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EDFRIEND OF WASHINGTON

& YOUNG FOLKS

LIFE OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE

BY

HENRY C. WATSON

ILLUSTRATED

BOSTON

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LAFAYETTE AS COMMANDER OF THE NATIONAL GuaPREFACE.

 
    

 

     
   

 

   
  

 

  

 

    
  
  
 

3 P= Te HE enaracter and career of Lafayette are
TAIN Gee among the wonders of the modern era,
m na Never, unti! he exhibited it, had Europe

   
 

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seen an actual instance of disinterested
patriotism, and of love of liberty for it-
self, and for the happiness and progress
of the race. Adventurers there has never been
a lack of—but they have usually been reckless,
indifferent to the rights of others, covetous of praise,
and greedy of power and lucre. But Lafayette
seemed the realized vision of the early poets, challenging
at once the admiration of the world for his courage, and
its respect for his moderation. He astonished cold calcu-
lators by his pursuit of what seemed to them a phantom;
and he balked the dreamers who sympathized with him
at the outset, by his calm and cool application of prac-
tical and common sense standards to all questions and
enterprises.

  

From the day that the Jacobins obtained the ascendancy
in France, Lafayette was a disappointed man— disap-
pointed, not in regard to himself, for he was unambitious,
but in his estimate of human character. He looked

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Iv PREFACE.

abroad for kindred spirits with himself, to make a revolu
tion, and found that of such there were not enough te
restrain ignorant and undiscriminating popular fury—far
less were there enough to establish the model government
at which he aimed.

From the time that this conviction was forced upon
him, he became at once one of the movement party, and
one of the conservative. Each was aware that he would
fully go with neither, and each was fain to call upon him
‘ in extremity. Such calls he never left to pass unheeded ;
o but came forward, at certain present loss, to work out a
happy future for his country, and a good man’s fame for
himself. He never was brilliant in his European career,
simply because he never would assert his own individu-
ality. He made no move for Lafayette —his measures
were always taken for France.

Such was his character at home. Of his deeds and
services in this country, we need not speak to Americans.
Europe is not yet prepared to do him justice; but every
day strengthens his memory in the people’s hearts, every
generation farther removed from the prejudices of the
past, is more ready than its predecessor to understand
him: and the name of the Prisoner or Otmurz will be a
household word when his enemies are forgotten.

+ erry SIRE TELTY TUTE Tz uay
pr era ent EL eoneT OSE (RS ETT or EBCONTENTS.

 

CHAPTER L

introductory—F ranklin’s Letter to Congress—Circumstances which sum
rounded Lafayette—Disastrous events of the campaign of 1776 in
America — Hesitation of Foreign Powers— Poverty of the United
States’ Commissioners—Resolution of Lafayette—Character of his
Enterprise—Resolutions of Congress—Friendship of Washington—
True Value of Rank..... ge svete. spikes G6 aki enews sie eee Fee

CHAPTER II.

Birth-place and Parentage of Lafayette—His Early Education—Enrol-
ment in the Mousquitaires—Character of that Corps—Its Suppression
—Marriage of Lafayette—Meeting with the Duke of Gloucester—
Lafayette’s Sympathy with America ; how produced—Seeks the Com-
missioners—His exalted Motives—Candour of Messrs. Franklin and
Deane—Perseverance of the Marquis—Admiration of his Conduct—
Prohibition and Measures of his Government—His Embarkation—
Arrival in America—Deportment and Reception..... Sas ales eines

CHAPTER III.

Foreign Officers in the American Army—Jealousies—Magnanimity of
Lafayette—Battle of Brandywine—Feint by Knyphausen—Contra-
dictory Advices—Position of the American Troops—Defeat of the
American Right Wing—Abandonment of Chadd’s Ford—Gallantry
of Lafayette—Retreat of the Americans—Comparative Force of the

16

two Armies—Loss on each Side—Reflections on the Battle........ 23

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V1 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

British Occupation of Philadelphia—Battle of Germantown—Defence
of Forts Mercer and Mifflin—Arrival of Reinforcements to the Bri-
tish—Evacuation of the Forts, and withdrawal of the Troops from
New Jersey —Gallant Conduct of Lafayette—Friendship between him
and General Greene—Appointment of Lafayette to a Command—-Sir
William Howe declines to bring on an Engagement—Lafayette ap-
pointed by Congress to invade Canada—That Enterprise abandoned
at his Instance—His narrow Escape from Capture—Masterly Retreat,
and high Honour won by it—Amusing Incident.........cseccveee 89

CHAPTER V.

Sufferings at Valley Forge—News of the French Treaties—Arrival of
British Commissioners— Their Letter to Congress — Insult to the
French King—Lafayette challenges the Earl of Carlisle—Sir Henry
Clinton evacuates Philadelphia—Lafayette charged with the Com-
mand of the Force to harass his Rear—Battle of Monmouth—Gallant
Conduct of Lafayette—Interesting Anecdote.......ececccccece.. 46

CHAPTER VI.

Arrival of Count D’Estaing—Narrow Escapes of the British Forces
Demonstrations against Newport—Unfortunate Disagreement between
the French and Americans—Refusal of D’Estaing to co-operate with
Sullivan—Visit of Generals Hancock and Lafayette to Boston—Re-
treat of the Americans from the Siege of Newport—Retreat from the
Island to the Main Land—Gallantry of Lafayette—His embarrassing
Position—Resolution of Congress—Difficulties between the French
and American Sailors—Lafayette obtains Leave of Absence—Resolu-
tions of Congress—Embarkation of Lafayette—Mutiny on board the
Alliance—Noble Conduct of the Marquis........ee0esece. coos 58

CHAPTER VIL

Reception of Lafayette in France—Franklin’s Letter—Description of
the Sword ordered by Congress—Successful Efforts of Lafayette with
the French Court—His Return to America and hearty Welcome—
Effect of the Tidings he brought upon the Country—His Reception
by Washington—Resolution of Congress—Arrival of Count Rocham-
beau—Lafayette’s Division—Treason of Arnold—Operations in the
South—Well-timed Munificence of Latayette: icin sda tat teidlces « FI

  

earn Dene HHEUITTEATTr syed oc oan dae OURO TCDD ET AT ES SS Te eeCONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Lafayette ordered to the South—Countermanded to Virginia—Death of
General Phillips, and Refusal of Lafayette to recognise Arnold —
Advance of Cornwallis—Skilful Manceuvres of Lafayette—A ffair at
Albemarle—Retreat of Cornwallis to Williamsburg—Affair at James
River —- Daring Intrepidity of Wayne— Retreat of Cornwallis to
Portsmouth —Occupation of Yorktown by the British—Arrival of
Count de Grasse—Cornwallis hemmed in—Arrival of Washington
and Rochambeau — Influence of Lafayette with the French Naval
Commander — Siege of Yorktown—Capitulation of Cornwallis—
Magnanimity of the American Soldiers...... eMwidia stamteia decd aaa

CHAPTER IX.

Condition of the American Army—<Account of the Surrender of Corn-
wallis— Anecdotes of the Siege of Yorktown — Address of Abbé
Bandole in the Catholic Church in Philadelphia—Lafayette’s Last
Orders—Resolutions of Congress—His Return to France—His Re-
ception there—Visit to the King of Prussia—News of the Treaty of
Peace communicated by him to Congress—Action of that Body—
Cessation of Hactttes. <2 .c.505 ss500 5 aes eee n= eee eed w Boao

CHAPTER X.

Visit of Lafayette to America in 1784— Resolution of Congress——
Arrival and Reception at New York —Triumphal Entrance into
Philadelphia—Honour paid him by the Legislature—Visit to Mount
Vernon—Reception in Baltimore—Visit to the Six Nations—Presen-
tation of the Freedom of New York—Visit to Massachusetts—Pro-
ceedings in Boston— Touching Incident at Marblehead—Visit to
Virginia—Takes Leave of Washington—Proceedings in several of
the State Legislatures——The Marquis takes Leave of Congress —
Exmbarks for Europe. ....2-2-eresceee ‘ri shidie gies seats se acme >

CaAAPTER XI.

{he French Revolution—Prefatory Remarks—The Position of Lafay-
ette—Assembly of the Notables—Lafayette’s Propositions—Convoca-
tion of the States-General—lIt resolves itself into a National Assembly
-— Lafayette’s Declaration of Rights— Institution of the National
Guard—Appomtment of Lafayette to its Command—Destruction of
the Bastile—Butchery of Foulon and Berthier—Lafayette saves the
Lives of the Royal Family—Gratitude of the Court—Fraternization
of the Soldiers—The Removal to Paris—-Horrid Saturnalia... ..+

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\ Vili CONTENTS

CHAPTER XII.

Banishment of the Duke of Orleans—Suspicions against himn—Emi-
gration of the Nobility—Activity of Lafayette—Grand Féte of the
Confederation —Preparations for it—Solemnity of the Mass—Per-
formance of the Te Deum—Mutual Oaths, by Lafayette as the Re-
presentative of the Nation, and by the People, the King, and Queen
—Disinterestedness of Lafayette —— Attempt on the Castle of Vin-
cennes—The King prevented from leaving Paris—Resignation of his
Command by Lafayette—He is persuaded to resume it—The King’s
Flight to Varennes—Mutinous Assembly in the Champ de Mars—
Resignation of Lafayette, and its Acceptance with high Honour.... 15

CHAPTER XII.

Lafayette appointed to the Army—Resists the Jacobins—The Disorders
of the 20th of June—Lafayette appears at the Bar of the Assembly
—-Abortive Attempt to check the Jacobins—Jacobin Rage against
him—He arrests the Commissioners sent against him—Is arrested by
the Austrians, and tampered with by the Allies—Is imprisoned, first
by the Prussians, and then by the Austrians—Ineffectual Attempt at
Escape—Devotion of Madame Lafayette—Efforts of the American
Minister and Government—Liberation of Lafayette..... oiee nase toe

CHAPTER XIV.

Lafayette’s Return to La Grange—His Consistent Course in reference
to Napoleon —The Fall of the Emperor, and Restoration of the
Bourbons—Resolution of the Congress of the United States—La-
fayette visits America—His Reception in New York — Route to
Boston—Reception in that City—Return to New York—Journey up
the Hudson—Reception in Philadelphia—Baltimore— Washington—
Virginia—Visit to Jefferson— Return to Washington—Proceedings
in Congress—Southern and Western T'our—Bunker Hill Monument. 184

CHAPTER XV.

Lafayette’s Departure from America—Reception in France—Revolution
of July, 1830, and Overthrow of the Government of Charles X.—
Lafayette appointed to the Command of the National Guard—Louis
Philippe elected King of the French—Death of Lafayette—Funeral
Ceremonies in Paris—Respect to bis Memory in the United States... 204LIFE

OFr

LAF AY eer eg.

 

CHAPTER I.

Introduc‘ory—Franklin’s Letter to Congress — Circumstances which
surrounded Lafayette—Disastrous events of the campaign of 1776
in America—Hesitation of Foreign Powers—Poverty of the United
States’ Commissioners—Resolution of Lafayette—Character of his

Enterprise—Resolutions of Congress—Friendship of Washington—
True Value of Rank.

N the year 1777, a letter was received
by the Congress of the United States
from their Commissioners in France,
Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane,
from which the following is an extract:
“The Marquis de Lafayette, a young noble-
man of great connections here, and great
wealth, is gone to America in a ship of his
own, accompanied by some officers of dis-
tinction, in order to serve in our armies. He is
exceedingly beloved, and everybody’s good wishes
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LO LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

attend him. We cannot but hope he may meet
with such a reception as will make the country and
his expedition agreeable to him. ‘Those who cen-
sure it as imprudent in him, do, nevertheless, applaud
} his spirit; and we are satisfied that the civilities
and respect that may be shown him will be service
able to our affairs here, as pleasing, not only to his
powerful relations and to the Court, but to the whole
French nation. He has left a beautiful young wife,
and for her sake, particularly, we hope that his
bravery and ardent desire to distinguish himself will
be alittle restrained by the general’s prudence, so
as not to permit his being hazarded much, except
on some important occasion.”

Such were the circumstances of comfort, afflu-
ence and happiness, from which the enthusiastic
young Frenchman turned away, to seek distinction
and to earn a name and fame which should give him
a title to the possession of such advantages. He
was not content to enjoy ingloriously what was his
by inheritance, but desired to win a right to the
favours with which he found himself surrounded.
No readier opening presented itself than the struggle
for independence in America. In this there was
everything to tempt a chivalrous and generous mind,
and everything to discourage a mere covetous ad-

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venturer. The campaign of 1776 had been most
disastrous for the American cause. A series of
misfortunes, bad enough in themselves, were by in-
terested narrators made to seem even worse than
they really were. ‘The American troops which had
counted on the assistance of Canada, had been
compelled to abandon that country, failing there of
support or sympathy. Then came the defeat on
Long Island, the evacuation of New York by the
Americans, the loss of Fort Washington, the flight
of Congress from Philadelphia to Baltimore, and
many other discouraging particulars in the state of
the American army. All these things were busily
enlarged upon by the enemies of America; and to
discourage the idea of countenance by any European
power, the worst phase of the case was industriously
circulated. It was represented abroad that our
army, reduced to a mere rabble, was flying before
an army of thirty thousand regulars; “nor,” re-
marks a writer who was cognizant of the state of
the army during the whole war, Dr. James Thacher,
‘was this statement wide of the reality.” The
sagacious politicians of France, whose policy was
governed by prudence, and who, notwithstanding
their enmity to England, feared to embark in a
losing crusade against her, hesitated to encourage

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12 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

the rebellious colonies. Indeed, had the revolu
tionary war terminated otherwise than as it did, the
consequences would have been hardly less serious
to France than to the United States.

It is said in the letter with which this chapter
commences, that Lafayette sailed in his own vessel.
At so low an ebb were the credit and resources of
our commissioners, and so desperate was the con-
dition of the cause of America, that her representa-
tives abroad could not procure a vessel in which to
forward their despatches, and give the young hero a
passage. Nor could they, in the face of such circum-
stances, encourage his adventurous purpose. ‘The
very phraseology of their letter, particularly the
closing part, indicates that their duty as honest men
was at war with their patriotism. In view of the
youth, interesting appearance, and history of the
noble volunteer, we may suspect, with much show
of reason, that they accepted his services and re-
commended him to their countrymen with a trem-
bling admiration, which would almost have felt a
pleasant relief, if the ardent youth had permitted
himself to be deterred from his enterprise by the
difficulties which appalled elder men, who, with a
desire as earnest as his for the freedom of America,

 

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declined to risk anything of consequence upon a
cause so hopeless,

But these discouragements only fired the zeal of
Lafayette. As the commissioners could not provide
him with a passage, he commenced his liberal ex-
penditures in the cause with the outfitting of his own
vessel, encountering difficulties and dangers, of
which we shall speak fully in the proper place. The
principal purpose of this introductory chapter is, to
show the young reader that Lafayette was not like
the mere rapacious adventurer— the lover of war
for its own sake and the plunder which it offers
—the reckless soldier of fortune. Higher impulses
moved him; and his is a higher reward, in the grati-
tude and respect of a great and free people, than
any successful exhibition of mere physical courage
could have won for him.

