, 13:94–97.
“consider, if you please”: Lafayette to Laurens, January 2, 1778, LAAR, 1:210.
“When I was in Europe”: Lafayette to Washington, December 30, 1777, LAAR, 1:204.
Conway Cabal: The question of how serious a threat the Conway Cabal actually posed to Washington is still open to debate. See, among many other sources, Gloria E. Brenneman, “The Conway Cabal: Myth or Reality,” Pennsylvania History 40, no. 2 (April 1973): 168–77, and Thomas Fleming, Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), 166–205.
Lafayette reported hearing: Lafayette to Washington, January 20, 1778, LAAR, 1:238–39. All quotes found on 1:239.
A scheme is, indeed: My interpretation follows that of Fleming, Washington’s Secret War, 166–73, 192–96.
“your Ardent Desire”: Horatio Gates to Lafayette, January 24, 1778, LAAR, 1:249.
“As I neither know”: Washington to the Board of War, as quoted in LAAR, 1:250.
Writing to Laurens: Lafayette to Laurens, January 26, 1778, LAAR, 1:253–56.
a letter of January 31: Lafayette to [the President of Congress], January 31, 1778, LAAR, 1:267–71.
a resolution of Congress: LAAR, 1:273.
“see if some harm can be done”: Lafayette to Adrienne, February 3, 1778, LAAR, 1:462–63.
“blunders of madness or treachery”: Lafayette to Washington, February 19, 1778, LAAR, 1:299.
“from a precipice”: Lafayette to Laurens, February 19, 1778, LAAR, 1:296.
“Why am I so far from you”: Lafayette to Washington, February 19, 1778, LAAR, 1:299.
“However sensibly your ardour”: Washington to Lafayette, March 10, 1778, LAAR, 1:342–43.
“When a man does all he can”: George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation, ed. Charles Moore (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1926), 11.
CHAPTER 6: ALLIANCES
“with infinite pleasure”: George Washington to Henry Laurens, May 1, 1778, PGWRW, 15:5.
“in a transport of joy”: David Ramsay, The History of the American Revolution (1789; repr., Trenton: James J. Wilson, 1811), 2:93.
“I am myself fit to receive”: Lafayette to the president of Congress, May 1, 1778, LAAR, 2:40.
“that in serving the cause of humanity”: Lafayette to Adrienne, June 16, 1778, LAAR, 2:401.
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: See Paul Lockhart, The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), 114–15.
“must have more than the common quantity”: PGWRW, 15:41, note 6.
“in order that due honour”: Letter from George Bryan, vice president of the executive council of Pennsylvania, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Washington, May 23, 1778. “As it is apprehended here, that the Marquis-de-la Fayette has been nominated by the Most Christian King Ambassador to the United States of America, and that he may be expected shortly to pass through this borough in his way to Congress, it would highly oblige the Executive council of this state, if some previous intimation of the time of his Lordships Journey could be given by one of the Gentlemen of your Excellencys family, in order that due honour might be done to so respectable a personage by this state, as far as present circumstances may admit.” PGWRW, 15:195.
“refused to listen”: Laurens to Washington, July 31, 1778, PGWRW, 16:210.
“if my compatriots make war”: Lafayette to Lazare-Jean Théveneau de Francy, May 14, 1778, LAAR, 2:398.
forty-seven Oneida warriors: Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin, Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution (New York: Hill and Wang, 2006), 205.
“Young warriors often need advice”: “Address to Oneida Warriors,” Connecticut Journal 556 (June 10, 1778): 2.
“be all of one mind”: On Anne-Louis de Tousard (1749–1817), who would go on to lose an arm fighting under General Sullivan at Newport in 1778, see Michael A. Burke, “Tousard, Anne-Louis,” in American National Biography: Supplement 2, ed. Mark Christopher Carnes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 553–54.
“The detachment under your command”: Washington to Lafayette, May 18, 1778, LAAR, 2:54.
nine dead: The number of casualties is given by Washington in Washington to Laurens, May 24, 1778, PGWRW, 15:210.
