MEMOIRS
CORRESPONDENCE AND MANUSCRIPTS
OF
GENERAL LAFAYETTE
PUBLISHED BY HIS FAMILY.
Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1837,
by William A. Duer,
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York.
Respectfully to collect and scrupulously to arrange the manuscripts of
which an irreparable misfortune has rendered them depositaries, have
been for the Family of General Lafayette the accomplishment of a
sacred duty.
To publish those manuscripts without any commentary, and place them,
unaltered, in the hands of the friends of Liberty, is a pious and
solemn homage which his children now offer with confidence to his
memory.
GEORGE WASHINGTON LAFAYETTE.
ADVERTISEMENT
OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR.
* * * * *
It was the desire of the late General Lafayette, that this edition of
his Memoirs and Correspondence should be considered as a legacy of the
American people. His representatives have accordingly pursued a course
which they conceived the best adapted to give effect to his wishes, by
furnishing a separate edition for this country, without any
reservation for their own advantage, beyond the transfer of the
copyright as an indemnity for the expense and risk of publication.
In this edition are inserted some letters which will not appear in the
editions published in Paris and London. They contain details relating
to the American Revolution, and render the present edition more
complete, or, at least, more interesting to Americans. Although
written during the first residence of General Lafayette in
America - when he was little accustomed to write in the English
language - the letters in question are given exactly as they came from
his pen - and as well as the others in the collection written by him in
that language are distinguished from those translated from the French
by having the word "Original" prefixed to them.
It was intended that these letters should have been arranged among
those in the body of the work; in the order of their respective dates;
but as the latter have been stereotyped before the former had been
transmitted to the American editor, this design was rendered
impracticable. They have therefore from necessity been added in a
supplemental form with the marginal notes which seemed requisite for
their explanation.
Columbia College, N. Y., July, 1837.
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
Notice by the Editors
FIRST VOYAGE AND FIRST CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA - 1777, 1778.
Memoirs written by myself, until the year 1780
FRAGMENTS EXTRACTED FROM VARIOUS MANUSCRIPTS
A. - Departure for America in 1777
B. - First Interview between General Washington
and General Lafayette
C. - On the Military commands during the Winter of 1778
D. - Retreat of Barren Hill
E. - Arrival of the French Fleet
F. - Dissensions between the French Fleet
and the American Army
CORRESPONDENCE - 1777, 1778:
To the Duke d'Ayen. London, March 9, 1777
To Madame de Lafayette. On board the Victory, May 30
To Madame de Lafayette. Charlestown, June 19
To Madame de Lafayette. Petersburg, July 17
To Madame de Lafayette. - July 23
To Madame de Lafayette. Philadelphia, Sept. 12
To Madame de Lafayette. - Oct. 1
To M. de Vergennes, Minister of Foreign affairs.
Whitemarsh Camp, Oct. 24
To Madame de Lafayette. Whitemarsh Camp, Oct. 29, and Nov. 6
To General Washington. Haddonfeld, Nov. 26
To the Duke d'Ayen. Camp Gulph, Pennsylvania, Dec. 16
To General Washington. Camp, Dec. 30
To General Washington. Head Quarters, Dec. 31
To General Washington. Valley Forge, Dec. 31
To Madame de Lafayette. Camp, near Valley Forge, Jan. 6, 1778
To General Washington
To Madame de Lafayette. York. Feb 3
To General Washington. Hermingtown, Feb. 9
To General Washington. Albany, Feb. 19
To General Washington. - Feb. 23
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Head Quarters, March 10
To Baron de Steuben. Albany, March 12
Fragment of a Letter to the President of Congress.
Albany, March 20
To General Washington. Albany, March 25
To Madame de Lafayette. Valley Forge Camp,
in Pennsylvania, April 14
To Madame de Lafayette. Germantown, April 28
To General Washington. Valley Forge Camp, May 19
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Camp, May 17
To the Marquis de Lafayette. (Instructions.)
To Madame de Lafayette. Valley Forge Camp, June 16
To the Marquis de Lafayette. (Instructions.)