On his arrival in this country he was cordially
received by Congress, and by the Commander-in-
Chief, into whose military family he was at once
adopted, and whose friendship for him was so marked,
that he has often been called “the adopted son of
Washington.” On the 31st of July, 1777, Congress
nassed the following resolution:

“Whereas, The Marquis de la Fayette, out of his
great zeal for the cause of liberty, in which the

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

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[4 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

United States are engaged, has left his family and
connections, and at his own expense come over to
offer his services to the United States, without pen-
sion or particular allowance, and is anxious to risk
his life in our cause:

“Resolved, That his services be accepted, and
in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and
connections, he have the rank and commission of
Major-General in the army of the United States.”

Such was the gratifying answer to Franklin’s
letter—such the testimony of gratitude to the devo-
tion of Lafayette. His proudest encomium is, how-
ever, the friendship of Washington. ‘That great
man was one whose approval or whose dislike was
never without its meaning. Too prudent and saga-
cious for sudden friendships, and too just for capri-
cious favoritism, to have been his friend is a high
warrant for the respect of posterity.

In the resolution passed by Congress, we are not
to fall into the error that a republican body recog-
nised, in the accident of rank and connections, a
claim to honour and preferment. But in the sacri-
fice of these advantages, of which we have already
spoken, they saw earnest of his sincerity, and proof
of that true nobility which 1s not conferred by
patent, or transmitted by descent. The result as

a SaLIFE OF LAFAYETTER, 15

our attentive reader will discover, showed that
neither Franklin in recommending, Congress in ac-
cepting, nor Washington in adopting Lafayette,
erred in judgment. With this introduction, placing
our hero’s first American act, or, if we may so de-
signate it, his American birth, first before the reader,
we will now go back to his actual birth and

parentage.

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LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

CHAPTER Il.

Birth-place and Parentage of Lafayette—His early Education—-En-
rolment in the Mousquitaires—Character of that Corps—Its Suppres-
' sion—Marriage of Lafayette—Meeting with the Duke of Gloucester
—Lafayette’s Sympathy with America; how produced—Seeks the
Commissioners—His exalted Motives—Candour of Messrs. Franke
lin and Deane—Perseverance of the Marquis —Admiration of his
Conduct—Prohibition and Measures of his Government—His Em-
oarkation—Arrival in America—Deportment and Reception

(por ARIE Paul Joseph Roch Yves
Geet, bert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette,
was born at the Chateau de Cha-
vagnac, near Brionde, in the Pro-
vince of Auvergne, on the 6th of
September, 1757. This Province has been
from the earliest times one of the most im-
portant portions of France; its people were
always celebrated for their manly valour, and

the race from which our hero descended was among
the most prominent and celebrated families. His
father fell at the battle of Minden, during the Seven
Years’ War: and it is a fact worth note, that Gen.
Phillips, who commanded the battery, a shot from

  
   
 

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which killed the father, afterward held a command
in the British army in this country, and was thus
opposed to the son.

Lafayette was early placed in the school of Louis
le Grand, at Paris, and at the age of fifteen was
enrolled in the Mousquitaires du Roi. This was a
body of troops instituted by Louis XIII. for the
protection of the King’s person. They were divided
into two bodies, gris and noir (grey and black), dis-
tinguished by the colour of their horses, All the
members were of noble families, the corps was most
magnificently equipped, and while the splendour of
its trappings made it a splendid holiday escort, the
rigidness of its discipline constituted it a school in
which several of the most celebrated French com-
manders were formed. Their arms were a carbine,
sword, and pistols. The friendship which Lafayette
everywhere secured through life commenced thus
early. He was universally beloved by his compa-
nions, and the favour of his monarch in a short time
procured him the rank of a commissioned officer.
But his membership of this aristocratic body did
not long continue. In 1775, the King, under advice
of his ministers, decreed the suppression of the
corps, on account of the enormous expenses attend-
ing its support, and perhaps also in deference to theif!
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18 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

popular dislike to a body which served only the pur-
poses of pageantry. ‘The Mousquitaires were justly
obnoxious to the people, with whom, from the very
nature of things, they could not always escape col-
lision, even had young men of such aristocratic
connections sought to avoid it.

In 1774, Lafayette married Anastasie, Countess
of Noailles, and the union proved in every respect
a most happy one, the lady being in all things
worthy of the hero to whom she was united. This
marriage increased the annual revenue of Lafayette
to two hundred thousand francs. His rank, and
illustrious family and connections, aided by his per-
sonal merits and favour with the Court, opened to
him a ready path to royal preferment. But fora
life of inglorious pageantry he had no taste; and
early as he was exposed to the atmosphere of tempta-
tion, the boy resisted its wiles with the prudence
of the sage, and declined appointments tendered to
him unsolicited, which others would have made
every sacrifice to win.

The circumstance which first drew Lafayette’s
attention to the cause of freedom in America has
been left on record by the hero himself. While sta-
tioned in the citadel of Metz, being then only eigh-
teen years of age, he was thrown into the societyLIFE OF LAFAYETTER, 19

of an English nobleman, the Duke of Gloucester
who was at that time an exile from England on ac-
count of a marriage which he had contracted; for
the blood-royal has, in this and some other particu-
Jars, absolutely less freedom than the meanest sub-
ject. Communication between the Old and New
Worlds was not then, as now, a thing of direct and
almost daily occurrence. Direct intercourse with
the American colonies of Great Britain by other
nations was out of the question, and news, like
other articles of export from any colony, had to
pass principally through the mother country ; sub-
ject, of course, to the particular tone and explana-
tion which it might receive in such a course of
transmission. Courts were content to learn officially
what the English Court chose to communicate ; not
caring, or at least not seeming to desire to look
behind such record as the Home Government chose
to permit to go abroad.

As such sources of information were never con-
sidered very reliable, individual curiosity, in persons
whose sympathies were moved, of course desired
much more. Distance, the heroism of the early
encounters of the Revolution, the temerity, then
unprecedented, of colonies resisting their parent
country, the name and character of Franklin and7th G
rT aie tii Serr TTT ET ETeT ENT TT TUM TRS Pee TTL ieee te a tid tee eee Fabry hey eapst te neta eat bet tit aia A
HiiE ale otttbehh iter CEA ROSE TTA RASA Uae cad IAISeAE HOSS ace Lge TM SH a Bio Oy

20 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

others, and the wit, eloquence, and perseverance
with which the great philosopher had pressed the
claims of the Americans upon the attention of the
people of Europe, all these causes united gave the
state of affairs in the New World the air of romance,
and predisposed the generous mind to listen with
intense interest to any intelligence from America.
The information which Lafayette received from
the Duke of Gloucester, respecting the state of the
noble contest in which the Americans were engaged,
fired his mind with a desire to hear farther. Leaving
Metz for Paris, he became acquainted with Silas
Deane, the American commissioner, and, upon his
arrival, with Dr. Franklin. ‘The appearance of the
venerable Franklin in Paris created an excitement
and enthusiasm, personal, philosophical, and_politi-
cal, such as had never before greeted any individual.
What he said had the credit of an oracle, and what
he did, the interest which had before attended only
the movements of potentates and princes.
Lafayette sought of Dr. Franklin information re-
lative to the causes of the resistance of the colonies,
their present state, and their future prospects. Upon
his first arrival, Dr. Franklin encouraged the Mar-
quis in the generous design he had formed, of par-
ticipating, as a volunteer of life and of fortune, inLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 21

the glorious contest for freedom. He could appre-
ciate the filial respect which carried the son into a
career in which the father fell; particularly, when
to defend the right in this contest, was to array
himself in arms against the nation of which France
had been for centuries the enemy—to indulge the
military spirit with which his education had imbued
him —to remember the fall of his father—and to
consecrate to the cause of freedom, a life which
might else be wasted in the luxuries of a Court, and
the display of mere martial pageantry.
But when the tidings of the reverses came, to
which we have alluded in the first chapter, when
the commissioners were themselves doubtful of the
issue, they frankly, in conversation with the Mar-
quis, avowed the despondency which their letter to
Congress not obscurely betrays. But to their honest
dissuasives the young hero replied: “Your own
reasoning only shows that now is precisely the time
to embrace your cause. The more people are dis-
couraged, the greater utility will result from my de-
parture ; and if you cannot furnish me with a vessel,
I will freight one at my own expense, to convey your
despatches and my person to the shores of America!”
How different these noble sentiments from the inte-
rested sympathy which is too common in the world,

   
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

f SPSS Sabie SEE aa eae a ae Syste et rts
—— MOESESTTe See Toe steeah stat co test rie sets ethse teres sande se- ETS SS She Seer sseae ost ees Rene te *

SS LSPS ee are eee IT tie ea i stg ee stebend tae crategi ist: sacs stbadi pres seedeter titi tites

prea eet Te ees "92 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

and reserves its aid until it is almost certain that
the party favoured could sustain itself without!

Such a movement on the part of a young, wealthy,
and highly-connected nobleman, who had within his
grasp already all the ease, affluence, and position,
for which ordinary minds endure danger, astonished
Europe. It seemed to be a revival of the generous
contempt for self, and love of glory and virtue for
their own sake, which poets have oftener painted
than men have seen. If Franklin appeared to the
enthusiastic Frenchman one of the sages of anti-
quity revisiting earth, Lafayette appeared the em-
bodiment of one of the heroes of mythological song
—a hero with all the exalted virtues of fable, and
none of the feelings which the grosser conceptions
of antiquity admitted into the catalogue of the vir-
tues. He was a demi-god, with the added advan
tages of civilization ; a chevalier, indeed, “ sans peur
et sans reproche.”

Aside from the simple personal risk attending all
war, contempt for which is the acme of ordinary
courage, Lafayette exposed his entire property to
confiscation by the laws of France, by his clandes-
tine departure. He ranked himself with rebels, and
came under the category of a criminal against the
laws of Great Britain, and an offender against thoseLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 23

of his own country ; for his departure was formally
prohibited by the French Government. If captured
upon his passage, he incurred the risk of an indef-
nite term of imprisonment, without the hope of an
exchange, and without the right to expect any inter-
vention from his own monarch. Animated by the
most exalted enthusiasm, he despised all these diffi-
culties and dangers. He considered the cause of
America “not only just, but sacred; and the affec-
tion he bore it was the more ardent, as, indepen-
dently of the candour of his character, he was of
that age when good appears not only good but fair,
and man not only loves but is enamoured.”

The French Government not only forbade the
departure of Lafayette, but despatched vessels with
orders to arrest him in the West Indies, should he
touch there. Buthe gave those seas a wide berth, and
embarking in March, arrived on the coast of South
Carolina on the 19th of April, 1777. He landed on
North Island, in Winyau Bay, and was cordially
received by Maj. Benjamin Huger; and after par-
taking a short time of his hospitality, repaired to
Charleston. His first act was to present Gen.
Moultrie with clothing, arms, and accoutrements for
one hundred men, as a token of his admiration of
the gallant defence which the General’s commandak LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

had made against the British forces on Sullivan’s
Island.

Nor was this munificence dimmed by any air of
patronage, or assumption of superiority. His man-
ners are thus described in a note to Chastelleux’s
Travels: “ His frankness and zeal in the cause soon
secured him the universal esteem of the Americans.
It is impossible to describe the affection with which
he was regarded by them. His deportment was
dignified without pride, his manners gentle without
apathy, frank without boldness, and courteous with
out servility.”LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

CHAPTER III.

Foreign Officers in the American Army—Jealousies—Magnanimity -,
Lafayette—Battle of Brandywine—Feint by Knyphausen—Contra.
dictory Advices—Position of the American Troops—Defeat of the
American Right Wing—Abandonment of Chadd’s Ford—Gallantry
of Lafayeite—Retreat of the Americans—Comparative Force of the
two Armies—Loss on each Side—Reflections on the Battle.

 
    

Spo (yo ANY of the foreign military officers
Ale 4,7, who came to this country to serve
x Ng m4? in the Revolutionary War, were most
a Li s@@ i «exacting in their demands, both in
PS $ regard to rank and pay. The friends
of America in France, before Franklin ar
rived in that country with a true knowledge
of the state of things in this, held out induce-
ments and prospects which it was impossible

could be realized; and Congress added to the diffi-
culty by directing or requesting more commissions
to be granted than there were vacancies to fill.
There was a natural jealousy on the part of American
officers against the foreigners who presented such
extravagant claims; and this train of circumstanceyPaiidit eae ee esaah oh bi

    
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

26 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

presented one of the great sources of difficulty
over which the wisdom and moderation of Wash-
ington was finally successful. It was unquestion
; ably true that the services of experienced soldiers
( were in the highest degree useful in the revolutionary
army. The enthusiasm of resistance to oppression
Irresistible in its first uprising, is still not able to
cope with military experience, and the mechanical
perseverance of military tactics, in a long struggle.
Thus we find that the outbreaks of an indignant
people, terrible in their first manifestations against
tyranny, are usually quelled by the slow-moving, but
ponderous and effective blows of regular troops;
and thus it would have been in this country, if the
virtues of patience and endurance had not succeeded
the ardour of the first resistance.

The coolness and far-seeing wisdom of the leaders
in the great cause in which the colonies were em-
barked, provided for the difficulties which we have
noted ; and the army submitted, though with natural
repinings in many quarters, to the laborious drilling
which every day’s experience showed them, more
and more, they must endure, if they would finally
succeed. ‘There were two classes of foreign offi-
cers in this country, one of which was composed
of mere soldiers, seeking employment and insisting

neta

  

ieLIFE OF LAFAYETTS., SH

upon a full and more than a full recognition of the
value of their services. The other was made up
of men who felt a holy zeal in behalf of the cause
of freedom, and a deep sympathy for the oppressed
colonists. At the head of this, and we are fain to
conclude it was the larger number, stood Lafayette.
To the first of these classes the army recognised
the duty, sometimes unpalateable, of obedience: for
the latter they felt love, esteem, and fervent grati-
tude. No man among them was more beloved than
Lafayette, and none more deservedly.

His conduct was in striking contrast with that of
many others. He would receive no pay, and de-
manded no station, but desired to enter as a volun-
teer. The honorary rank of major-general he had
expected, and as we have already observed, it was
at once conferred upon him. Under the advice and
example of Washington—it must be remembered
that Lafayette had not yet reached the age which
we now consider the commencement of manhood—
his character was fixed, and the ardent love of liberty
which animated his youth, was ripened into the more
stable and judicious sentiment of mature age.

The young soldier burned for an opportunity to
distinguish himself, and prove by the possession of
actual courage and endurance, that he was equal to

PUPS VEIT STS UN Tes eee ry Sk oa aes 4

   
 
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

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: F rat Tetrateee ate t foe cy Se rrreet est tiorta Cae) pif
PL HAATH ORASReR ea HEEL Ue bea SeseaRe Hae e cad aM ano a ANH: i

28 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

the expectations of his friends. Such an occasior
soon occurred in the battle of Brandywine. The
British commander having in vain attempted to ap-
proach Philadelphia from the north, changed his
plan, and proceeded by sea to the Chesapeake,
passing up the Elk river to the head of navigation,
where they disembarked. Washington posted his
troops to oppose the enemy, and after various moves
and countermarches, finally withdrew to the north
bank of the Brandywine, determining there to await
the general engagement, which the defence of Phi-
ladelphia and the interest of the cause seemed abso-
lutely to demand.

