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MEMOIRS
CORRESPONDENCE AND MANUSCRIPTS
OF
GENERAL LAFAYETTE
By 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 Tessé. 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 Ségur 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 majestic
figure and deportment; nor was he less distinguished by the noble
affability of his manner. M. de Lafayette accompanied him in his
examination of the fortifications. Invited by the General to establish
himself in his house, he looked upon it from that moment as his own:
with this perfect ease and simplicity, was formed the tie that united
two friends, whose confidence and attachment were to be cemented by the
strongest interests of humanity.~[20]
The American army, stationed some miles from Philadelphia, was waiting
until the movements the hostile army should be decided: the General
himself reviewed the troops; M. de Lafayette arrived there the same day.
About eleven thousand men, ill armed, and still worse clothed, presented
a strange spectacle to the eye of the young Frenchman: their clothes
were parti-coloured, and many of them were almost naked; the best clad
wore _hunting shirts_, large grey linen coats which were much used in
Carolina. As to their military tactics, it will be sufficient to say
that, for a regiment ranged in order of battle to move forward on the
right of its line, it was necessary for the left to make a continued
counter march. They were always arranged in two lines, the smallest men
in the first line; no other distinction as to height was ever observed.
In spite of these disadvantages, the soldiers were fine, and the
officers zealous; virtue stood in place of science, and each day added
both to experience and discipline. Lord Stirling, more courageous than
judicious, another general, who was often intoxicated, and Greene, whose
talents were only then known to his immediate friends, commanded
as majors-general. General Knox, who had changed the profession of
bookseller to that of artillery officer, was there also, and had
himself formed other officers, and created an artillery. "We must feel
embarrassed," said General Washington, on his arrival, "to exhibit
ourselves before an officer who has just quitted French troops." "It
is to learn, and not to teach, that I come hither," replied M. de
Lafayette; and that modest tone, which was not common in Europeans,
produced a very good effect.
After having menaced the Delaware, the English fleet again disappeared,
and during some days the Americans amused themselves by making jokes
at its expense. These jokes, however, ceased when it reappeared in
the Chesapeak; and, in order to approach it more closely during the
disembarkation, the patriot army crossed through the town. Their heads
covered with green branches, and marching to the sound of drums and
fifes, these soldiers, in spite of their state of nudity, offered an
agreeable spectacle to the eyes of all the citizens. General Washington
was marching at their head, and M. de Lafayette was by his side. The
army stationed itself upon the heights of Wilmington, and that of the
enemy landed in the Elk river, at the bottom of Chesapeak bay. The very
day they landed, General Washington exposed himself to danger in the
most imprudent manner; after having reconnoitred for a long time the
enemy's position, he was overtaken by a storm during a very dark night,
entered a farm house close to the hostile army, and, from a reluctance
to change his own opinion, remained there with General Greene, M. de
Lafayette, and their aide-de-camp; but when at day break he quitted the
farm, he acknowledged that any one traitor might have caused his ruin.
Some days later, Sullivan's division joined the army, which augmented it
in all to thirteen thousand men. This Major-General Sullivan made a good
beginning, but a bad ending, in an intended surprise on Staten Island.
If, by making too extensive a plan of attack, the English committed a
great error, it must also be acknowledged that the Americans were not
irreproachable in their manner of defence. Burgoyne, leading his army,
with their heads bent upon the ground, into woods from whence he could
not extricate them, dragged on, upon a single road, his numerous cannons
and rich military equipages. Certain of not being attacked from behind,
the Americans could dispute every step they took: this kind of warfare
attracted the militia, and Gates improved each day in strength. Every
tree sheltered a skilful rifleman, and the resources offered by military
tactics, and the talents even of their chiefs, had become useless to
the English. The corps left in New York could, it is true, laugh at the
corps of Putnam, but it was too feeble to succour Burgoyne; and instead
of being able to secure his triumph, its own fate was even dependent
upon his. During that time, Howe was only thinking of Philadelphia, and
it was at the expense of the northern expedition that he was repairing
thither by an enormous circuit. But, on the other side, why were the
English permitted to land so tranquilly? Why was the moment allowed to
pass when their army was divided by the river Elk? Why in the south were
so many false movements and so much hesitation displayed? Because the
Americans had hitherto had combats but not battles; because, instead of
harassing an army and disputing hollows, they were obliged to protect
an open city, and manoeuvre in a plain, close to a hostile army, who,
by attacking them from behind, might completely ruin them. General
Washington, had he followed the advice of the people, would have
enclosed his army in a city, and thus have entrusted to one hazard the
fate of America; but, whilst refusing to commit such an act of folly, he
was obliged to make some sacrifice, and gratify the nation by a battle.