To General Washington. Ice Town, June 26
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Cranberry, June 26
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
White Plains, July 22
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Head Quarters, White Plains, July 27
To General Washington. Providence, Aug. 6
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
White Plains, Aug. 10
To General Washington. Camp before Newport, Aug. 25
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
White Plains, Sept.
From General Washington to Major-General Sullivan.
Head Quarters, White Plains, Sept. 1
From General Washington to Major-General Greene.
Head Quarters, White Plains, Sept. 1
To General Washington. Tyverton, Sept. I
To General Washington. Camp, near Bristol, Sept. 7
To the Duke d'Ayen. Bristol, near Rhode Island, Sept. 11
To Madame de Lafayette. Bristol, near Rhode Island, Sept. 13
President Laurens to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Philadelphia, Sept. 13
Marquis de Lafayette to President Laurens. Camp, Sept. 23
To General Washington. Warren, Sept. 24
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Fredericksburg, Sept. 25
To General Washington. Camp near Warren, Sept. 24
To General Washington. Boston, Sept. 28
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Fishkill, Oct. 4
Marquis de Lafayette to President Laurens.
Philadelphia, Oct. 13
President Laurens to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Philadelphia, Oct. 24
To General Washington. Philadelphia, Oct. 24
Lord Carlisle to M. de Lafayette Marquis de Lafayette
To President Laurens. Philadelphia, Oct. 26
Fragment of a Letter from the French Minister, M. Gerard,
to Count de Vergennes. - October
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Philadelphia, Dec. 29
From General Washington to General Franklin,
American Minister in France. Philadelphia, Dec. 28
To General Washington. Boston, January 5, 1779
To General Washington. On board the Alliance,
off Boston, January 11, 1779
SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA, AND CAMPAIGNS OF 1780, 1781.
HISTORICAL MEMOIRS OF 1779, 1780, and 1781.
CORRESPONDENCE - 1779-1781
To Count de Vergennes. Paris, February 24, 1779
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Camp at Middlebrook, March 8
To M. de Vergennes, Paris, April 1, and April 26
To the President of Congress. St. Jean de Angeli,
near Rochefort, June 12
To General Washington. St. Jean de Angeli,
near Rochefort harbor, June 12
To the Count de Vergennes. Havre, July 30
To M. de Vergennes. Paris, August -
Dr. Franklin to the Marquis de Lafayette. Fassy, August 24
To Dr. Franklin. Havre, August 29
Page From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
West Point, December 30
To General Washington. Havre, October 7
To M. de Vergennes. Versailles, Feb. 22, 1780
To his Excellency General Washington.
At the entrance of Boston harbor, April 27
To M. de Vergennes. Waterburg, on the Boston road,
from the Camp, May 6
From General Washington. Morris Town, May -
To the Count de Rochambeau. Philadelphia, May 19
To General Washington. Camp at Preakness, July 4
To MM. le Comte de Rochambeau and le Chevalier de Ternay.
Camp before Dobb's Ferry, August 9
From Count de Rochambeau to M. de Lafayette. Newport, August 12
To MM. de Rochambeau and de Ternay. Camp, August 18
To M. de Rochambeau. Camp, August 18
From M. de Rochambeau. Newport, August 27
To the Chevalier de la Luzerne. Robinson House,
opposite West Point, Sept. 26
To Madame de Tesse. Camp, on the right side of North River,
near the Island of New York, October 4
To General Washington. Light Camp, October 30
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Head Quarters, October 30
To General Washington. Light Camp, November 13
To General Washington, Paramus, November 28
To his Excellency General Washington. Philadelphia, Dec. 5
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
New Windsor, December 14
To M. de Vergennes. New Windsor, on the North River,
January 30, 1781
To Madame de Lafayette. New Windsor, on the North River,
February 2
To General Washington. Elk, March 8
To General Washington. On board the Dolphin, March 9
To General Washington. Williamsburg, March 23
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette.