“a timely and handsome retreat”: “York-Town, May 30,” Pennsylvania Packet; or, The General Advertiser (June 3, 1778): 2.
“The commander of the enemy’s party”: Ibid.
“French mercenaries”: see, for example, “American News,” Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser 2864 (July 25, 1778): 2. The British soldier’s account appeared in multiple papers, including “Extract of a Letter from Philadelphia, May 23,” General Evening Post (London), no. 6948 (July 7–9, 1778): 1; Public Advertiser (London), no. 13200 (July 8, 1778): 2.
“set up the war whoop”: “York-Town, May 30,” Pennsylvania Packet; or, The General Advertiser (June 3, 1778): 2.
in the diary of Joseph Plumb Martin: James Kirby Martin, ed., Ordinary Courage: The Revolutionary War Adventures of Joseph Plumb Martin, 3rd ed. (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008), 71–72. I was directed to this source by Glatthaar and Martin, 208–16, which gives a full account of the role of the Oneidas at Barren Hill.
“six Indian scouts”: Glatthaar and Martin, Forgotten Allies, photo opp., 179.
Lee and Washington: The hostilities between Lee and Washington have received considerable attention. My understanding of the events is particularly indebted to Fleming, Washington’s Secret War, and Charles Lee, The Lee Papers, 4 vols. (New York: New-York Historical Society, 1872–75).
“when my honest quadruped friends”: Lee Papers, 4:322.
“indecision”: Lee to the president of the Massachusetts Council, Lee Papers, 2:303.
“the most idle”: Lee to James Bowdoin, November 30, 1776, Lee Papers, 2:323.
“my former letters�
�: Washington to Lee, Lee Papers, 2:318.
“to move the morning after”: “Order of March and Route of the Army from Camp Valley Forge to Newburg on the North River Opposite Fishkill,” Lee Papers, 2:408.
“the most effectual means”: Washington to Lafayette, June 25, 1778, LAAR, 2:87.
“I must repeat”: Washington to Lafayette, June 26, 1778, LAAR, 2:92.
“is undoubtedly the most honorable”: Lee to Washington, June 25, 1778, Lee Papers, 2:417.
“the People here”: Lee to Washington, June 27, 1778, Lee Papers, 2:426.
“exchanging roles”: All quotes in this paragraph are from Mémoires, 1:52.
An outraged Washington: As Washington described it, upon arriving, “to my great surprise and mortification, I met the whole advanced Corps retreating” and the “Rear of the Corps … closely pressed by the Enemy.” Washington to Henry Laurens, July 1, 1778, Lee Papers, 2:444.
“what the devil brought us”: Lee to Richard Henry Lee, Englishtown, June 28 [29], 1778, Lee Papers, 2:430.
“that nothing but the misinformation”: Lee to Washington, July 1 [June 30], 1778, Lee Papers, 2:435.
his court-martial began: For the transcript of Lee’s court-martial, including Lafayette’s testimony, see Lee Papers, 3:1–208.
“passed the night”: Mémoires, 1:53.
“ill will and insubordination”: Mathieu-François Pidansat de Mairobert, L’espion anglois; ou, Correspondance secrète entre milord All’Eye et milord All’Ear (London: Adamson, 1786), 9:31.
“haughty and presumptuous”: Extrait du journal d’un officier de la marine de l’escadre de M. le comte d’Estaing (Paris, 1782), 2.
“However pleasantly”: Lafayette to the Comte d’Estaing, July 14, 1778, LAAR, 2:403.
“no other ambition”: Lafayette to the Comte d’Estaing, July 24, 1778, LAAR, 2:405.
“no one was better situated”: “Rapport du comte d’Estaing au secrétaire d’État de la Marine,” November 5, 1778, as published in Doniol, Histoire, 3:460.
at least six separate letters to d’Estaing: These are included among the twenty-seven letters Lafayette sent to d’Estaing between July and October 1778, all of which are published as “Correspondance inédite de La Fayette: Lettres écrites au comte d’Estaing pendant la campagne du Vice-Amiral de la Delaware à Boston du 14 juillet au 20 octobre 1778,” Revue d’histoire diplomatique 6 (1892): 395–448.