Europe even expected it; and although he had been created a dictator
for six months, the General thought he ought to submit everything to the
orders of congress, and to the deliberations of a council of war.
After having advanced as far as Wilmington, the general had detached a
thousand men under Maxwell, the most ancient brigadier in the army. At
the first march of the English, he was beaten by their advance
guard near Christiana Bridge. During that time the army took but an
indifferent station at Newport; they then removed a little south, waited
two days for the enemy, and, at the moment when these were marching upon
their right wing, a nocturnal council of war decided that the army was
to proceed to the Brandywine. The stream bearing that name covered its
front; the ford called Chad's Ford, placed nearly in the centre, was
defended by batteries. It was in that scarcely examined station that, in
obedience to a letter from congress, the Americans awaited the battle.
The evening of the 10th of September, Howe advanced in two columns,
and, by a very fine movement, the left column (about 8000 men under Lord
Cornwallis, with grenadiers and guards) directed themselves towards
the fords of Birmingham, three miles on our right; the other column
continued its road, and at about nine o'clock in the morning it appeared
on the other side of the stream. The enemy was so near the skirts of the
wood that it was impossible to judge of his force some time was lost in
a mutual cannonading. General Washington walked along his two lines, and
was received with acclamations which seemed to promise him success. The
intelligence that was received of the movements of Cornwallis was both
confused and contradictory; owing to the conformity of name betwixt two
roads that were of equal length and parallel to each other, the best
officers were mistaken in their reports. The only musket shots that had
been fired were from Maxwell, who killed several of the enemy, but was
driven back upon the left of the American army, across a ford by which
he had before advanced. Three thousand militia had been added to the
army, but they were placed in the rear to guard some still more distant
militia, and took no part themselves in the action. Such was the
situation of the troops when they learnt the march of Lord Cornwallis
towards the scarcely known fords of Birmingham: they then detached three
divisions, forming about five thousand men, under the generals Sullivan,
Stirling, and Stephen. M. de Lafayette, as volunteer, had always
accompanied the general. The left wing remaining in a state of
tranquillity, and the right appearing fated to receive all the heavy
blows, he obtained permission to join Sullivan. At his arrival, which
seemed to inspirit the troops, he found that, the enemy having crossed
the ford, the corps of Sullivan had scarcely had time to form itself
on a line in front of a thinly-wooded forest. A few moments after, Lord
Cornwallis formed in the finest order: advancing across the plain, his
first line opened a brisk fire of musketry and artillery; the Americans
returned the fire, and did much injury to the enemy; but their right and
left wings having given way, the generals and several officers joined
the central division, in which were M. de Lafayette and Stirling, and
of which eight hundred men were commanded in a most brilliant manner
by Conway, an Irishman, in the service of France. By separating that
division from its two wings, and advancing through an open plain, in
which they lost many men, the enemy united all their fire upon the
centre: the confusion became extreme; and it was whilst M. de Lafayette
was rallying the troops that a ball passed through his leg;--at that
moment all those remaining on the field gave way. M. de Lafayette was
indebted to Gimat, his aide-de-camp, for the happiness of getting upon
his horse. General Washington arrived from a distance with fresh troops;
M. de Lafayette was preparing to join him, when loss of blood obliged
him to stop and have his wound bandaged; he was even very near being
taken. Fugitives, cannon, and baggage now crowded without order into the
road leading to Chester. The general employed the remaining daylight
in checking the enemy: some regiments behaved extremely well but the
disorder was complete. During that time the ford of Chad was forced, the
cannon taken and the Chester road became the common retreat of the whole
army. In the midst of that dreadful confusion, and during the darkness
of the night, it was impossible to recover; but at Chester, twelve miles
from the field of battle, they met with a bridge which it was necessary
to cross; M. de Lafayette occupied himself in arresting the fugitives;
some degree of order was re-established; the generals and the
commander-in-chief arrived; and he had leisure to have his wound
dressed.