New Windsor, April 6
To General Washington. Elk, April 8
To Colonel Hamilton. Susquehannah Ferry, April 18
To General Washington. Baltimore, April 18
To General Washington. Alexandria, April 23
From General Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette
New Windsor, May 4
From General Washington to Lund Washington.
New Windsor, April 30
To General Washington. Camp Wilton, on James River, May 17
From General Phillips to the Marquis de Lafayette.
British Camp at Osborn, April 28
From General Phillips to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Camp at Osborn, April 29
To Major General Phillips. American Camp, April 30
To Major-General Phillips. - May 3
Note for Captain Emyne. - May 15
Note from General Arnold to Captain Ragedale
To General Washington. Richmond, May 24
To General Washington. Camp, June 28
Extracts of several Letters to General Washington
To Madame de Lafayette. Camp, between the branches
of York River, August 24
To M. de Vergennes. Camp between the branches
of York River, August 24
To M de Maurepas. Camp, between the branches
of York River, August 24
To General Washington. Holt's Forge, September 1
To General Washington. Williamsburg, September 8
To General Washington. Camp before York, October 16
To M. de Maurepas. Camp near York, October 20
To M. de Vergennes. Camp near York, October 20
To Madame de Lafayette. On board La Ville de Paris,
Chesapeake Bay, October 22
The Marquis de Segur to M. de Lafayette. - Dec. 5
To General Washington. Alliance, off Boston, December 21
ADDITIONAL CORRESPONDENCE.
To General Washington. Robins' Tavern, June 26, 1778
To General Washington. Cranbarry, June -
To General Washington. - June 28
To General Washington. Cranbarry, June 29
To the Count de Vergennes. St. Jean de Angeli, June, 1779
To the Count de Vergennes. Havre, July 9
To the President of Congress. Havre, October 7
To General Washington. Peekskill, July 20, 1780
To General Washington. Danbury, July 21
To General Washington. Hartford, July 22
To General Washington. Lebanon, July 23
To General Washington. Newport, July 26
To General Washington. Newport, July 26
To General Washington. Newport, July 29
To General Washington. Newport, July 31
To General Washington. Newport, August 1
To General Washington. Elizabethtown, October 27
To General Washington. Light Camp, October 27
To General Washington. Philadelphia, December 4
To General Washington. - December 5
To General Washington. Philadelphia, December 16
To General Washington. Philadelphia, March 2, 1781
To General Washington. Head of Elk, March 7
To General Washington. Off Turkey Point, March 9
To General Washington. York, March 15
To General Washington. Elk, April 10
To General Washington. Susquehannah Ferry, April 13
To General Washington. Susquehannah Ferry, April 13
To General Washington. Susquehannah Ferry, April 14
To Major-General Greene. Hanover Court House, April 28
To General Greene. Camp on Pamunkey River, May 3
To General Washington. Camp near Bottom's Creek, May 4
To General Washington. Richmond, May 8
To General Washington. Welton, north side of James River, May 18
To Colonel Hamilton. Richmond, May 23
To General Washington. Richmond, May 24
To General Washington. Camp between Rappanannock
and North Anna, June 3
To General Greene. Camp between Rappahannock
and North Anna, June 3
To General Greene. Allen's Creek, June 18
To General Greene. Mr. Tyter's Plantation, June 27
To General Greene. Ambler's Plantation, July 8
To General Washington. Mrs. Ruffin's, August 29
To General Washington. Holt's Forge, September 1
To General Washington. Camp Williamsburg, September 8
To General Washington. Williamsburg, September 10
To General Washington. Camp before York, Sept. 30
To General Washington. - November 29
APPENDIX.
I. - A Summary of the Campaign of 1781, explanatory of the Map
II. - Letter from M. de Lafayette to M. de Vergennes
NOTICE BY THE EDITORS.
Under the title of _Revolution of America_, are comprised eight years
of M. de Lafayette's life, from the commencement of 1771 until the end
of 1784. His three voyages to the United States divide those eight
years into three periods: 1777, 1778; 1779-1781; and 1782-1784.~[1]
1st. Circumstantial Memoirs, written for his friends after the peace
of Versailles, and which were to have extended to 1780, open this
collection.