The battle of the Brandywine took place on the
11th of September. We have not space to describe
all its manceuvres, and select that portion in which
our hero was most directly engaged. Intelligence
having been received that the British army was in
motion upon the direct road to cross Chadd’s Ford,
the Americans were immediately posted to dispute
that passage. Skirmishing soon commenced; and
General Knyphausen, who commanded one division
of the British army, made demonstrations of an in-
tention to force a passage at this point. But at
eleven o’clock information was received by Wash-
ington, that a large column had left the main bodyLIFE OF LAFAYETTER, 25

of the British army, and proceeded up the river to
cross at a higher point, while Gen. Knyphausen
misled the Americans by a feint. Dispositions were
made to meet this manceuvre; and Washington had
determined to cross the river and attack Knyphau
sen, when intelligence, deemed authentic, was re-
ceived, that the division of the British army which
had gone up the Brandywine, under command of
Cornwallis, was returning on the same side of the
river without attempting a passage.

But the incorrectness of this information was dis-
covered about two in the afternoon, when it was
ascertained that Cornwallis had crossed the Brandy-
wine, and was advancing in great force. General
Washington immediately directed the divisions com-
manded by Sterling, Sullivan, and Stephen, to march
up the Brandywine and form to face the enemy.
Wayne’s division remained at Chadd’s Ford to keep
Knyphausen in check, and Greene’s division, accom-
panied by Gen. Washington, was posted between
the two main bodies as a reserve.

The British troops under Cornwallis fell on the
Americans with great impetuosity, and the Ameri-
cans defended themselves for some time with such
resolution that the carnage was terrific. But a
great portion of the American troops were raw, and#0 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

Sullivan’s division had not formed when the attack
of the British commenced. In taking ground they
made too large a circuit; and raw troops, attacked
while in motion to a position, however courageous
they may be, are easily thrown into confusion. As
soon as the engagement with Cornwallis commenced,
the reserve under Greene hurried forward to support
their countrymen; but Gen. Greene did not reach
the ground till the route was complete. He, how-
ever, did excellent service in checking the enemy,
and covering the retreat of the Americans.
When Knyphausen found Cornwallis was engaged
with the Americans, he made preparations to cross
Chadd’s Ford in earnest. The troops under Wayne
and Maxwell made a vigorous resistance, till it was
perceived that the other body of the American army
had given way ; and then, resistance being no longer
of any utility, the defence of the ford was aban-
doned, and the whole army retreated that night to
Chester, and on the day following to Philadelphia.
The station of Lafayette in this engagement was
with the portion of the army under the command of
Sterling, Sullivan, and Stephen. Although some of
the regiments behaved badly and broke early, others,
particularly some Virg nia and Pennsylvania regi-
ments, behaved with a firmness which would have.

» BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE.

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done high honour to veterans. So well did they
cover the retreat of their comrades, that very little
damage was sustained except in the actual engage-
ment; and this was so large as to do great credit to
the courage even of those who were deficient in
discipline.

The American troops, aftzr breaking, were several
times rallied. In this service the French officers,
and Lafayette particularly, were of vast benefit.
With a disregard of life which amounted almost to
a fault, he exposed himself in rallying the troops,
and encouraging them by his example; and not-
withstanding he received a wound in the leg, he
continued at his post, cheering the troops by his
conduct as a soldier, and by his voice as a general,
as long as resistance could be of any service. The
Baron St. Ovary, Capt. de Fleury, and Count Pu-
laski also distinguished themselves in the engagement

The British troops engaged in this battle could
not have been much less than eighteen thousand
veteran soldiers. The American force has been
stated at fifteen, but on account of the badness and
deficiency of arms and munitions, the effective
American force was between eleven and twelve
thousand men only. The loss of the Americans
was three hundred killed, six hundred wounded, and
between three and four hundred prisoners, most of

Tae caer ted ed
to eP Se craee kes terres seasesa ss | ky . :32 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

whom were wounded. The official letter of Si

William Howe stated the British loss at rather less
than one hundred killed, and four hundred wounded ;
a disparity no doubt to be imputed to the deficiency
in the quality of the American arms.

This battle was not considered decisive by Con-
gress, the general, or the army. It was said that
the British had only gained the ground. At any
rate, when the spirit remains unconquered, there is
no victory in a moral, whatever there may be ina
technical sense. It is remarked by Marshall, that
even if contradictory intelligence had not prevented
the best disposition of the troops, the action could
not have terminated in favour of the Americans.
Their inferiority in numbers, in discipline, and in
arms, was too great to leave them a probable pros-
pect of victory. A battle, however, was not to be
avoided. The opinion of the public and of Con-
gress demanded it. ‘The loss of Philadelphia, with-
out an attempt to preserve it, would have excited
discontents, which, in the United States, might be
productive of serious mischief; and action, though
attended with defeat, provided the loss be not too
great, must improve an army in which, not only the
military talents, but even the courage of officers,
some of them of high rank, remained to be ascer
tained.LiFE OF LAFAYETTR,

CHAPTER IV.

british Occupation of Philadelphia—Ba:tle of Germantown—Defence
of Forts Mercer and Mifflin—Arrival of Reinforcements to the Bri-
tish—Evacuation of the Forts, and withdrawal of the Troops from
New Jersey—Gallant Conduct of Lafayette—Friendship between

him and Gen. Greene—Appointment of Lafayette to a Command—

Sir William Howe declines to bring on an Engagement—Lafayette

appointed by Congress to invade Canada—That Enterprise aban:
doned at his Instancee—His narrow Escape from Capture—Masterly
Retreat, and high Honour won by it—Amusing Incident.

FTER a continued struggle of more
than six weeks, the British army was

4@A' at last secured in the possession of
“A Philadelphia, by opening a communi-
yt, - cation with their fleet. Indeed, from
st the time of the battle of Brandywine, in Sep-
e tember, to the day that the American army
went into winter-quarters at Valley Forge,
nothing that could be effected without too

great danger to the cause was left unattempted
The public property was all safely removed from
Philadelphia before the 26th of September, when the
British army took possession. During the week
c34 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

previous Congress had separated, and on the 27th
they met again at Lancaster.

We have not space, nor is it pertinent to our sub-
ject to describe all the operations of this period.
On the 4th of October occurred the battle of Ger-
mantown, judiciously planned and auspiciously com-
menced, but defeated by the confusion which arose
from the dense fog, and other causes. ‘The sharp-
ness of the contest is shown by the number of killed
and wounded. Upon the American side there were
two hundred killed, near thrice the number wounded,
and four hundred prisoners lost. The British loss
was about one hundred killed, and four hundred
wounded. So pleased was Congress with the man-
ner of the attempt, and the gallantry of the conduct
of the army, that their approbation of the plan of
the enterprise, and of the courage with which it was
conducted, was formally expressed in very decided
terms; and what was better than all, as the affair
was considered by no means a defeat, but a very
gallant and well sustained, though unsuccessful de-
monstration ; it both raised the character of the Ame-
rican forces,and rallied theircourage. ‘Thecapture of
Burgoyne, and successful issue of the northern ¢am-
jaign, was another circumstance which caused new
hopes: and as to the mere possession of Philadel-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, ao

phia, obtained as it was with such hard fighting fon
every inch of ground in the approach, the occupa-
tion was contested with such perseverance, by efforts
to prevent communication between the British fleet
and army, that Dr. Franklin’s saying, when ir
France he heard the news, must have occurred to
many others. ‘The Doctor said, that instead of
Howe’s taking Philadelphia, it had taken him.

‘The defence of the fort at Red Bank, and of Fort
Mifflin, and the protection of the obstructions which
had been placed in the Delaware, were attended with
prodigies of valour and endurance upon the part of
the Americans, insomuch, as has already been re
marked, that after the British had entered Philadel-
phia, it was more than six weeks before the position
became of any service to them. ‘The British lost
four hundred men in one attack on the fort at Red
Bank; and Fort Mifflin was not evacuated until it
was absolutely levelled, and no longer defensible.
The arrival of a reinforcement from New York,
which enabled the British to make a demonstration
upon the fort at Red Bank, without weakening their
forces at Philadelphia, determined the American
commander upon evacuating that post also.

Before the evacuation of the fort at Red Bank,
which was called Fort Mercer, Gen. Greene was36 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

detached with a command from the Punnsytvan.a
side into New Jersey, in order tc protect a posi-
tion which it was of such high importance to
retain. His orders were conditional, depending
upon the arrival of reinforcements from New York,
which did not reach him; and such was the superi-
ority of the British force, that Gen. Greene did not
hazard an engagement. Greene was soon after re-
called from the Jersey side by Gen. Washington,
and the British troops were also recalled to Phila-
delphia. Greene was accompanied in this expedi-
tion by Lafayette, although his wound, received at
Brandywine, was not yet healed. Although no
general engagement took place, Lafayette had a
new opportunity of signalizing himself. He com-
manded some detachments of militia, which, aided
by Morgan’s famous rifles, attacked and routed a
superior force of British grenadiers and Hessians.
Gen. Greene, in speaking of this affair, said, “The
Marquis seemed to seek for danger, and was charmed
with the behaviour of his men.” A friendship com-
menced between Greene and Lafayette which death
only severed; and when, at the close of the war,
Lafayette returned to France, he took over with him
the eldest son of his friend, and superintended his
education. Young Greene returned to this countryLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 37

shortly after the breaking out of the French revolu-
tion, and gave great promise to do honour to his edu-
cation; but was drowned in the Savannah soon
after his arrival.

Shortly after his display of courage and gallaatry
in Jersey, Washington invested Lafayette with the
command of a division, he having hitherto served
as a volunteer. On the Ist of December this ap-
pointment was ratified by Congress. Nothing more
occurred during this campaign, except the marching
of Sir William Howe out of Philadelphia, with the
avowed purpose of giving the Americans battle, and
his return without bringing on an engagement. The
armies were very nearly equal in point of numbers,
each enrolling about twelve thousand; and neither
general cared to forfeit the advantage of position,
which he who commenced the attack would have
been obliged to do, from the nature of the ground.
This return of Sir William Howe was a high testi-
mony of respect to the talents of the commander,
and the courage of the soldiers with whom he had
to contend. About the middle of December the
American army went into winter-quarters at Valley
Forge, constructing log-huts for their shelter; and
their sufferings during that winter were such as ne
ordinary or mercenary troops could have endured.aber $753)

38 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

On the 22d of January, 1778, Congress passed a
resolve directing an irruption into Canada, under
officers appointed by Congress; and on the next
day Major-Generals Lafayette and Conway, and
Brigadier-General Stark were appointed to the duty.
The commander-in-chief was not consulted with or
advised upon the subject ; and had not his patriot-
ism made him superior to punctilio, he would have
resented an insult which could have originated with
no friend, though friends were unwittingly betrayed
into it. Lafayette was summoned immediately to
receive the instructions of the Board of War, and
with these he proceeded to Albany, where he pub-
lished a memorial addressed to the French Canadians,
invoking their assistance. But he found at Albany
neither men nor munitions—nothing, in fact, had
been done which was promised. Our hero was at
this time only twenty years of age. His contempt
for danger we have already seen, so that danger
could weigh nothing with him. He saw before him
the glory of a separate command, and the opportu-
nity to distinguish himself in rash adventure, if mere
courage had been his preponderating feeling. But
he gave the evidence of such judgment and foresight
as would have done honour to a veteran commander;
and at his representations the enterprise was aban-LIFE OF LAFAYETTR., 39

doned, while, at the same time, the highest compli
ments were paid to his character for courage and
prudence.

In the spring of 1778 Lafayette had an adventure,
which came very near being a serious one, for him-
self and for the American army. It was thus no-
ticed in the Royal Gazette, published in Philadel-
phia: — “Information having been received last
‘Tuesday, that Mr. Washington and his tattered
retinue had abandoned their mud-holes, and were
on their way to Germantown, a detachment of Bri-
tish and Hessian troops went out to meet and escort
them into this city ; but the rebels being apprised of
their approach, fled back with precipitation to what
they term their camp, determined to act no farther
on the offensive than might be consistent with their
personal safety.”

From such a paragraph as the above, contemptu-
ous, illiberal, and petty, the reader would be little
apt to suspect the true character of the affair to
which it referred. Gen. Washington had sufficient
knowledge of the movements of the British forces
to know, that the manner in which they occupied
Philadelphia was of no benefit to their operations,
and judged that they would of course soon evacuate
that city. He wished to have a force in readinessSe sitet at or ie &

a2sctititi- > as 3 hepceths latte taos

40 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

to harass their rear as they marched out; and he
desired also to intercept and cut off the foraging
parties, which generally sallied from Philadelphia,
and effected their return before a force could be
detailed from the camp at Valley Forge.

To perform this service Lafayette was directed,
with a picked detachment of twenty-five hundred
men, to cross the Schuylkill and take up a position
of observation near the enemy’s outworks; and he
was particularly instructed not to remain long in one
place of encampment. Either through the treachery
of some one of the residents, or by the services of
a spy, Gen. Howe was advised of Lafayette’s en-
campment on Barren Hill almost as soon as it was
made. Gen. Howe instantly took measures to en-
trap “the boy,” as the British officers termed Lafa-
yette, and issued invitations to several ladies to
meet the French prisoner at supper in Philadelphia
on the following day.

General Grant, accompanied by Sir William Ers
Kine, and commanding five thousand select troops,
was despatched with orders to gain the rear of La-
fayette, and thus intercept his retreat by Matson’s
Ford, while Gen. Gray was to take possession of
the heights near the Falls of Schuylkill, and prevent
the Americans from fording the river at that placeLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 4]

It so happened, that a regiment which Lafayette had
posted at White Marsh, an important position, for
some unexplained reason changed their place, with-
out the knowledge of Lafayette, and thus the roads
in that direction were left unguarded ; Gen. Grant,
moving with great celerity, found no difficulty in
passing Lafayette unperceived, and gaining the po-
sition at which he aimed, and which he thought had
completely hemmed in the young major-general.
With this strong body between himself and Valley
Forge, and with troops advancing from Philadelphia
to complete the capture, Lafayette’s position was
desperate indeed.

Capt. McLane, a most vigilant officer, who com-
manded a company of light troops which hovered
about the British lines as a corps of observation,
was the first to discover the danger of Lafayette ;
and his suspicion was aroused by the fact that all
communication between Philadelphia and the country
was interdicted, and the guard kept with double vigi-
lance. McLane, on the night of May 19th, was
fortunate enough to fall in with two deserters, who
informed him that Gen. Grant had marched out of
Philadelphia, as above stated, and that another
strong body of men were preparing to leave PhilaPreiti cates Maret. isiss Pte red ttt aed eee Pet Ct

49 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

delphia and proceed up the banks of the Schuylkil
to the Falls,

McLane saw at once the purpose of these move-
ments. He gave the command of his corps to Capt.
William Parr, of Morgan’s Rifles, and directed him
to push for the heights of Schuylkill, and resist the
advancing column of the enemy to the last extremity.
McLane himself posted off to Barren Hill, Lafay-
ette’s camp, where he arrived with his intelligence
about daybreak.

Nearly at the same time an express arrived from
Capt. Parr, stating that he was in possession of the
heights of Schuylkill, and engaged with the advance
of Gen. Gray’s column; and a messenger also ar-
rived from another direction, apprising Lafayette of
the position of Gen, Grant. Capt. Stone, of the
militia, hearmg the noise of the British column
passing in the night, sprang from his bed, and with-
out waiting for his clothing, jumped from a back
window and hurried across the country toward
Barren Hill. He ran till he fell down exhausted,
and then the niessage was taken by Richard Burtle-
son, who resided near Plymouth Meeting-House, and
conveyed to Lafayette.