On July 30: D’Estaing to Lafayette, July 30, 1778, LAAR, 2:408.
serve under Major General John Sullivan: Washington to Lafayette, July 22, 1778, PGWRW, 16:127.
“Harmony and the best understanding”: Washington to Sullivan, July 27, 1778, PGWRW, 16:188.
Washington himself remained wary: Washington to Gouverneur Morris, July 24, 1778, PGWRW, 16:157. Aware that his letter touched on a delicate matter, Washington added a postscript explaining that he was writing “with the freedom of a friend” and asking Morris not to “make me enemys [sic] by publishing what is intended for your own information & that of particular friends.”
“militarily inadmissible”: D’Estaing to Sullivan, August 7, 1778, as quoted in LAAR, 1:135, note 3.
“vexing for certain people”: Lafayette to d’Estaing, August 5, 1778, LAAR, 2:410.
“saw among the Fleet”: Lafayette to Washington, August 6, 1778, LAAR, 2:133.
“This measure gave much umbrage”: John Laurens to Henry Laurens, n.d., John Laurens, The Army Correspondence of Colonel John Laurens in the Years 1777–8 (New York: Bradford Club, 1867), 220.
“that the Americans do not find”: Lafayette to d’Estaing, August 10, 1778, LAAR, 2:412.
“risk our friendship”: Lafayette to Washington, August 25, 1778, LAAR, 2:149.
“Would you believe”: Lafayette to d’Estaing, August 24, 1778, LAAR, 2:416.
“Reccommend to the several chief persons”: Lafayette to Washington, August 25, 1778, LAAR, 2:153.
tended to the young man’s wounded honor: Washington to Lafayette, September 1, 1778, PGWRW, 16:461.
“palliate and soften matters”: Washington to Major General William Heath, August 28, 1778, PGWRW, 16:401.
“people old in war”: Washington to Sullivan, September 1, 1778, PGWRW, 16:465.
CHAPTER 7: HOMECOMINGS
“I long my dear general”: Lafayette to Washington, September 1, 1778, LAAR, 2:163.
“our Separation has been long enough”: Lafayette to Washington, September 21, 1778, LAAR, 2:179.
wrote to Silas Talbot: Lafayette to Silas Talbot, September 8, 1778, LAAR, 2:171.
“the instrument of her ambition”: LAAR, 2:182, note 1.
“I have nothing very interesting to do here”: Lafayette to d’Estaing, September 13, 1778, as cited and translated in LAAR, 2:182, note 2.
“If you have entertained thoughts”: Washington to Lafayette, September 25, 1778, LAAR, 2:183.
“How dreadful”: Lafayette to Adrienne, June 16, 1778, LAAR, 2:400.
“Now … that France is involv’d”: Lafayette to the president of Congress, October 13, 1778, LAAR, 2:190.
“wisdom and dexterity”: Gérard to Vergennes, October 20, 1778, John J. Meng, ed., Despatches and Instructions of Conrad Alexandre Gérard, 1778–1780 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1939), 344.
“personal satisfaction”: Doniol, Histoire, 3:460.
“Zeal, Courage and attachment”: Congress to Louis XVI, October 21, 1778, LAAR, 2:194.
“no one but [Lafayette] has known”: William Carmichael to Benjamin Franklin, October 30, 1778, LAAR, 2:199.
ceremonial sword: President of Congress to Lafayette, October 24, 1778, LAAR, 2:193.
he returned home a hero: The crossing was not without incident. A plotted mutiny was discovered and thwarted. Mémoires, 1:63–64.
“Upon my arrival”: Ibid., 1:65.
But even this penalty: LAAR, 2:231, note 2.
80,000 livres: The amount is given in Louis Gottschalk, Lafayette and the Close of the American Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1942, rpt. 1974), 7.