2nd. These are continued and completed by two detached relations,
composed between 1800 and 1814; the first, which has no title, and
might be called _Notice of the American Life of General Lafayette_,
appears to have been written for a person intending to publish the
history of the war, or of General Washington; the second is entitled,
_Observations on some portion of American History, by a friend of
General Lafayette_.
As these two relations, both written by M. de Lafayette, and which we
designate under the names of Manuscript, No. 1, and manuscript, No. 2,
contain a second, and occasionally a third, account of events already
mentioned in the Memoirs, we have only inserted quotations from them.
3rd. A relation of the campaign in Virginia, in 1781, shall be
inserted in its complete state.
4th. Extracts from the collection of the general's speeches, begun by
him in 1829, will give some details of his third voyage to America
(1784).
5th. With the account of each particular period that portion of the
correspondence which may relate to it will be inserted. From a great
number of letters, written from America, and addressed either to
France or to America, or from France to America, those only have been
suppressed whose repetitions or details, purely military, would render
them uninteresting to the public.
6th. In the Correspondence, some letters have been inserted from
General Washington, and other contemporaries, and also some historical
records, of which M. de Lafayette had taken copies, or which have been
extracted from various collections published in the United States.
Footnote
1. M. de Lafayette (Marie-Paul-Joseph-Roch-Yves-Gilbert Motier) born
at Chavaniae, in Auvergne, the 6th of September, 1757; married the
11th of April, 1774; set out for America the 26th of April, 1777. The
other dates will be mentioned in proper order, with each particular
event. All the notes which are not followed by the name of M. de
Lafayette, may be attributed to the members of his family, sole
editors of this work.
* * * * *
TO THE READER.~[1]
When, devoted from early youth to the ambition of liberty, I beheld no
limit to the path that I had opened for myself, it appeared to me that
I was sufficiently fulfilling my destiny, and satisfying my glory, by
rushing incessantly forward, and leaving to others the care of
collecting the recollections, as well as the fruits, of my labour.
After having enjoyed an uninterrupted course of good fortune for
fifteen years, I presented myself, with a favourable prospect of
success, before the coalition of kings, and the aristocracy of Europe:
I was overthrown by the simultaneous fury of French jacobinism. My
person was then given up to the vengeance of my natural enemies, and
my reputation to the calumnies of those self-styled patriots who had
so lately violated every sworn and national guarantee. It is well
known that the regimen of my five years' imprisonment was not
favourable to literary occupations, and when, on my deliverance from
prison, I was advised to write an explanation of my conduct, I was
disgusted with all works of the kind, by the numerous memoirs or
notices by which so many persons had trespassed upon the attention of
the public. Events had also spoken for us; and many accusers, and many
accusations, had fallen into oblivion.
As soon as I returned to France, my friends requested me to write
memoirs: I found excuses for not doing so in my reluctance to judge
with severity the first jacobin chiefs who have shared since in my
proscription, - the _Girondins_, who have died for those very
principles they had opposed and persecuted in me, - the king and queen,
whose lamentable fate only allows me to pride myself upon some
services I have rendered them, - and the vanquished royalists, who are
at present deprived of fortune, and exposed to every, arbitrary
measure. I ought to add, likewise that, happy in my retreat, in the
bosom of my family and occupied with agricultural pursuits, I know not
how to purloin one moment from the enjoyments of my domestic life.
But my friends have renewed their request, and to comply in some
degree with it, I have consented to place in order the few papers that
I still possess and assemble together some relations which have been
already published, and unite, by notes, the whole collection, in which
my children and friends may one day find materials for a less
insignificant work. As to myself, I acknowledge that my indolence in
this respect is owing to the intimate conviction which I feel, that
liberty will ultimately be established in the old as well as in the
new world, and that then the history of our revolutions will put all
things and all persons in their proper places.
Footnote
1. Although this notice, written a short time after the 18th
_Brumaire_, be anterior to a great number of events, in the midst of
which General Lafayette continued his public life, we have placed it
in this part of the work, as a sort of general introduction to the
various materials it contains.