Lafayette’s measures were conceived with promptLIFE OF LAFAYETTR, 43

itude, and executed with wonderful skill and preci-
sion. While Gen. Grant was waiting the movement
of the other British detachment, Laitintte formed,
and advanced as if to attack Grant, and at the same
time sent a detachment the other way, as if to check
Gray. While Gen. Lafayette’s front was advancing
as if to give Grant battle, his rear was filing off
rapidly to the Schuylkill. So skilfully and coolly
was the affair managed, that, though Grant was
much nearer to Matson’s Ford than Lafayette was, he
was so busy in preparing for Lafayette’s charge that
he did not once think of securing the ford. While
Lafayette was advancing toward Grant, he was
getting all the time nearer the ford; and so capitally
was the manoeuvre ieneariey that Grant, though
apprised that a portion of Lafayette’s command
were defiling toward the river, did not understand
the movement, until, pushing on to Barren Hill, he
found the American camp deserted. He then fol-
lowed the retreating Americans, and reached Mat-
son’s Ford just as the last man had crossed, and
all the artillery, stores, &c., were safely over, and
disposed in order on the opposite bank, to give him
the compliments of the day, if he insisted upon it.
The foiled troops returned to Philadelphia, the ladiesSeetesteny serstretes Sie ties ehes PRs ars SS eee REEEE
Th Stet Rey oS 5 ;

44 LIFE OF LAFAYETTR.

missed the appointment which Sir William Howa
had made for them with Lafayette, and the generals
arived, not only without their promised guest, but
too late for their own suppers.

During these evolutions, the danger of Lafayette
was perceived from the camp at Valley Forge, and
the whole army was put under arms, to act if neces-

sary. [he manner in which Lafayette out-gene-
ralled the British officers, and escaped with [eas than
three thousand, from seven thousand men, after he
was, to all appearances, inextricably hemmed in, was
pronounced well-timed and masterly ; and the young
major-general was regarded with high admiration,
not only by the American army, but by the British,
He fell into the difficulty, as we have noticed, through
the neglect of his orders by a portion of his com-
mand, and he extricated himself from it with the
loss only of about nine men—less than would have
fallen had he intercepted Grant in his first advance
—and with such distinguished skill that the affair
could only be regarded as a fortunate one.

A very amusing incident occurred at this time.
A party of fifty Indians, in Lafayette’s detachment,
were placed in ambuscade in the woods near Barren
Hill. A party of fifty dragoons entered the ambus-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE 45

cade at the head of a column. The dragoons haa
never before seen Indians, and the Indians had
never seen dragoons. The Indians started up with
a hideous yell, and throwing down their arms, swam
the Schuylkill; while the dragoons, in equal fright
and astonishment, wheeled their horses’ heads, and
did not recover from their panic until their cetu-n

to Philadelphia.LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

CHAPTER V.

S afferings at Valley Forge-—-News of the French Treaties—Arrival of
pntsn Commissioners—l‘heir Letter to Congress—Insult to the
French King — Lafayette challenges the Earl of Carlisle— Sis
Henry Clinton evacuates Philadelphia—Lafayette charged with the
Command of the Force to harass his Rear—Battle of Monmouth—
Gallant Conduct of Lafayette—Interesting Anecdote.

yi SME Tea ANS

soy rat

 
 

<> HE sufferings of the American troops
fill! encamped at Valley Forge, during
the winter of 1777-8, were indeed
most discouraging and severe. It is
said that thousands of them were

winter three thousand were off duty for want
of clothes ; and that footsteps could be traced
over the frozen ground and snow, by the blood
from naked feet. Several times during this bitter
winter it was feared the army must disband for want
of provisions; for many weeks the men were on
half-allowance, sometimes without bread and some-
times without meat. At the very moment when
xen. Washington had cares so serious as the pre-LIFE OF LAFAYETTR, 47

servation of his force under circumstances so dis-
couraging, a cabal was seeking his displacement
from the command; but their artifices recoiled upon
themselves, and one of the malcontents, Gen. Con:
way, was compelled by the public indignation at his
intrigues to resign his commission. Ona subsequent
day, when he supposed himself dying, he dictated a
letter to Washington, in which he confessed hig
error, and retracted his injurious allegations against
the commander-in-chief.

These events belong more properly to the bio-
graphy of Washington, and we have alluded to them
here, to show how opportune was the arrival, in the
month of May, of the vessel which brought the
treaties concluded between France and the United
States. Lafayette was, of course, one of the first
in the American army who received the intelligence,
and with the eloquent entlinsiasm of his countrymen,
he embraced Washington in a transport of Joy;
mingled with tears: “The king, my master, has
acknowledged your independence, and entered into
an alliance with you for its establishment!”

The tidings flew from mouth to mouth; and on
the 5th of May a formal rejoicing was held in the
camp, the news being announced to each brigade by
its chaplain, followed with a feu-de-joie, and vivasAS LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

for the French monarch, and for the French natior
A proud and happy day must this have been fo.
Lafayette and his countrymen in the American ser
vice! And to Lafayette, individually, the news must
have been grateful indeed, as approving the course
which he had early taken, and removing whateve:
civil penalties he had incurred. In the sequel it will
be noticed how generously and heartily he improved,
for the advantage of America, the increased oppor-
tunities which the position of France and America
as allies afforded him. It is unquestionably the
case, also, that this alliance, though not produced,
was hastened by the letters which the Marquis in
America wrote to his connections at home.

We now come to an act in the life of Lafayette,
the motives of which cannot be questioned, while
he act itself was in keeping with ideas popular at
-hat period, now essentially changed and still chang-
ing. Three commissioners arrived from England,
offering terms of pacification such as the British
Provinces would gladly have accepted, but which
were necessarily rejected by the Congress of the
United States, which, as an independent nation, could
not return submission. A sentence occurred in a
letter of the commissioners to Congress, which
created an immense excitement in that body, and onLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 49

tie first day interrupted the reading. The offensive
words were as follows:—* We cannot but remark
the insidious interposition of a power, which has,
from the first settlement of the colonies, been actu-
ated by enmity to us both; and notwithstanding the
pretended date, or present form of the French offers
to North America, it is notorious that they have
only been made, because it was believed that Great
Britain had conceived the design of an amicable ar-
rangement, and with a view to prevent reconcilia-
tion, and prolong this destructive war.”

When, in reading the letter, this sentence was
reached, such a clamour arose that nothing could be
heard. A debate then followed, which ended in the
postponement of the reading until the next day
The debate was then resumed with unabated warmth,
but after an earnest discussion the reading of the
letter was concluded, and it was referred to a com-
mittee. In their report, which was adopted by Con-
gress, the condition of the acknowledgment of the
independence of the United States was given, as the
only basis upon which negotiation could commence.
The report declared, in reference to the obnoxious
passage, that “nothing but an earnest desire to
spare further effusion of human blood, could have
induced Congress to read a paper containing expres-
DTEST SNS TUTE BATUBET SSF SL EUS a FAI ET RE

SS eSetet soot ter

50 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

sions so disrespectful to his Most Christian Majesty
the good and great ally of these States, or to con-
sider propositions so derogatory to the honour of an
independent nation.”

The Marquis de Lafayette, indignant at the as-
persion cast upon his king and nation, wrote a letter
to the Earl of Carlisle, as the head of the commis-
sion, in which he held him personally responsible,
and challenged him to meet him according to the
code of honour. The Earl replied, declining to
give, in a public and national matter, that satisfac-
tion which he held to apply exclusively to personal
differences; and in this reply he was undoubtedly
warranted both by the “code of honour” and _ by
common sense. Such a movement on the part of
any man of less weight of character, would have
exposed the challenger to ridicule; but Lafayette
was justly esteemed, respected, and beloved; and
while the reflecting found an apology for the act in
his youth and patriotic ardor, the proceeding made
him more popular than ever with the army, and
none disputed the high character of his motives,

Upon the 18th day of June, Sir Henry Clinton,
who had succeeded Sir William Howe in the com
mand of the British army, evacuated Philadelphia,
m pursuance of the orders of his government, andLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, Di

passed over into Jersey. The American army on
the same day moved from Valley Forge and crossed
into Jersey also. In two councils held by General
Washington, before and after moving from Valley
Forge, the opinions of a majority of his officers
were found to be decidedly against risking a general
engagement. Wayne and Cadwallader were, how-
ever, in favour of attacking the enemy, and Greene
and Lafayette were inclined to more active measures
than the majority seemed willing to sanction.
Washington himself was decidedly in favour of an
engagement, and determined upon the attack which
led to the battle of Monmouth, upon his own respon-
sibility.

The troops under Major-General Dickenson, Gen-
erals Wayne, Cadwallader, and Scott, and Colonel
Morgan, which had been sent forward to hang upon
the rear and flanks of the retreating British,amounted
to about four thousand men; and Washington de-
termined to send forward another detachment, and
unite in one command these several bodies. The duty,
of course, devolved upon General Lee; but as that
officer was strongly averse to hazarding an engage-
ment, he readily gave way to Lafayette, upon whom
the important and responsible duty was imposed.
But he had hardly marched when Lee began to re-eoeesee fate dese at pio: usegteTtereskg EPS

espera Sepa nik

ae LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

gret his resignation of the command; and Wash.
ington, to save his feelings without wounding La-
fayette’s, detached him with two brigades to support
the Marquis, dividing the command in such a way
as to save the points of military etiquette.

The time chosen for an attack on the British
army was, when it had reached the heights of Free-
hold, or rather, when it broke up its encampment
and moved from that strong position. Bodies of
American troops hovered on the flanks of the Bri-
tish army, to protect the country from ravage, and
Sir Henry Clinton’s movements were necessarily
conducted with great caution. He divined some-
thing of the intentions of the American troops, and,
before he descended from the heights into the narrow
valley which he must next pass on the road to Mon-
mouth, he caused his baggage to be sent forward to
the van, and placed under charge of Gen. Knyphau-
sen, lest it should encumber him in the attack, which
he foresaw would be made upon his rear. With
his convoy, Knyphausen was to gain the heights of
Middletown. ‘To prevent this movement, Major-
General Dickenson, with the Jersey militia, and Col.
Morgan, with his rifle corps, were ordered to de-
ascend into the valley and attack Knyphausen, whileLIFE OF LAFAYa&TTR, oa

Lee attacked the rear, commanded by Clinton in
person.

At daybreak on the 28th of June, Knyphausen
descended with the baggage, and at 8 o’clock Gen.
Clinton followed. Lee instantly appeared in his
rear, and giving the charge of attacking the cover-
ing parties of the rear to Gen. Wayne, attempted
himself to gain the front by a shorter cut, and sepa-
rate the rear from the line. Before this plan could
be executed, Clinton, perceiving the danger of Knyp-
hausen, encumbered with so much heavy baggage
In a narrow defile, changed his front and determined
instantly to attack the American troops who were
following him, in order to compel them to recall the
detachment which had been sent to capture his
baggage, ;

Notwithstanding the ground was very unfavour-
able, Lee prepared to engage. There was a morass
in his rear, which would impede the arrival of rein-
forcements. A portion of his command, however,
mistook his intentions, and retreated behind the
morass. ‘This error determined Lee to withdraw all
his force to the same position; and he might have
done it without difficulty, and with a reputation for
skill, only that he neglected to inform the com-
mander-in-chief, as he should have done, of his in-hae
be}
i

bb psa ppg ene = os as Pete oee tet ee sewer tr sere 2s se et

tit |

54 : LIFE OF LAFAYETTR.

tentions. Washington, riding up and finding Lee
in retreat, spoke to him with much warmth; and
Lee, instead of explaining, replied in an unbecoming
manner.

Washington immediately issued orders to form
and check the advance of the British. Gen. Lafay-
ette, IN a communication made to Marshall, the
biographer of Washington, relative to this battle,
says: — “Never was Gen. Washington greater in
war than in this action. His presence stopped the
retreat. His dispositions fixed the victory. His
fine appearance on horseback, his calm courage,
roused by the animation produced by the vexation
of the morning, gave him the air best calculated to
excite enthusiasm.”

Now the action commenced in earnest. The
advance of the British was repulsed; and the dis-
position made of the different bodies of the Ameri-
can troops, told upon the enemy with such effect,
that they fell back to the ground where the first
skirmishing had commenced. Lee behaved with
such gallantry through the rest of the engagement,
that nothing but his own irritation and subsequent
disrespect to Gen. Washington would have produced
the sentence of suspension, which the court-martial]
which he provoked passed upon him. No publica, | 3 s
SS VAT VO A ‘HII
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BATTLE OF

“QALIFE OF LAFAYETTR, 55

examination would have taken place if he had not
forced it upon his commander; and his subsequent
explanation of his conduct would have been sufficient,
had he condescended to give it.

The vigorous movements of the Americans, in
forcing the British to recede, had driven them into
a position so strong, that night suspended operations
before the Americans could succeed in making any
sensible impression. The American troops slept
with their arms in their hands, ready to recommence
their attack at daylight; but the British army man-
aged to move off in so much silence during the night,
that their retreat was undetected. Sir Henry Clinton
in his official account claimed the victory, basing
the claim on his success in saving his baggage
The Americans also claimed the battle. It is thus
weighed by Marshall:—“In the early part of the
day the advantage was certainly with the British;
in the latter part it may be pronounced with equal
certainty to have been with the Americans. They
maintained their ground, repulsed the enemy, were
prevented only by night and by the retreat of the
hostile army from renewing the action, and suffered
less in killed and wounded than their adversaries.”

The loss of the Americans in the battle of Mon-
mouth, was eight officers and sixty-one privatesita ;

56 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

killed, and about one hundred and sixty wounded,
Sir Henry Clinton reported his dead at four officers
and one hundred and eighty-four privates—but it is
known that nearly three hundred were buried. His
wounded were sixteen officers and one hundred and
fifty-four privates. The heat of the day was terrible,
and many deaths from this cause took place on both
sides. Besides the loss in this action, the British
army lost nearly one thousand soldiers by desertion,
in the march from Philadelphia to New York, and
one hundred prisoners.

Pursuit was not attempted after the battle of
Monmouth. There was no hope of successfully
opposing the embarkation of the British troops;
and the battle of Monmouth had created an impres-
sion most favourable for the American cause.
Washington was highly gratified with the conduct
of the troops after his arrival upon the ground.
Congress passed a resolution, thanking Washington
for the activity with which he marched from Valley
Forge, and for the manner in which the battle was
conducted ; and he was desired to express the thanks
ef Congress to the officers and men under his
command.

It is hardly necessary to say that, in this severe
and well-fought action, Lafayette was conspicuous
for his courage, coolness, and skill, and that he par-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE a1

ticipated with all his native zeal and enthusiasm, in
the toils and dangers of the day. Col. Willett, of
New York, who acted as a volunteer aid to Gen,
Scott, of Virginia, and was during a portion of the
day under the immediate orders of Lafayette, in a
letter written immediately after the action, says:
“T have been charmed with the blooming gallantry
and sagacity of the Marquis de Lafayette, who ap-
pears to be possessed of every requisite to constitute
a great general.”

During the battle of Monmouth, an incident oc-
curred which reflects high honour upon Sir Henry
Clinton, as well as upon the courage and humanity
of Lafayette. The Marquis, with twenty men, ad-
vanced toward a British battery to reconnoitre, A
shot killed his aid-de-camp at his side. The party
broke and fled precipitately ; but Lafayette did not
leave the wounded man till he had ascertained that
his wound was mortal, and received his dying words.
Sir Henry, who knew Lafayette by his white horse,
}revented the gunners from firing upon him, and
thus preserved his life. Lafayette, strong perhaps
in the consciousness of a great mind, which chal-
enges the forbearance of an enemy while in the
performance of the duties of humanity, slowly fol-
lowed his party, who had retreated beyond the reach
of the pieces.Hi
Hal

LIFE OF LAFAYETTBe

CHAPTER VI.