“the first battles”: Ségur, Mémoires, 1:128.
John Paul Jones: Jones had enjoyed great success against the British fleet throughout the war, and he continued to do so. Most famously, the Bonhomme Richard captured HMBS Serapis on September 23 after a four-hour battle, during which Jones is reputed to have proclaimed defiantly, “I have not yet begun to fight.” Evan Thomas, John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003), 192.
public feud: Writing to Washington of the rift among the American envoys on June 12, 1779, Lafayette pleaded, “For God’s sake prevent theyr loudly disputing together.” LAAR, 2:277. Discussed by Schiff, Great Improvisation.
newborn daughter Virginie: Technically, the infant had been named for the queen of France—her full name was Marie Antoinette Virginie. But she would always be known by the name that honored the home state of Washington and Jefferson. Actes de naissances et baptême à St.-Roch en 1782. LOC, reel 41, folder 435.
“as an offering to My Western Country”: Lafayette to Franklin, September 17, 1782, LAAR, 5:57; Franklin’s response, Franklin to Lafayette, September 17, 1782, LAAR, 5:57.
“Miss Virginia”: The anecdote quickly circulated throughout Europe thanks to the Mémoires secrets, which published a variation on the story. Louis Petit de Bachaumont, Mémoires secrets pour server à l’histoire de la république des letters en France depuis 1762 jusqu’à nos jours, 36 vols. (London: Adamson, 1783), 21:125–26.
“to impress the minds”: LAAR, 2:267, note 2.
“I great deal love our project”: Lafayette to Franklin, May 19, 1779, LAAR, 2:265.
twenty-six possible images: A partial list of possible prints, in the handwriting of Franklin and Lafayette, is reproduced in LAAR, 2:266.
“I never saw a man”: Lafayette to Washington, September 1, 1778, LAAR, 2:164. The Peale painting owned by Hancock is now in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
“when you requested me”: Washington to Lafayette, September 25, 1778, LAAR, 2:183.
filled Monticello: Susan R. Stein, The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello (New York: Abrams, 1993), 122–37, 166–74, 198–214, 216–33, 434–36.
Lafayette arranged: Carol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, 2006), 281, note 95.
“If you are curious”: Lafayette to Vergennes, July 1, 1779, LAAR, 2:455.
Jean-Baptiste Le Paon: Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, known as Louis, had been rejected from the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and was thus barred from participating in the biennial Salon exhibitions that marked the high point of the Parisian art calendar. Instead, he showed in a notably less prestigious venue organized by Pahin de la Blancherie, discussed on this page. An established painter of decorative battle and hunting scenes, Le Paon was employed by the Prince de Condé as a battle painter for the Palais Bourbon, just a stone’s throw from Lafayette’s home, and had several paintings in the École Militaire. Notices of Le Paon’s work are scattered throughout Nouvelles de la république des lettres et des arts (1779–1782).
“much more advantageous”: Lafayette to Vergennes, February 2, 1780. Mémoires, 1:327–31.
“hasten to join”: “Instructions from the Comte de Vergennes,” March 5, 1780, as translated in LAAR, 2:364.
“in the Uniform”: John Adams to James Lovell, February 29, 1780, as quoted in LAAR, 2:352, note 2.
“last week arrived at Boston”: Abigail Adams to John Adams, May 1, 1780, Adams Family Correspondence, L. H. Butterfield, ed. (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1973), 3:334.
“It’s to the roar of cannon”: Lafayette to Adrienne, May 6, 1780, LAAR, 3:430.
“particular delight”: Lafayette to Samuel Adams, May 30, 1780, LAAR, 3:41–42.
“If the French troops arrive in time”: Lafayette to Vergennes, May 20, 1780, LAAR, 3:436.
detailed letter to Rochambeau: Lafayette to Rochambeau and the Chevalier de Ternay, July 9, 1780, LAAR, 3:455–60.
Rochambeau had more immediate concerns: Rochambeau to Lafayette, July 16, 1780, LAAR, 3:464–65.
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