* * * * *
FIRST VOYAGE
AND
FIRST CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA 1777-1778.
MEMOIRS WRITTEN BY MYSELF,~[1]
UNTIL THE YEAR 1780.
TO MY FRIENDS.
If I were to confound, as is too often done, obstinacy with firmness,
I should blush at beginning these memoirs, after having so long
refused to do so, and at even increasing their apparent egotism by my
style, instead of sheltering myself under cover of the third person;
but I will not yield a half compliance to the request of that tender
friendship which is far more valuable to me than the ephemeral success
which a journal might obtain. It is sufficient for me to know that
this relation, intended for a few friends only, will never extend
beyond their circle: it even possesses two very great advantages over
many celebrated books: these are, that the public not being concerned
in this work it cannot need a preface, and that the dedication of
affection cannot require an epistle.
It would be too poetical to place myself at once in another
hemisphere, and too minute to dwell upon the particulars of my birth,
which soon followed the death of my father at Minden;~[2] of my
education in Auvergne, with tender and revered relations; of my
removal, at twelve years of age to a college at Paris,~[3] where I
soon lost my virtuous mother,~[4] and where the death of her father
rendered me rich, although I had been born, comparatively speaking,
poor; of some schoolboy successes, inspired by the love of glory and
somewhat disturbed by that of liberty; of my entrance into the
regiment of the black musketeers, which only interrupted my studies on
review days; and finally, of my marriage, at the age of sixteen,
preceded by a residence at the academy of Versailles.~[5] I have still
less to say relating to my entrance into the world; to the short
favour I enjoyed as constituting one member of a youthful society; to
some promises to the regiment de Noailles; and to the unfavourable
opinion entertained of me owing to my habitual silence when I did not
think the subjects discussing worthy of being canvassed. The bad
effects produced by disguised self-love and an observing disposition,
were not softened by a natural simplicity of manner, which, without
being improper on any great occasion, rendered it impossible for me to
bend to the graces of the court, or to the charms of a supper in the
capital.
You ask me at what period I first experienced my ardent love of
liberty and glory? I recollect no time of my life anterior to my
enthusiasm for anecdotes of glorious deeds, and to my projects of
travelling over the world to acquire fame. At eight years of age, my
heart beat when I heard of a hyena that had done some injury, and
caused still more alarm, in our neighbourhood, and the hope of meeting
it was the object of all my walks. When I arrived at college, nothing
ever interrupted my studies, except my ardent wish of studying without
restraint. I never deserved to be chastised; but, in spite of my usual
gentleness, it would have been dangerous to have attempted to do so;
and I recollect with pleasure that, when I was to described in
rhetoric a perfect courser, I sacrificed the hope of obtaining a
premium, and described the one who, on perceiving the whip, threw down
his rider. Republican anecdotes always delighted me, and when my new
connexions wished to obtain for me a place at court, I did not
hesitate displeasing them to preserve my independence.~[6] I was in
that frame of mind when I first learnt the troubles in America; they
only became thoroughly known in Europe in 1776, and the memorable
declaration of the 4th of July reached France at the close of that
same year.
After having crowned herself with laurels and enriched herself with
conquests; after having become mistress of all seas; and after having
insulted all nations, England had turned her pride against her own
colonies. North America had long been displeasing to her; she wished
to add new vexations to former injuries, and to destroy the most
sacred privileges. The Americans, attached to the mother country,
contented themselves at first with merely uttering complaints; they
only accused the ministry, and the whole nation rose up against them;
they were termed insolent and rebellious, and at length declared the
enemies of their country: thus did the obstinacy of the king, the
violence of the ministers, and the arrogance of the English nation,
oblige thirteen of their colonies to render themselves independent.