Arrival of Count D’Estaing—Narrow Escapes of the British Forces—
Demonstrations against Newport — Unfortunate Disagreement be:
tween the French and Americans—Refusal of D’Estaing to co-operate
with Sullivan—Visit of Generals Hancock and Lafayette to Boston
—Retreat of the Americans from the Siege of Newport—Retreat fron
the Island to the Main Land—Gallantry of Lafayette—His embar
rassing Position —Resolution of Congress—Difficulties between the
French and American Sailors—Lafayette obtains Leave of Absence

—Resolutions of Congress—Embarkation of Lafayette—Mutiny on
board the Alliance—Noble Conduct of the Marquis.

ARLY in July a powerful French fleet,
7 my under command of the Count D’Es-
a ey taing, arrived upon the American
3 coast. An unusually long passage

of eighty-seven days saved the Bri-
tish fleet and army ; for, had the Count found
the former in the Delaware, and the latter at
Philadelphia, the loss of both would havy
been certain. Sir Henry Clinton had still
another escape. The British army, in its retreat
from Philadelphia, embarked at Sandy Hook for
New York. During the winter the storms had made
an island of this peninsula, and the forces were

  
   
 
 
 

YW
7a ye

Cné
\LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 59

compelled to cross over from the main land ona
bridge of boats. The passage was effected on the
very day Count D’Estaing arrived with his fleet off
the coast of Virginia. Hada superior fleet to the
British reached Sandy Hook, the embarkation would
have been impossible.

Count D’Estaing, upon examination of the har-
bour of New York, decided not to attack the Bri-
tish there, on account of the difficulty of getting his
largest ships over the bar; and offensive operations
were adjourned to Newport, Rhode Island, where
there was a British garrison of six thousand men.
Lafayette was detached with two brigades to join
Gen. Sullivan, who had command of the American
army in Rhode Island. We have not space to de-
tail the unfortunate train of circumstances which led
Count D’Estaing to refuse his co-operation with the
land forces, and induced him to proceed with his
fleet to Boston. It is sufficient perhaps to say, that
they originated from that fruitful source of difficulty,
disputes about precedence in rank.

The desertion of D’Estaing compelled Gen. Sul-
livan to raise the siege of Newport. The force of
the enemy amounted to six thousand men. Sullivan
had at one time ten thousand; as, with every pros-
pect of success on the side of the Americans, thePOTEET Eee cere VLR ET ES TET L TERT Te ETS RORY LF SSE TY Sy
SSeS SS 3 SS St ae =

60 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

nilitia hastened to join him. After D’Estaing sailed
for Boston, refusing even to leave his land forces
behind, the militia were so disheartened that they
disbanded and deserted, until Sullivan had scarce
five thousand men left. One day the entire rout and
capture of the British army seemed certain; and in
consequence of a service so distinguished as this
promised to be, the Americans, officers and men,
looked forward to military distinction for themselves,
and immense advantages to their cause and country.
All this was dashed by the conduct of D’Estaing,
and Sullivan was compelled to raise the siege of
Newport, in which town it seemed, a few days before,
as if he already had the British army, in everything
but name, prisoners of war.

Generals Hancock and Lafayette had meanwhile
proceeded to Boston, the former to expedite the
repairs on the French vessels, the latter to use his
-nfluence with the Count D’Estaing. It was feared,
so great was the natural feeling of exasperation
against the Count, that the means of repairing the
vessels would be withheld. All New England had
counted on the capture of the British garrison as
sure; and it is not to be wondered that the public
was in high excitemen* at finding this hope defeatedLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 61

by D’Estaing’s punctilio, even after everything he
had asked had been conceded.

As Sullivan could do nothing with his force, he
broke up his camp in the night, and retired unob-
served toward the north of the island. In the morn-
Ing, as soon as his retreat was discovered, the enemy
pursued him, and a warm action took place, in which
the British were repulsed with skill and spirit. On
the morning of the next day, August 29th, a can
nonade recommenced, and was kept up during the
day, but neither army chose to attack the other,
The British were waiting for reinforcements; the
Americans had secretly resolved to retreat from the
island; and on the night of the 30th they accom-
plished this, without having excited the Suspicions
of the British. Never was there a more fortunate
retreat, for on the very next day Sir Henry Clinton ©
arrived with ships and reinforcements, which would
have cut off the escape of the American army to
the continent.

Lafayette, by great personal exertions, rejoined
the army just in season to take charge of the rear-
guard, and to witness the tame and impotent con-
clusion of an enterprise, which had been carried to
the very eve of success. Of the character of his
services the reader will judge by the following reso-62 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

lution, which was passed by Congress, and commu-
nicated to Lafayette in a very graceful letter, by the
presiding officer:

“ Resolved, That the President be requested to
inform the Marquis de Lafayette, that Congress have
a due sense of the sacrifice he made of his personal
feelings, in undertaking a journey to Boston, with a
view of promoting the interests of these States, at a
time when an occasion was daily expected of his
acquiring glory in the field; and that his gallantry
in going on Rhode Island, when the greatest part of
the army had retreated, and his good conduct in
bringing off the pickets and out-sentinels, deserve
their particular approbation.” |

Lafayette replied in an appropriate and feeling
manner, to this expression of approval and confi-
dence. His situation now was peculiarly embarrass-
ing. The jealousy and chagrin of the American
officers at the conduct of D’Estaing could not be
concealed. Indeed, Gen. Sullivan reflected very
severely upon the French allies of the United States
in his general orders; and it was by the merest
accident in the world, that some letters which he
wrote to the Governor of Rhode Island, were pre-
vented from being publicly read in the AssemblyLIFE OF LAFAYETTER, 63

Gen. Greene, who happened to be present, induced
the Speaker to withhold them.

Perhaps at no time during the war, did the friend-
ship of Lafayette do the country greater service
than at this particular and most awkward juncture
While the Marquis devoted his life and services to the
cause of America, he retained his warm and patri-
otic attachment for his own country. Of course he
sympathized deeply with his brother officers, in the
injuries which he regarded them as receiving, from
the expressions of resentment which fell from the
Americans. The French officers looked to Lafay-
ette as their head, and the giving way on his part
to resentment, would have widened the breach irre-
parably. Gen. Washington, and the American su-
perior officers generally, and the local authorities,
laboured hard in the work of pacification; but in
spite of all precaution, a riot occurred in Boston
between some Americans and French, in which the
Chevalier de St. Sauveur was killed ; and in Charles-
ten, South Carolina, a far more serious affray oc-
curred, which ended in a formal battle between the
American and French sailors. The latter were
driven from the city, and repaired to their ships,
from which they fired upon the town. The Ameri-
cans answered their fire ftom the wharves and64 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

stores, and several lives were Jost upon both sides
These difficulties were ascribed to British interfer-
ence; and, whether that charge were true or not, it
made the public remember, that to Great Britain
nothing could be more grateful or more useful, than
enmity between America and France. The efforts
of the leading Americans, seconded by Lafayette,
at length prevailed, and the unhappy differences
between the officers of the two countries, were pre-
vented from ripening into a serious quarrel. Idle
would have been the hope of reconcilation, which
depended so much upon Lafayette, had he possessed
the choleric temperament, and the exacting spirit.
which too many of his contemporaries exhibited on
this, as on other occasions. Such failings as irasci-
bility and undue self-love too often mark the man of
real courage. As to the actual grounds of complaint
against D’Estaing, we, who now look upon these
events with disinterested eyes, can see that, though
his conduct did not show the generous and ardent
attachment to America that Lafayette would have
exhibited, yet, on the other hand, his fleet having
been disabled in a storm, he had a right to prefer
Boston to Newport, for the purposes of repair;
particularly when, in so doing, he followed the letter
of his instructions.LIFE OF LAFAYETTR, 65
On the 13th of October, 1778, Lafayette applied

to Congress for permission to return to France, “ag
a soldier on leave of absence, ardently wishing to
rejoin his colours, as well as his beloved comrades.”
He assigned as a reason for desiring to return, that
as France was engaged in war, duty and patriotism
induced him to present himself to his sovereign, in
the hope that the post assigned to him would re-
quire him to resume his service in this country.
With the gracefulness of a true Frenchman, he re-
marked: “It is impossible for me to speak more
appropriately of the sentiments which attach me to
my Own country, than in the presence of citizens
who have done so much for theirs.”

This letter to Congress from Lafayette, was ac-
companied by one from Washington, in which the
highest eulogies upon the Marquis were expressed,
and the wish was indicated that his petition should
be granted, and his absence placed on the footing he
desired. He did not wish to leave until the close of
the campaign; and an important object of his visit
.O France was, to forward the interests of America
at the Court, where his standing, always influential,
had been much advanced by the fame which he had
won in the American army. It was considered,
moreover, that though the difficulty growing out of
ESEs dtp ps pa ph pe gthsyscieied phone SPE tooo Sort esteta bak

SETS EO TTS ees TRESS EET ETE

66 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

the Newport affair was at an end in America, it
might be highly expedient to have a French advocate
m France, who, to unquestioned attachment to his
own nation, united warm friendship for America
and her cause.

On the 20th of October, Congress adopted the
draught of a letter of recommendation to his most
Christian Majesty, the King of France, in favour of
Lafayette, and passed the following resolutions:

“Resolved, That the Marquis de Lafayette, major-
general in the service of the United States, have
leave to go to France, and that he return at such
time as shall be most convenient to him.

“ Resolved, That the President write a letter to
the Marquis de Lafayette, returning him the thanks
of Congress for the disinterested zeal which led him
to America, and for the services he hath rendered
to the United States, by the exertion of his courage
and abilities on many signal occasions.

“ Resolved, That the minister plenipotentiary oi
the United States at the Court of Versailles, be
directed to cause an elegant sword, with propet
devices, to be made and presented in the name of
the United States to the Marquis de Lafayette.”

Mr. Laurens, the President of Congress, trans-
mitted these proceedings to Lafayette, in pursuanceLIFE OF LAFAYETTE 67

of the second resolution; and Lafayette acknow
ledged the receipt of the letter in appropriate and
grateful terms. He did not embark for France,
however, until the month of January, 1779, having
been detained several months on the road by a
severe illness, which prevented his arrival in Boston
until the close of December, 1778. Even when he
arrived, it was found that the Alliance, of 32 guns, in
which he was to take passage, had not procured her
complement of men. The government of Massa
chusetts proposed to man the vessel by impressment
—an English expedient, which had been more than
once resorted to by the Americans during the war,
Lafayette, in whose eventful life it would seem that
opportunity was afforded to exhibit every virtue
which his character embraced, would not consent to
the measure of impressment, at which his benevo-
lence revolted. The difficulty in manning the Alli-
ance arose from the fact, that the command of the
vessel had been given to Captain Landais, and the
prejudices of the American seamen would not permit
them to serve under a Frenchman. A plan was
taken to man the vessel, which, as Cooper, the naval
historian, well remarks, if less objectionable than
impressment, on the score of principle, was scarcely
less 80 in every other point of view. A motleybien tos rs

Sota SPiter eS is cele tek ars

REE SST ERS SEE

68 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

crew was made up, of men from the Somerset, 8
British man-of war which had been wrecked on the
coast, of volunteers from among the prisoners, and
a number of deserters from the French fleet, who
made their public appearance after Count D’Estaing
left Boston.

The British Parliament having passed an act,
conferring a premium upon piracy, murder, and
mutiny—to wit, giving rewards to sailors who should
run away with American vessels, the precious ship’s
company of the Alliance concocted a mutiny, which
was to have gone into effect on the night of the Ist
of February; the first and last mutiny, if we except
that of the Somers, which was ever attempted on
board an American national vessel. Such disposi-
tions were made that, had it not been for its provi-
dential discovery, the plot could hardly have failed.
The officers and passengers once collected on the
quarter-deck by the cry of “sail-ho!” and secured,
the following was the disposition to be made of them:
Captain Landais was to be put into a boat, without
food or water, heavily ironed, and set adrift. The
gunner, carpenter, and boatswain were to have been
killed at once. The marine officer and surgeon
were to have been hanged, quartered, and cast into
the sea. The sailing-master was to have been tiedLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 69

to the mizzen-mast, scarified, cut in small pleces
and thrown overboard! The lieutenants were to
have been compelled to work the vessel into some
English port, then within two days’ sail, or walk the
plank; and the passengers were to be delivered up
as prisoners of war upon the arrival of the vessel
in England. Such were the legitimate fruits of an
act of the British Parliament—a body which, in
dealing with America, seemed to have retrograded
into barbarism.

Fortunately, the mutineers made a confidant of
an American, whom they supposed to be an English-
man. He had the adroitness so to receive their
communications, that he was adopted as a ring-
leader, and found no difficulty in worming their
whole secret from them. He procured a postponc-
ment of the hour to strike, till four in the afternoon of
the day after the night originally designated, and at
three managed to slip into the cabin, and apprise
Lafayette and Landais of what was going forward.
The officers and passengers instantly rushed on deck
with drawn swords, The American and French
sailors joined them, and the leading mutineers were
instantly seized. Between thirty and forty of the
mutineers were put in irons; but it was deemed in-
expedient to arrest more, as at that instant a saila

as

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

70 OI1FE OF LAFAYETTE.

hove in sight. Landais manceuvred as if intending
to attack her, but permitted her to escape; as to
go into an engagement, even with an inferior force,
would, in the condition of his ship, have been too
hazardous. Four days afterwards the Alliance ar-
rived at Brest, and the mutineers were put in a
French prison. After some delay they were ex-
changed, principally at the instance of the high-
minded Lafayette, who felt averse to treating them
as natives, owing the flag allegiance, would have
justly deserved. It is questionable, however, whether,
after the sanguinary and diabolical programme they
had arranged, these men really merited any such
clemency, After an escape like this, from peril
more imminent than he had ever before encountered,
it will readily be imagined that our hero, still a
mere youth of twenty-two, was glad to touch his
aative shores again.BtFE OF LAFAYETTE. 71

CHAPTER VII.

Reception of Lafayette in France—Franklin’s Letter—Description of
the Sword ordered by Congress — Successful Efforts of Lafayetta
with the French Court—His Return to America and hearty Wel-
come — Effect of the Tidings he brought upon the Country—His
Reception by Washington Resolution of Congress — Arrival of
Count Rochambeau — Lafayette’s Division—Treason of Arnold—
Operations in the South—Well-timed Munificence of Lafayette.

Mia ata, LIE reception of Lafayette in his own

     
   
 

Ti country was such as might have
ANY / been expected from a nation, by whom

x2. By

the romantic incidents of his life, and
the striking traits in his character,
must be so much admired. At the age of
twenty-two the leader of armies, with no
holiday renown, and the counsellor of states-
men, with a character for wisdom as great as
his fame for courage, the people idolized him, and
the court and nobility were proud of one who re-
flected so much credit upon his birth and patrician
rank.

Dr. Franklin fulfilled the pleasant duty in which
the resolution of Congress instructed him, in a mostitd
ron

TPIS See isesss Rutars eer oreo Saha shed RSE io aa o es ai

  

F2 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

becoming manner. The following is the letter from
the American minister to Lafayette, dated at Passy,
August 24, 1779.