Such a glorious cause had never before attracted the attention of
mankind; it was the last struggle of Liberty; and had she then been
vanquished, neither hope nor asylum would have remained for her. The
oppressors and oppressed were to receive a powerful lesson; the great
work was to be accomplished, or the rights of humanity were to fall
beneath its ruin. The destiny of France and that of her rival were to
be decided at the same moment; England was to lose, with the new
states, an important commerce, of which she derived the sole
advantage, - one quarter of her subjects, who were constantly
augmenting by a rapid increase of population, and by emigration from
all parts of Europe, - in a word, more than half of the most beautiful
portion of the British territory. But if she retained possession of
her thirteen colonies, all was ended for our West Indies, our
possessions in Asia and Africa, our maritime commerce, and
consequently our navy and our political existence.
(1776.) When I first learnt the subject of the quarrel, my heart
espoused warmly the cause of liberty, and I thought of nothing but of
adding also the aid of my banner.~[7] Some circumstances, which it
would be needless to relate, had taught me to expect only obstacles in
this case from my own family; I depended, therefore, solely upon
myself, and I ventured to adopt for a device on my arms these
words - "_Cur non?_" that they might equally serve as an encouragement
to my-self, and as a reply to others. Silas Deane was then at Paris;
but the ministers feared to receive him, and his voice was overpowered
by the louder accents of Lord Stormont. He despatched privately to
America some old arms, which were of little use, and some young
officers, who did but little good, the whole directed by M. de
Beaumarchais; and when the English ambassador spoke to our court, it
denied having sent any cargoes, ordered those that were preparing to
be discharged, and dismissed from our ports all American privateers.
Whilst wishing to address myself in a direct manner to Mr. Deane, I
became the friend of Kalb, a German in our employ, who was applying
for service with the _insurgents_, (the expression in use at that
time,) and who became my interpreter. He was the person sent by M. de
Choiseul to examine the English colonies; and on his return he
received some money, but never succeeded in obtaining an audience, so
little did that minister in reality think of the revolution whose
retrograde movements some persons have inscribed to him! When I
presented to Mr. Deane my boyish face, (for I was scarcely nineteen
years of age,) I spoke more of my ardour in the cause than of my
experience; but I dwelt much upon the effect my departure would excite
in France, and he signed our mutual agreement. The secrecy with which
this negotiation and my preparations were made appears almost a
miracle; family, friends, ministers; French spies and English spies,
all were kept completely in the dark as to my intentions. Amongst my
discreet confidants, I owe much to M. du Boismartin,~[8] secretary of
the Count de Broglie, and to the Count de Broglie himself, whose
affectionate heart, when all his efforts to turn me from this project
had proved in vain, entered into my views with even paternal
tenderness.
Preparations were making to send a vessel to America, when very bad
tidings arrived from thence. New York, Long Island, White Plains, Fort
Washington, and the Jerseys, had seen the American forces successively
destroyed by thirty-three thousand Englishmen or Germans. Three
thousand Americans alone remained in arms, and these were closely
pursued by General Howe. From that moment all the credit of the
insurgents vanished; to obtain a vessel for them was impossible: the
envoys themselves thought it right to express to me their own
discouragement, and persuade me to abandon my project. I called upon
Mr. Deane, and I thanked him for his frankness.
"Until now, sir," said I, "you have only seen my ardour in your cause,
and that may not prove at present wholly useless. I shall purchase a
ship to carry out your officers; we must feel confidence in the
future, and it is especially in the hour of danger that I wish to
share your fortune."~[9] My project was received with approbation; but
it was necessary afterwards to find money, and to purchase and arm a
vessel secretly: all this was accomplished with the greatest despatch.
The period was, however, approaching, which had been long fixed for my
taking a journey to England;~[10] I could not refuse to go without
risking the discovery of my secret, and by consenting to take this
journey I knew I could better conceal my preparations for a greater
one. This last measure was also thought most expedient by MM. Franklin
and Deane; for the doctor himself was then in France; and although I
did not venture to go to his house, for fear of being seen, I
corresponded with him through M. Carmichael, an American less
generally known. I arrived in London with M. de Poix; and I first paid
my respects to Bancroft, the American, and afterwards to his British
Majesty. A youth of nineteen may be, perhaps, too fond of playing a
trick upon the king he is going to fight with, - of dancing at the
house of Lord Germaine minister for the English colonies, and at the
house of Lord Rawdon, who had just returned from New York, - and of
seeing at the opera that Clinton, whom he was afterwards to meet at
Monmouth. But whilst I concealed my intentions, I openly avowed my
sentiments; I often defended the Americans; I rejoiced at their
success at Trenton; and my spirit of opposition obtained for me an
invitation to breakfast with Lord Shelbourne. I refused the offers
made me to visit the sea ports, the vessels fitting out against the
_rebels_, and everything that might be construed into an abuse of
confidence. At the end of three weeks, when it became necessary for me
to return home, whilst refusing my uncle,~[11] the ambassador, to
accompany him to court, I confided to him my strong desire to take a
trip to Paris. He proposed saying that I was ill during my absence. I
should not have made use of this stratagem myself, but I did not
object to his doing so.
After having suffered dreadfully in the channel, and being reminded,
as a consolation, how very short the voyage would be, I arrived at M.
de Kalb's house in Paris, concealed myself three days at Chaillot, saw
a few of my friends and some Americans, and set out for Bordeaux,
where I was for some time unexpectedly delayed.~[12] I took advantage
of that delay to send to Paris, from whence the intelligence I
received was by no means encouraging; but as my messenger was followed
on his road by one from the government, I lost not a moment in setting
sail, and the orders of my sovereign were only able to overtake me at
Passage, a Spanish port, at which we stopped on our way. The letters
from my own family were extremely violent, and those from the
government were peremptory. I was forbidden to proceed to the American
continent under the penalty of disobedience; I was enjoined to repair
instantly to Marseilles, and await there further orders. A sufficient
number of commentaries were not wanting upon the consequences of such
an anathema, the laws of the state, and the power and displeasure of
the government: but the grief of his wife, who was pregnant, and the
thoughts of his family and friends, had far more effect upon M. de
Lafayette.~[13] As his vessel could no longer be stopped, he returned
to Bordeaux to enter into a justification of his own conduct; and, in
a declaration to M. de Fumel, he took upon himself all the
consequences of his present evasion. As the court did not deign to
relax in its determination, he wrote to M. de Maurepas that that
silence was a tacit consent, and his own departure took place soon
after that joking despatch. After having set out on the road to
Marseilles, he retraced his steps, and, disguised as a courier, he had
almost escaped all danger, when, at Saint Jean de Luz, a young girl
recognised him; but a sign from him silenced her, and her adroit
fidelity turned away all suspicion. It was thus that M. de Lafayette
rejoined his ship, the 26th of April 1777; and on that same day, after
six months anxiety and labour, he set sail for the American
continent.~[14]
* * * * *
(1777.) As soon as M. de Lafayette had recovered from the effects of
sea sickness, he studied the language and trade he was adopting. A
heavy ship, two bad cannons, and some guns, could not have escaped
from the smallest privateer. In his present situation, he resolved
rather to blow up the vessel than to surrender; he concerted measures
to achieve this end with a brave Dutchman named Bedaulx, whose sole
alternative, if taken, would have been the gibbet. The captain
insisted upon stopping at the islands; but government and orders would
have been found there, and he followed a direct course, less from
choice than from compulsion.~[15] At forty leagues from shore, they
were met by a small vessel: the captain turned pale, but the crew were
attached to M. de Lafatette, and the officers were numerous: they made
a show of resistance. It turned out, fortunately, to be an American
ship, whom they vainly endeavoured to keep up with; but scarcely had
the former lost sight of M. de Lafayette's vessel, when it fell in
with two English frigates, - and this is not the only time when the
elements seemed bent on opposing M. de Lafayette, as if with the
intention of saving him. After having encountered for seven weeks
various perils and chances, he arrived at Georgetown, in Carolina.