“Sir :—The Congress, sensible of your merit to-
wards the United States, but unable adequately to
reward tt, determined to present you with a sword,
as a small mark of their grateful acknowledgment.
They directed it to be ornamented with suitable
devices. Some of the principal actions of the war
in which you distinguished yourself by your bravery
and conduct, are, therefore, represented upon it.
These, with a few emblematic figures, all admirably
well executed, make its principal value. By the
help of the exquisite artists France affords, I find it
easy to express everything but the sense we have of
your worth, and our obligations to you. For this,
figures, and even words, are found insufficient. I,
therefore, only add that, with the most perfect esteem
and respect, I have the honour to be

“ Your obedient servant,
“B. FRANKLIN.”

The sword was presented to the Marquis at Havre,
by the grandson of Dr. Franklin. The principal
ornaments were, representations of the battle ofLIFE OF TPAGPAYET TE.

73

Monmouth, the affair at Gloucester, and the skilful
retreats from Barren Hill and Rhode Island. On
one side of the handle the Marquis was represented
as wounding the British Lion, and on the other ag
receiving a branch of laurel from the Genius of
America. The arms of Lafayette, an emblem of
America, a figure of Fame holding up the arms of
France, and a representation of the vessel in which
the young Mareuis first came over, completed the
crnamental devices. ‘The inscription was in the
simple words, “Presented by Congress to M. le
[Marquis de Lafayette.”

As his country was now engaged in war with
Great Britain, policy seconded the efforts which he
made in behalf of America; and he was serving
both France and the United States at the same mo-
ment, while urging the vigorous prosecution of the
war. Nothing could be more agreeable to the
French nation and government, than the dismem-
berment of the British Empire, by cutting off her
colonies. ‘The minister of France at Philadelphia,
ard the American plenipotentiary in France, Dr.
Franklin, ably seconded his efforts; the national
and popular feeling was in favour both of the Mar-
quis and his cause, and the French government was
prevailed on to embark heartily in the war, and sendry

74 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

a formidable fleet and army to the aid of the United
States,

Finding no active employment in Europe, and
having succeeded so well in his great object, Lafay-
ette embarked for America, and arrived at Boston
in the latter part of April, 1780. The day of his
landing was one of public rejoicing. The people
turned out en masse to welcome their chivalric and
noble friend; and he was escorted with military
pomp and salvoes of artillery, to the house which
the town authorities had provided for his accommo-
dation. The day closed with an exhibition of fire-
works; and a disposition was shown to prolong the
festivities which his return with such high hopes had
occasioned.

But the Marquis longed to be in action. He left
Boston at the earliest hour consonant with due
courtesy, and hastening to head-quarters, arrived
there on the 12th of May. Washington received
him with open arms; as, indeed, he would have
done had the Marquis brought nothing but himself
as on his first visit. But the news which he bore.
that the troops to reinforce the French army in
America were already embarked and on the point
of sailing, added to the joy with which he was re-
ceived by the whole country.LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 73

On the 13th of May he reported himself to Con-
gress, and was received with the highest marks of
distinction and regard. The following resolution
was immediately adopted:

“ Resolved, 'That Congress consider the return of
the Marquis de Lafayette to America, to resume his
command, as a fresh proof of the disinterested zeal
and persevering attachment which have justly re-
commended him to the public confidence and ap-
plause; and that they receive with pleasure a tender
of the further services of so gallant and meritorious
an officer.”

New spirit was infused into the army and the

people by the arrival of the Marquis, and the intel-

‘eee
.

gence that the French nation were about to sup-
port their American allies in hearty earnest. Con-
gress and the several State Legislatures, the officers
of the army, and all other men of influence, used
every means to foster and encourage the enthusiasm
which was re-awakened. About the middle of June
the Count de Rochambeau arrived at Rhode Island
with between six and seven thousand troops, and
Admiral Tornay with seven ships of the line and
several frigates.

Lafayette was appointed to command the van of

wi

Washington’s army. ‘The van-guard was selected46 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

from the different corps, principally of light infantry
with a troop of horse, and a major’s command of
artiliery. Lafayette made this select division the
pride of his heart; and in their turn they idolized
their commander. He formed and drilled them ac-
cording to his own wishes and excellent military
knowledge, and they were admitted to be equal to any
corps in the army. He did not spare his own purse,
and his troops made a better appearance than any
others in the service. They were better clothed, and
the uniforms of both officers and soldiers was prin
cipally furnished at the expense of the Marquis.
The officers were armed with espontoons, and fur-
nished with short and light sabres, brought from
France and presented by Lafayette. The subalterns
were provided with fusils. The soldiers wore hel-
mets of hard leather, with a crest of horse-hair.
The dragoons, commanded by Col. Henry Lee, were
better mounted than any others in the army, and
had gained several advantages over the British,
whom they did not fear to meet.

The events of this campaign, though by no means
adverse, did not justify the high expectations with
which it opened. The second division of the French
fleet, which was to have followed Tornay, and would
have given him a decided naval superiority ove1LIFE OF LAFAYETTR, T72

the enemy, was blockaded in Brest by a heavy
squadron, while reinforcements arrived to the British
in America. But Washington succeeded in keeping
the British shut up in New York, which was a great
advantage, though marked with no signal achieve-
“nents,

uring this year occurred the treason of Arnold
and its providential detection. We forbear to rex
count the particulars of events so well known to
every reader as these. In the board of officers
which decided the fate of the unfortunate Andre,
besides many distinguished American officers, were
Lafayette and Baron Steuben, To Lafayette the
performance of this duty was distressing indeed.
‘The candour, openness, and magnanimity of Andre
made upon his mind the most favourable impres-
sions; but he found himself compelled to unite in
the decision which pronounced him a spy. He
deeply shared in the sympathy, which was universal
among the officers of the American army, for the
young, brave, and accomplished officer. But “ stern-
visaged war” makes many requirements upon its
best conductors at which their nature revolts, while
policy, usage, and duty impose their fulfilment.
It is a maxim—as true now as then—that the man
who exposes himself as Andre did, understandsperesrresessssssirsrass tees SUSITLATT Ta Aa Ta TROT Peso och eke 2: pte

78 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

the penalty, if captured, before he undertakes the
perilous service.

The state of inactivity which the duties of tne
army near New York required, little harmonized
with the ardent temperament of Lafayette, and he
obtained permission to join Gen. Greene in the
South. But while on his way he was detained at
Philadelphia, to take part in concerting the co-ope-
ration of the French fleet, then in the West Indies,
with the forces of the allies in America. These
arrangements, it may here be remarked, resulted
finally in the capture of Cornwallis.

After this important business was concluded, La-
fayette again set out to join Gen. Greene, but was
recalled by Washington, to take command of an
expedition against Arnold, who was devastating
Virginia, as if ambitious to add the character of
bandit to that of traitor. His treason had been
rewarded with a commission as brigadier-general in
the royal army. Lafayette proceeded with his de-
tachment to the head of the Elk, and thence to
Annapolis, where he was to have found a convoy
from the French fleet to proceed to Virginia.
Meanwhile, the French and English squadrons had
met off the capes of Virginia, and after the engage-
ment the French commander returned with his ves-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 79

sels to Newport. Thus Arnold escaped capture,
even after his defeat had been deemed so certain,
that Lafayette was instructed not to enter into any
capitulation, which included a reservation in favour
of the traitor. This expedition having thus mis-
carried, Lafayette again received orders to join the
army in the South.

But before the Marquis had time to obey he was
again countermanded. Sir Henry Clinton had des-
patched a detachment of two thousand men, under
Gen. Phillips, to the relief of Arnold; and Lafay-
ette again received orders to take aime of the
army in Virginia. Gen. Phillips on his arrival at
ees where Arnold then was, took command
of the British troops ; and thus, as has before beer
noted, the Marquis ‘ic Lafayette had charge of an
army, Operating against troops commanded by the
officer, before whose batteries his father fell at
Minden.

Lafayette’s first object was to prevent the junction
of Gen. Phillips and Cornwallis, who was now ad-
vancing from the south into Virginia, It was im-
possible to carry the troops from Elk Head, where
they were, by water, as the British had now com-
mand of the bay, and they were accordingly marched
over land to Baltimore. The soldiers were drawnpat

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   

80 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

| chiefly from the Eastern regiments, and were most

averse to a southern climate. When first detailed

rom New York, it was under the impression that

the service would require only a short time. They

| were unprovided with clothing, and in a state, as

| Lafayette expressed it, of “shocking nakedness.”

Without tents or baggage, murmuring at being hur-

ried off without preparation, infested with a nau-

seous and dangerous disease, produced by their lack

of clothing, and consequent forced inattention to

neainess, they were in a case deplorable indeed.

The expedition against Arnold they had not so much

/ objected to; but now that they saw they were des-

3 tined to long service in a climate that they dreaded,

desertions commenced to a disheartening extent, and

the Marquis found his command in a most delicate

| position, requiring the utmost tact, and the most

patient forbearance. He deeply sympathized with

them in the adverse circumstances in which they

stood; and in a letter to Gen. Greene urged every

exculpatory circumstance in their favour, and said

| he was obliged to reward with one hand while he
punished with the other.

Ever a favourite with the army, Lafayette tested

his influence to the utmost. He made most ener-

getic and urgent addresses to the soldiers, earnestly

Bae tod

eeetetn nae Stoeckle eee et Lee 2LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 8]

sppealing to their generous and honourab’e feelings
and impulses. By skilful encouragement he stayed
at last their desponding spirit, and crowned his
words with actions, which at once marzed his sin-
cerity and relieved their pressing necessities. When
the credit of Congress was so low that nothing
could be procured upon its promises, the merchants
of Baltimore accepted Lafayette’s pledge for ten
thousand dollars. Shoes, linen, hats, and other
articles of immediate necessity, were purchased for
the troops; and the ladies of Baltimore went to
work with a will to prepare the clothing. With this
generosity of their commander, and the enthusiasm
of the ladies, who vied with each other in industry,
the spirits of the troops were rallied, and their minds
were reconciled to the service. Without this timely
provision, it would have been impossible to proceed.
Nor did the address of the Marquis stop here.
Anxious to gain time, and also to relieve his soldiers
from fatigue, he procured carts, and wagons, and
every description of vehicle which could be obtained,
and in these hurried the troops to Richmond; thus
saving the men from fatigue, and giving their pro-
gress more the air of a frolic than of a march.
He did not arrive at Richmond a moment too soon,
At this place were collected the principal part of the
F82 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

military stores of the State, which would have fallen
into the hands of Gen. Phillips, but for Lafayette’s
timely arrival. On the day on which he reached
Richmond, the British force, under Phillips and
Arnold appeared on the opposite side of the river.
From Petersburg up to Richmond, the British had
burned and destroyed all the tobacco warehouses,
vessels, and other property in their reach; and
nothing but the timely arrival of Lafayette, after a
forced march of two hundred miles, and his junction
with Steuben, saved Richmond also from the torch.

The consummate tact and ability which Lafayette
nad exhibited under such discouragements, added
new laurels to his fame. The mere restoration of
‘he troops to order and discipline, would of itself
nave been a most remarkable feat; but the subse-
quent celerity of his movements, and the essential
benefit which he conferred upon the country by
his energetic promptness, was the theme of every
tongue.LIFE OF LAFAYETTR.,

CHAPTER VIII.

Lafayette ordered to the South—Countermanded to Virginia— Death
of Gen. Phillips, and Refusal of Lafayette to recognise Arnold—
Advance of Cornwallis—Skilful Manceuvres of Lafayette—Affair at
Albemarle — Retreat of Cornwallis to Williamsburg — Affair at
James River—Daring Intrepidity of Wayne—Retreat of Cormwallis
to Portsmouth—Occupation of Yorktown by the British—Arrival ot
Count de Grasse—Cornwallis hemmed in—Arrival of Washington
and Rochambeau—Influence of Lafayette with the French Naval
Commander— Siege of Yorktown —Capitulation of Cornwallis—
Magnanimity of the American Soldiers.

eso HE; combined forces of Lafayette and
[ell Steuben now amounted to about three
thousand men. To Baron Steuben
had originally been confided the com-
mand of the operations in Virginia ;
but he gave way to Lafayette with a magna-
nimity of self-sacrifice, which, as has justly
been remarked, forms not the least of his
claims upon the gratitude of the American
people.
Gen. Phillips deemed it not advisable to cross the
river at Richmond; but fell back, still watched by
Lafayette, until he received orders from Lord Corn84 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

wallis to take possession of Petersburg, and there
await his arrival. Divining his intention, Lafayette
pushed forward to intercept him, but Gen. Phillips
reached the place first and took possession of it;
and this was the last military act of his life, as he
died of a malignant fever on the very day of entering
Petersburg. Arnold now assumed the command,
and addressed a letter to Lafayette. The Marquis,
who had no sympathy with traitors, treated the
English officer who came with the flag of truce in
all respects with great politeness, but declined to
receive any letter from Benedict Arnold. Lafayette
crossed the river and withdrew to the vicinity of
Richmond; and when, on the 24th of May, Lord
Cornwallis reached Petersburg, finding that he was
entirely too weak in numbers to cope with the
British force, he receded as Cornwallis advanced,
making his movements with such celerity and cau-
tion, that though Cornwallis had boasted “the boy
cannot escape me,” he was soon induced to abandon
the pursuit, and turn to enterprises more easy of
accomplishment. He despatched two bodies of men
under Tarleton and Simcoe, one to destroy certain
stores at the confluence of the Rivanna and Flu
yanna, the other to seize the members of the State
Legislature at Charlottesville. The LegislatureLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 85

had a narrow escape, but all the stores were
destroyed.

Cornwallis now moved for Albemarle Court-
House, where was a military depét. Lafayette,
who had now effected a junction with the Pennsyl-
vania Line, under Gen. Wayne, thus reinforced, ad.
vanced and encamped within a few miles of the
British army, and within a day’s march of the point
at which both were aiming—the British army being
between Lafayette and the stores. The British
general posted his troops so as to command the
road which it was supposed the Americans must
pass; but was astonished and mortified to find in
the morning, that Lafayette was posted in a strong
position between the British force and Albemarie
Court-House, where the stores were deposited. The
Americans had discovered and opened a difficult
road in the night, and made the detour which gave
them the advantage of Cornwallis. At this place,
considerable reinforcements of militia Joined the
Americans. Lafayette’s force was now about four
thousand men; that of Cornwallis five at least, if
not six or eight thousand.

Cornwallis now fell back, first to Richmond, and
then to Williamsburg. Lafayette cautiously fol-
lowed, seeking opportunities for skirmishing andae Sete Tc ah Shute erie wrt teth eer cal toe snus chieet rie fed piesa Sib ec sce ha es pie ses lles ty eat a tative shrines staseus seer ie eeeet Sees” fi
5 Besse Sa tari tare ett park tne een pe ter tr een fs stn toes se Sober eh seats tite thats te
“Saphir as 3 2 3 te See ESE RET aa i oA

page neo tt pees bas

     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
    
   

86 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

partial encounters, but avoiding a general engage
ment. A sharp action took place near Williams-
burg, in which the Americans gained a partial ad
vantage, but retreated when they found the whole
British army in motion towards them. About the
end of June some of Washington’s correspondence
was intercepted, which betrayed the intentions of
Washington upon New York. In consequence of
this, Sir Henry Clinton, alarmed for New York
ordered a portion of the army of Cornwallis to the
north; and that commander retreated from Wil-
hamsburg to Portsmouth.

The morning after Cornwallis left Williamsburg,
Lafayette pressed on to attempt his rear. Corn-
wallis, suspecting his design, arranged his move-
ments accordingly. Lafayette’s plan was, to attack
the rear after the main body had crossed the ford
to the island of Jamestown. Cornwallis, whose
baggage had already gone over, kept the larger
portion of his troops on the main land, so closely
crowded that they appeared but as a covering party
for the rear, while the few who were on the island
were spread out in such a manner as to magnify
their numbers. Every manoeuvre was conducted
with the same view; but Lafayette was led to sus-
pect something more than met the eye, from theLIFE OF LAFAYETTR., 87

obstinacy with which an advanced outpost was de:
tended. He judged from this circumstance, that the
advanced party must have something more important
to do than merely to defend the rear-guard. Their
true object was, to keep the Americans 2t bay till
the stratagem was ripe.

The Marquis then resolved to reconnoitre the
British camp, and soon detected the ruse. Mean-
while Gen. Anthony Wayne, in attempting to cap-
ture a piece of artillery, found himself engaged with
the whole British army. The quick apprehensions
of “Mad Anthony” dictated to him at once the
boldest as the safest measure; and when he found
the whole British force formed and moving toward
him, he gallantly charged with his eight hundred
men, as if he had eight thousand to support him.
Lafayette, who now hurried up, ordered Wayne te
fall back in a line with the infantry, who were drawn
up about half a mile in his rear; and the whole
party then saved itself behind a morass. The
boldness of this attack, and the time at which it
was made, the close of the day, led Cornwallis to
suspect that an ambuscade was prepared, into which
it was intended by this manceuvre to lead him. He
therefore would permit no pursuit, but in the course
of the night passed the ford to Jamestown, and88 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

thence retreated to Portsmouth. The loss of the
Americans in this gallant affair was one hundred
and eighteen men, ten of whom were officers.
At the close of this difficult campaign, Lafayette’s
fame stood still higher than before. ‘To his reputa-
tion for chivalric courage, he had added a character
for skill and prudence worthy of a Fabius. With
the stores committed to his defence, scattered over
different and assailable points, he had preserved a
good portion of them; and with a skilful general,
possessing a superior force, pressing upon him, he
nad avoided a general engagement with such tact,
and manoeuvred with such caution, as reflected
honour, not only upon himself, but upon the com-
mander-in-chief who had entrusted so important a
duty to him. In Lee’s Memoirs we find, in reference
to this campaign, the following eloquent tribute to
the gallant Marquis :—“ Invigorating our councils
by his precepts, dispelling our despondency by his
example, and encouraging our troops to submit to
their privations, by the cheerfulness with which he
participated in their wants, he imparted the energy
of his own mind to the country, and infused his own
high-toned spirit into his army. His efforts were
srowned with success; and the young Frenchman,
with the judgment, skill, and prudence of a veteran,LIFE OF LAPAYET TE;

89

seared the laurels of that British general, who, in
tre rorth and in the south, in the cabinet and in the
field, had stood pre-eminent—the bulwark of Great
Britain, the terror of America.”

Cornwallis upon reaching Portsmouth proceeded
to embark the troops which were intended for New
York. Orders arrived, however, countermanding
the movement, a reinforcement of Hessians received
at New York having changed Sir Henry Clinton’s
plans. Lord Cornwallis in the month of August
concentrated his force at York and Gloucester, where
he applied his attention to intrench himself in the
strongest possible manner. Lafayette took a posi-
tion in the county of New Kent, in order to harass
the British out-posts, and prevent foraging parties
from scouring the country.

Washington had, meanwhile, been making a num-
ber of demonstrations at New York. He had
changed his plan as to making a serious attack upon
that city, but concealed his purpose from the British,
in order that they might not penetrate his real de-
sign, which was to march against Cornwallis. La-
fayette was ordered to make such a disposition of
his forces as to prevent the British general from
saving himself by a sudden march to Charleston.
The French fleet, under commard of Count de90 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

Grasse, arrived early in September in the Chesa
peake, and landed a force which put it in the power
of Lafayette to advance upon and alarm his adver-
sary. Cornwallis immediately made dispositions to
retreat to South Carolina. A few days after the
British fleet arrived under Admiral Greaves, and
Count de Grasse stood out of the Chesapeake, and
engaged him in an indecisive action. For five days
the two fleets continued in sight of each other; and
Count de Grasse, having the weather-gage, could at
any time have renewed the engagement—but no
such step was necessary or politic. The squadron
under Greaves returned to New York; and Count
ce Grasse proposed to put to sea in quest of the
British fleet, leaving a few vessels in the Chesa-
peake, but by an earnest representation of the risks
of such a‘movement he was induced to remain. He
had endeavoured to persuade Lafayette to a brilliant
but hazardous movement. He offered to aid the
Marquis, not only with all the marines of the fleet,
but with as many seamen as he should require, if
he would immediately attack York and Gloucester,
while the works were incomplete. A full excuse
would have been found for the attempt, in the de-
claration of De Grasse, that he could not wait for
the arriva! of the troops from the north; and theLIFE OF LAFAYETTS, 9]

attack, if successful, would have added a brilliant
chaplet to the military fame of Lafayette. But he
refused to sacrifice the lives of the soldiers entrusted
to his charge, and used all his influence to induce
De Grasse to remain until the arrival of Washington
and Rochambeau, when the capture of Cornwallis
would be sure, and unattended with so great an
effusion of blood.

Cornwallis was now effectually hemmed in. When
the French fleet left the Chesapeake for a few days,
as has been mentioned, he delayed the steps he had
taken for a retreat. Now that De Grasse had re-
turned, and had also been joined by Count de Barras,
with eight ships of the line, and fourteen transports
laden with the proper military stores; while the
whole country to the south was up in arms, and
Greene was also advancing to receive him; and
while the active measures taken by Lafayette and
Governor Burke had cut off the means of trans-
portation, and also of support on the march, Corn-
wallis, discovering that he was completely caught in
the toils, now gave his whole attention to fortifying
his position.

Gen. Washington and Count Rochambeau, by
forced marches, reached Lafayette’s head-quarters
at Williamsburg on the fourteenth of SeptemberStes Sega tSEt sth et nas Bese eho e ch oti ces 2

Sept heact ss shige terse te tek bees he tso tk Seessaotesabibets Saget st atisics satcatc tt gsee steer eters Tees"
oe 4s. . = es + tS SS eS tesesstee 335
. es

  

92 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

The plan of the siege was concerted with Count de
Grasse; but after all was arranged, the Count re-
ceived intelligence of the arrival at New York of
six more ships of the line, and believing that the
British would, with this addition to their force,
hazard everything to relieve Cornwallis, he desired
to change his position into one better adapted to
receive the enemy. Here again the influence of
Lafayette was exerted with most happy results.
He waited on the Count de Grasse with a letter
from Washington, and adding his personal argu-
ments and entreaties, dissuaded him from leaving
the Chesapeake —a movement which would have
permitted Cornwallis to escape. ‘The immense be-
nefits which resulted from the capture of Cornwallis,
which was in effect the close of the war, make the
services which Lafayette rendered in this particular
case, enough to entitle him to the everlasting grati-
tude of the American nation, had he done nothing
else.

The last division of the allied army reached
Williamsburg on the 25th day of September; and
Washington now proceeded immediately to invest
Yorktown and Gloucester. The erection of the
works of the besiegers was commenced on the night
of the 6th of October, and by the 11th the worksLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 93

were so far advanced, that the batteries of the Bri-
tish were dismantled, and their ordnance dismounted
in almost every direction. The shells and hot balls
even reached the British vessels in the harbour, and
several were destroyed by fire. The works of the
American army were now advanced within three
hundred yards of the enemy’s lines; and Cornwallis
deluged them with bombs and balls, causing more
destruction than at any other time.

To invest a fortified town in a regular siege, works
are constructed against it which in military language
are called “ parallels.’ Two of these were con-
structed by Washington; the first was finished, and
the second in great forwardness before the 11th—
the principal work being done in the night and in
great silence. The first was done on the night of
the 6th, the other on the night of the 11th of October
But the second and nearest to the British was ex
posed to the raking fire of two redoubts, which i:
became necessary to silence; and Washington de-
termined to do this by assault with the bayonet.
On the night of the fourteenth of October both were
attacked at once; one by a detachment of Ameri-
cans commanded by Lafayette, the other by a de-
tachment of French led by the Baron de Viominel
Both were carried. ‘The Americans rushed to the94 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

charge with unloaded arms, entering the works with
so much impetuosity, that time was not allowed for
the sappers and miners to remove the palisades.
They pushed in on all sides, trusting to their bayo-
nets only; and the enemy, astonished at so much
audacity, was instantly overpowered. ‘The British
lost eight killed and about twenty prisoners ; the
Americans nine killed and thirty wounded. ‘The
other redoubt made a longer resistance. Eighteen
of the British were killed and forty-two were made
prisoners, while the attacking party lost one hun-
dred in killed and wounded.

The gallantry of this double charge and capture
was most highly complimented by Gen. Washington
in his general orders of the following day, which
expressed a high sense of the judicious dispositions
and gallant conduct of both commanders and the
bravery of the soldiers, and concluded as follows :—
«The general reflects, with the highest degree of
pleasure, on the confidence which the troops of the
two nations must hereafter have in each other.
Assured of mutual support, he is convinced there is
no danger which they will not cheerfully encounter,
no difficulty which they will not bravely overcome.”

Washington now pushed on his work with aston-
ishing vigour, Before daylight on the night onLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 95

which they were taken, these two redoubts were
mcluded in, and made part of the works of the
besiegers. Cornwallis saw that when the second
parallel was completed all hope of resistance would
be at an end. On the night of the 16th, he caused
a detachment to make a vigorous sortie from the
town. ‘These gallant soldiers took two batteries,
but were furiously charged in them and driven back
by the Viscount of Noailles. An attempt to retreat
was also made; and Cornwallis actually succeeded in
the night in getting one division of his army over the
river to Gloucester, where he proposed to cut through
the troops which invested that place, and force his
way toward New York. But a storm of wind and
rain suddenly rose, and scattered the boats; and
the next day was occupied in getting the troops who
had crossed over, back again to Yorktown.

On the 17th of October the batteries in the second
parallel were completed; and such a shower of
bombs and other missiles was poured into Yorktown
from all the batteries, that the British defences
everywhere crumbled under the destructive fire.
About ten in the morning of that day, Cornwallis,
who was as brave and high-minded an officer, and
albeit as generous a soldier as the British had in
this country, beat a parley. Negotiations wereThi

  

96 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

commenced, terms of capitulation were arawn up,
and on the 19th complied with. The posts, with
their garrisons and public stores, were surrendered
to Gen. Washington; the ships, with their seamen,
to the Count de Grasse.

The total number of prisoners, including seamen,
was over seven thousand men. The loss of the
besieged in killed and wounded was five hundred
and fifty-two, including six officers. The loss of the
Americans was about three hundred. At the time
of the <urrender, the besieging army including
militia, amounted to sixteen thousand men.

The moderation of the Americans and French
after carrying the redoubts on the night of the 6th
Cctober, particularly that of the Americans, is
worthy of all praise. During the month before,
Fort Griswold, near New London, had been taken
by a British force under Arnold, and nearly all the
garrison were put to the sword in cold blood, afte:
their surrender. When Col. Ledyard, the American
commander, resigned his sword, the British officer
plunged it in his bosom! It has been falsely charged,
that the Americans, in storming the redoubts at
Yorktown, were ordered to kill all whom they found
in them after the surrender. This falsehood, entirely
at variance with the character of Washington andLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, OT

Lafayette, is unsupported by any fact; while the
truth that the Americans and French did Spare all
who surrendered, is matter of history. Lafayette
has also positively contradicted the calumny.
We will conclude this long chapter with a few
circumstances, related by Lafayette, which show
the patriotic and excellent feeling of the Americans
toward their allies. The Americans without tents
saw the superior accommodations of their French
friends without a murmur; nor did they complain
while the French were regularly served with flour
from the American magazines, while the Americans
had only corn meal, and that irregularly. The offi-
cers lent their horses to the French officers and
walked themselves. Indeed, in every particular, a
most generous and courteous spirit was manifested2+ SSeS RRR epee center yarrow sesessnemeseeniinsinhieieneeceis= ee

  

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

   
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

} CHAPTER IX.

Condition of the American Army—-Account of the Surrender of Corm
wallis-—— Anecdotes of the Siege of Yorktown— Address of Abbe
Bandole in the Catholic Church in Philadelphia—Lafayette’s Last
Orders—Resolutions of Congress— His Return to France—His Re-
ception there—Visit to the King of Prussia—News of the Treaty
of Peace communicated by him to Congress—Action of that Body—
Cessation of Hostilities.

She

. HE young reader, not already familiar

i He with the general history of the war
WN MUiti@ «of the Revolution, cannot expect to
fe form from the biography of any one
person, an opinion of all the impor-
tant events of the whole war. Much had
been done and suffered before Lafayette ar-
i, rived in this country; and much took place
| during his absence in Europe, after the decla-
ration of war between France and England. And,
although he was present at some of the most se-
verely contested engagements, and at the siege of
Yorktown, which must be considered the closing
affair of the seven years—inasmuch as it was the
conclusive event which forced the thoughts of peaceLIFE OF LAFAYETTER. 99

apon the British Parliament; still, as he could be
in only one place at once, his life does not neces-
sarily notice the operations in other quarters. Nor
have we space to digress from the thread of our
narrative, and include a history of the operations
in other parts of the country. This book’will, we
hope, give the reader such a glimpse at the very
interesting character of the events of the Revolu-
tion, that he will not cease his investigations till he
nas read enough to obtain an understanding of the
claims of all the prominent heroes of the Revolu-
10n, upon the gratitude of the people of the United
ates.

It will be remembered that when Lord Cornwallis
ntered Virginia, he was so confident of success
igainst Lafayette that he said, “the boy cannot
scape me.” His opinions of the “boy” were so
shanged by subsequent events, and he was so much
struck with the skill and gallantry of Lafayette.
that he requested to deliver up his sword to him,
and surrender his army to the young commander,
who had proved himself so excellent a soldier and
tactician. But the terms on which the Americans
surrendered Charleston, South Carolina, to the Bri-
tish, eighteen months before, directed the manner in
which the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis was con-wartes ees th eset isittn nas Sobek cit Pitts ts crue Sokal Mie Al 01>: chaded pitees ric ted hike teh ee ste h teri getacegssses taestat as itece east et ss ati eeeee ae
= Seis T en aR Aes Se here es Md ci rs PSPe yee Te BTS tk A ees has Te Patt bytes hits tae Se cetet sheds a ettee tibetan wines set SP ey
sips bate taeetoy a s : ete 3 - 333i oa

  

100 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

ducted; and Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, who com-
manded in Charleston, was appointed to receive the
submission of the royal army.

Dr. James Thacher, an eye-witness, gives in his
journal an interesting account of the manner in
which the surrender was conducted. The American
and French troops were drawn up in two lines, one
on each side of the road, and between these the
British army marched out. There was also an
immense concourse of spectators from the surround-
ing country to witness this spectacle—most inte-
resting to Americans, though humiliating in the last
degree to the royal army. ‘The French troops made
a splendid and martial appearance, in complete uni-
form; the Americans were not all in martial cos-
tume, nor could their dress be said to be very neat;
but their bearing was erect and manly, and their
countenances wore the “uniform” of satisfaction and
joy. Gen. Washington, with his aids, took his sta-
tion at the head of the American column, and Count
Rochambeau at the head of the French. It is a
circumstance highly creditable to the American
character, that the utmost silence and order pre
vailed during the marching out of the British army.