Ascending the river in a canoe, his foot touched at length the
American soil, and he swore that he would conquer or perish in that
cause. Landing at midnight at Major Huger's house,~[16] he found a
vessel sailing for France, which appeared only waiting for his
letters. Several of the officers landed, others remained on board, and
all hastened to proceed to Charleston:
This beautiful city is worthy of its inhabitants and everything there
announced not only comfort but even luxury. Without knowing much of M.
de Lafayette, the generals Howe,~[17] Moultrie, and Gulden, received
him with the utmost kindness and attention. The new works were shown
him, and also that battery which Moultrie afterwards defended so
extremely well, and which the English appear, we must acknowledge, to
have seized the only possible means of destroying. Several
adventurers, the refuse of the islands, endeavoured vainly to unite
themselves to M. de Lafayette, and to infuse into his mind their own
feelings and prejudices. Having procured horses, he set out with six
officers for Philadelphia. His vessel had arrived, but it was no
longer protected by fortune, and on its return home it was lost on the
bar of Charlestown To repair to the congress of the United States, M.
de Lafayette rode nearly nine hundred miles on horseback; before
reaching the capital of Pennsylvania, he was obliged to travel through
the two Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Whilst studying
the language and customs of the inhabitants, he observed also new
productions of nature, and new methods of cultivation: vast forests
and immense rivers combine to give to that country an appearance of
youth and majesty. After a fatiguing journey of one month, he beheld
at length that Philadelphia, so well known in the present day, and
whose future grandeur Penn appeared to designate when he laid the
first stone of its foundation.
After having accomplished his noble manoeuvres at Trenton and
Princetown, General Washington had remained in his camp at
Middlebrook. The English, finding themselves frustrated in their first
hopes, combined to make a decisive campaign. Burgoyne was already
advancing with ten thousand men, preceded by his proclamations and his
savages. Ticonderoga, a famous stand of arms, was abandoned by
Saint-Clair; he drew upon himself much public odium by this deed, but
he saved the only corps whom the militia could rally round. Whilst the
generals were busied assembling the militia, the congress recalled
them, sent Gates their place, and used all possible means to support
him. At that same time the great English army, of about eighteen
thousand men, had sailed from New York, and the two Howes were uniting
their forces for a secret enterprise; Rhode Island was occupied by a
hostile corps, and General Clinton who had remained at New York, was
there preparing for an expedition. To be able to withstand many
various blows, General Washington, leaving Putnam on the north river,
crossed over the Delaware, and encamped, with eleven thousand men,
within reach of Philadelphia.
It was under these circumstances that M. de Lafayette first arrived in
America; but the moment, although important to the common cause, was
peculiarly unfavourable to strangers. The Americans were displeased
with the pretensions, and disgusted with the conduct, of many
Frenchmen; the imprudent selections they had in some cases made, the
extreme boldness of some foreign adventurers, the jealousy of the
army, and strong national prejudices, all contributed to confound
disinterested zeal with private ambition, and talents with quackery.
Supported by the promises which had been given by Mr. Deane, a
numerous band of foreigners besieged the congress; their chief was a
clever but very imprudent man, and although a good officer, his
excessive vanity amounted almost to madness. With M. de Lafayette, Mr.
Deane had sent out a fresh detachment, and every day such crowds
arrived, that the congress had finally adopted the plan of not
listening to any stranger. The coldness with which M. de Lafayette was
received, might have been taken as a dismissal; but, without appearing
disconcerted by the manner in which the deputies addressed him,~[18]
he entreated them to return to congress, and read the following
note: -
"After the sacrifices I have made, I have the right to exact two
favours: one is, to serve at my own expense, - the other is, to serve
at first as volunteer."
This style, to which they were so little accustomed, awakened their
attention; the despatches from the envoys were read over, and, in a
very flattering resolution, the rank of major-general was granted to
M. de Lafayette. Amongst the various officers who accompanied him,
several were strangers to him; he was interested, however, for them
all, and to those whose services were not accepted an indemnity for
their trouble was granted. Some months afterwards, M. - - - drowned
himself in the Schuylkill, and the loss of that impetuous and
imprudent man was perhaps a fortunate circumstance.
The two Howes having appeared before the capes of the Delaware,
General Washington came to Philadelphia, and M. de Lafayette beheld
for the first time that great man.~[19] Although he was surrounded by
officers and citizens, it was impossible to mistake for a moment his