At length, about two o’clock, the captive army
advanced ; but Lord Cornwallis, whom all expectedporta eb eee

      
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE 10)

to see at the head of the column, was not there
He deputed the office of leader on this occasion to
General O’Harra. The troops followed with shoul-
dered arms, colours cased, and drums beating a slow
British march. In arms and clothing their appear-
ance was neat and soldierlike, but in their line of
march their step was irregular, and their ranks were
frequently broken. Arrived at the head of the Ame-
rican column, Gen. O’Harra gracefully apologised to
Gen. Washington for the non-appearance of Lord
Cornwallis, on the plea of indisposition, and was
courteously referred to Gen. Lincoln for directions.
Gen. Lincoln conducted the conquered army into a
large field, where it was arranged that they should
ground their arms, Dr. Thacher gives the following
account of this part of the ceremony :—* It was in
the field, when they came to the last act of the
drama, that the spirit and pride of the British sol-
dier was put to the severest test; here their morti-
fication could not be concealed. Some of the pla-
toon officers appeared to be exceedingly chagrined
when giving the word ‘ground arms;’ and I am
witness that they performed this duty in an exceed-
ingly unofficerlike manner, and that many of the
soldiers manifested a sullen temper, throwing their
arms on the pile with violence, as if determined te102 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

render them useless. This irregularity, however,
was checked by the authority of Gen. Lincoln.
After having grounded their arms, and divested
themselves of their accoutrements, the captive troops
were conducted back to Yorktown, and guarded by
our troops, till they could be removed to the place
of their destination.” :
Among the other incidents relative to this siege,
Dr. Thacher relates some circumstances which ac-
count for the much greater slaughter of the French
party than of the American, on the night when
Lafayette and Baron Viominel each took a redoubt.
The Americans pulled away the palisades with their
hands and jumped over, entering the works at once.
The French waited for the sappers and miners to
remove the defences, accordiny to the rules of art,
and were all this time exposed to a galling fire.
After the American party had taken their redoubt,
Lafayette sent his aid, Major Barbour, to the other
redoubt, to inform Baron Viomine! that “he was in
his redoubt, and to ask the Baron where he was.”
The Major found Baron Viominel waiting the clear-
ing away of the palisades, and he sent back the
answer: “Tell the Marquis I am not in mine yet,
put I will be in five minutes.” And so he was.
A curious circumstance occurred in the captureLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 103

of Cornwallis. Mr. Henry Laurens, United States’
Ambassador to Holland, was captured by the Bri-
tish on his passage out, and confined in the Tower
of London, of which Lord Cornwallis was constable
or governor. Col. John Laurens was one of the
officers who arranged the terms of surrender. Thus
the son took custody of his father’s jailor. Lord
Cornwallis was afterward exchanged for Mr. Lau-
rens. Congress had offered Gen. Burgoyne before,
but the British refused to make the exchange.
In the general orders issued the day after the
capitulation, Lafayette was among the officers par-
ticularly mentioned. Indeed, his services in the
capture of Cornwallis commenced, from the moment
in which the British general arrived in Virginia.
His skilful and patient manceuvres, the consummate
skill of a veteran, united to the ready and chivalric
courage of youth, conducted Cornwallis into the
toils which led to bis surrender, and to the close of
the British rule in the States of the Union.
Great and enthusiastic were the rejoicings in
every part of the United States upon the intelligence
of this victory. Its consequences were at once
perceived, and the whole people were filled with the
most cheering anticipations. ‘The cause which had
seemed at one time almost hopeless, was now placed” eT ee ee eee eee ee Cte eet c rei tatet testis tiesto sexete
eeeteseetetett ieee toto oe setrroreht Ubi oite lel ctl teet co Oeil os tot tee ce Leet eke red pe eiees Sets ee sseshesabisats init ay sistiats 3

  

104 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

seyond the doubt of success. Nobody could, how
ever, more heartily rejoice than the American sol:
diers. All had endured privations; and in many
parts of the country the sufferings of the republican
armies seem almost beyond belief. In Gen. Greene’s
command at the south, it is stated that the clothing
of the men was so wretched and insufficient that the
cartouch-boxes galled their bodies; and they pro-
tected their shoulders from abrasion by their mus-
kets, by wrapping swamp-moss or rags around the
barrels. Food was insufficient in quantity, and in
quality miserable. Sickness, inseparable from such
a state of privation, was constantly prostrating
great numbers. And all these sufferings and disad-
vantages were the lot of men, who were expected
to cope with well-disciplined and well-appointed
armies, possessing every comfort and advantage
which the patriots lacked. But in the fortitude and
stern endurance of the Americans, and in the justice
of their cause, there was a moral strength, which
no wealth of the munitions of war could confer
upon their enemies.

Festivals and public rejoicings were held in all parts
of the United States; and the names of the American
and French officers whose bravery had made them
distinguished, were on everybody’s lips. CongressLIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

105

repaired in a body to the Lutheran church in Phila~
delphia, to return thanks for so signal a victory ;
and they also, with many other public men, attended
at the Catholic church, by invitation of the French
Minister. Previous to the singing of the Te Deum,
an address was delivered by the Abbé Bandole, of
the embassy, in which occurs a grateful allusion te
the friendship of the allies.

“Those miracles which the Omnipotent once
wrought for his chosen people are renewed in our
favour; and it would be equally ungrateful and im-
pious not to acknowledge that the event which lately
confounded our enemies, and frustrated their designs,
was the wonderful work of that Gop who guards
your liberties,

“And who but he could so combine the circum-
stances which led to success? We have seen our
enemies push forward amid perils almost innumer-
able, amid obstacles almost insurmountable, to the
spot which was designed to witness their disgrace ;
yet they eagerly sought it as the theatre of their
triumph! Blind as they were, they bore hunger,
thirst, and inclement skies, poured their blood in
battle against brave republicans, and crossed im-
mense regions to confine themselves in anotherpin

106 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

Jericho, whose walls were fated to fall before an
other Joshua.

“ It is He who commands the winds, and the seas,
aud the seasons, who formed a junction on the same
day, in the same hour, between a formidable fleet
from the south, and an army rushing from the north
like an impetuous torrent, Who but He, in whose
hands are the hearts of men, could inspire the allied
troops with the friendship, the confidence, the tender-
ness of brothers? How is it that the two nations,
once divided, jealous, inimical, and nursed in recip-
rocal prejudices, are now become so closely united
as to form but one? Worldlings would say, it is
the wisdom, the virtue, the moderation of their
chiefs, it is a great national interest which has led
to this prodigy. They will say that, to the skill of
the generals, to the courage of the troops, to the
activity of the whole army, we must attribute this
splendid success. Ah! they are ignorant that the
combining of so many fortunate circumstances 1s an
emanation of the All-perfect Mind—that courage,
that skill, that activity, bear the sacred impression
of Him who is divine!”

The next service for which Lafayette prepared,
was to lead a reinforcement to the south to support
the American army in an attack upon Charleston.LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

107

But hardly was he ordered upon this expedition
when his purposes were again changed. The field
for military operations in the United States, after
the crowning success which had distinguished the
plains of Yorktown, had become very limited; and
it appeared to the Marquis, and to the friends of
America, that he could do the cause more service in
France, where important negotiations for. supplies
and in regard to peace were pending; and he again
turned his thoughts towards his native country.
Previous to his departure from Yorktown, he
issued his last orders to his favourite infantry corps,
in which are contained the following, among other
affectionate expressions: —“In the moment the
Major-General leaves this place, he wishes once
more to express his gratitude to the brave corps of
light infantry, who for nine months past have been
the companions of his fortunes. He will never
forget that with them alone, of regular troops, he
had the good fortune to manceuvre before an army,
which, after all its reductions, is still six times supe-
rior to the regular force he had at that time.”
On the 23d of November, Congress, in acceding
to the request of Lafayette for leave of absence,
added to it such expressions and instructions, as
would at once show in how high estimation his vir-108 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

tues and valour were held in this country, and facil
tate his operations abroad. It was,

“Resolved, That the Major-General the Marquis
Je Lafayette have permission to go to France; and
that he return at such time as shall be most conve-
nient to him.

“That he be informed, that in a review of his
conduct in the past campaign, and particularly
during the period in which he had the chief com-
mand in Virginia, the many new proofs which pre-
sent themselves of his zealous attachment to the
cause which he has espoused, and of his judgment,
vigilance, gallantry, and address in its defence, have
greatly added to the high opinion entertained by
Congress of his merits and military talents:

“ That he make known to the officers and troops
which he commanded during that period, that the
brave and enterprising services with which they
seconded his zeal and efforts, and which enabled him
to defeat the attempts of an enemy far superior in
umbers, have been beheld by Congress with parti
cular satisfaction and approbation:

“ That the Secretary of Foreign Affairs acquaint
the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States,
that it is the design of Congress that they confer
with tne Marquis de Lafayette, and avail themselvesLIFE OF LAFAYETTE 1093

of his information relative to the situation of public
affairs in the United States:

“That the Secretary of Foreign Affairs further
acquaint the Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court
of Versailles, that he will conform to the intention
of Congress, by consulting with, and employing the
assistance of the Marquis de Lafayette, in accele-
rating the supplies which may be afforded by his
Most Christian Majesty for the use of the United
States:

“That the Superintendent of Finance, the Secre-
tary of Foreign Affairs, and the Board of War,
make such communications to the Marquis de
Lafayette, touching the affairs of their respective
departments, as will best enable him to fulfil the
purpose of the two resolutions immediately pre-
ceding :

“ That the Superintendent of Finance take order
for discharging the engagements entered into by the
Marquis de Lafayette with the merchants of Bal-
timore.

“ Ordered, That the Superintendent of Finance
furnish the Marquis de Lafayette with a proper
conveyance to France:

“That the Secretary of Foreign Affairs report aETE STS STLART LTRs TaTAT Aa Re Be absceshieseiecsk shbeeste teat Seats ekaxets Sixth ay sitetrtcthintese pat acetates Sere ’
See tte peste = > SEES Seats hhseteegos cc teseneteeples gee

eerie ee eres

   

{10 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

letter to his Most Christian Majesty, to be sent by
the Marquis de Lafayette.”

Lafayette embarked for Europe in December,
1781, and arrived in France early in January.
Beside the official testimonials of Congress, he car-
ried many letters from high functionaries in this
country. Among these was a letter from Robert
Morris, Superintendent of Finance, urging upon Dr.
Franklin the propriety of consulting the Marquis in
the business of his mission. Mr. Morris writes :—
“JT have such perfect confidence, as well in the pru-
dence of the Marquis as in his attachment to this
country, that, the acts of Congress out of the ques-
tion, I should feel a pleasure in making him ac-
quainted with my views and wishes. Indeed, |
expect that his zeal and activity will go far in
smoothing the way toward the accomplishment of
those objects which your excellency has to solicit.”

But, to procure him an appropriate reception at
home, Lafayette needed no testimonials. His fame
had preceded him. His reception at court was
extremely flattering; and his own countrymen
greeted him, wherever he went, with an enthusiasm
and a popular fervour like that which he always met
in America. He was indeed at home in both hemi-
spheres. The friend of humanity, and the advocateLIFE OF LAFAYETTR,

Iii

of the rights of the individual, the considerate su-
perior, and the nobleman in heart as we.l as by
birth —had all the titled been like Lafayette, the
horrors of the French revolution would not dim the
pages of history.

After remaining a short time in Paris, respected
by the Court and idolized by the people, Lafayette
visited his estates in Tourraine. Thence he visited
many of the German Courts; having yet scarcely
exceeded the age at which young men commence
their travels to complete their education, and yet
having already won the reputation of a statesman
and a soldier, and crowded so many events into the
first years of his life, that he entered upon man’s
estate with more fame and experience than most
men lie down to die with, at the close of the ordi-
nary pilgrimage.

In September, 1782, Lafayette visited the Court
of the great Frederick of Prussia. When the
Prussian monarch was apprised of his arrival, he
invited him at once to Sans Souci, and there fre-
quently entered with him into long and interesting
conversations. It was a passion with Frederick to
gather about him the celebrated in literature, arts,
and arms and to employ his great mind in efforts
to develope the knowledge of others. In a long112 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

letter which Lafayette wrote to Washington, be-
tween whom and himself the most affectionate
attachment continued, the Marquis gave his distin-
guished friend a particular account of his visit to
the Court of Frederick, and dwelt with much plea-
sure on the plaudits which were everywhere bestowed
upon Washington. Frederick, who was a judge,
competent as ever lived, of the character of military
reputation, warmly praised the manner in which the
American war had been conducted; and as an
earnest of his friendship for the Marquis, presented
him with his miniature set in brilliants, remarking,
that he hoped this trifling memento would sometimes
recall him to his recollection.

While absent in Europe, Lafayette never forgot
his attachment for America, but continued his ex-
ertions in her behalf, not only in taking all the mea-
sures which were within his power to accelerate the
completion of the treaty, but in efforts to induce the
French government to bring matters to a crisis, by
employing a larger force in America. At length he
saw his wishes realized. Count D’Estaing was
about to sail from Cadiz with a fleet, on board of
which were eight thousand French and Spanish
troops, destined for service in America. Lafayette
was appointed Adjutant-General to the Count, andLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, | es:

proceeded to Cadiz to join the expedition, when the
sailing of the fleet was countermanded, and its de-
parture arrested by the news of peace.

Ever mindful of his American friends, the Marquis
applied immediately to the Count D’Estaing, request-
ing him to furnish a fast-sailing vessel, which might
immediately proceed to America with this agree-
able intelligence. ‘The request was acceded to, and
by a happy coincidence the swift sailer happened
to be the corvette Triumph. That vessel arrived
at Philadelphia on the 23d of March, and the intel-
igence she brought was much earlier than the offi-
cial, or any other account was received. Thus, by
the considerate humanity of Lafayette, were hos-
tilities much earlier closed than they would have
been. Many lives were spared by land and sea; to
say nothing of the joy and gladness which were
thus early spread over the length and breadth of the
land the young hero had so heartily befriended.

We need not say that there needed no extraor-
dinary effort to spread such tidings, or that the Joy
of the people was unbounded. Here was a close to
their long struggle, often so hopeless, and the happy
tidings hurried to them too, by the man who had
peen, under Providence, one of the most important
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114 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

agents in producing the result. Congress instantly
took action upon the intelligence. It arrived on
Sunday, the 23d, and the following is an extract
from Monday’s journal:

“A letter of February 5th, from the Marquis de
Lafayette, announcing a general peace, and a copy
of orders given by the Count D’Estaing, Vice-Ad-
miral of France, to the Chevalier Du Quesne, com-
mander of the corvette Triumph, despatched from
Cadiz on the 6th of February last, for the purpose
of putting a stop to all hostilities by sea, being laid
before Congress and read:

“Resolved, That the Agent of Marine be, and he
is hereby directed, immediately to recall all armed
vessels cruising under commissions from the United
States of America.”

The exertions of the Marquis, so great and un-
ceasing had they been, called forth the official action
of Congress, On the 10th of April the following
resolution was passed:

“Resolved, ‘That Congress are satisfied with the
reasons which have prevailed with Major-General
the Marquis de Lafayette, for his stay in Europe
and his consequent absence from his command
the United States; and have a high sense of the

5LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. ll

new proof he has exhibited of his zeal in the cause
of the said States, and of his constant attachment
to their interests and welfare.”

On the 18th of April the general orders of the
commander-in-chief directed the publication of the
cessation of hostilities. We subjoin an extract from
this highly interesting document: — “The com-
mander-in-chief orders the cessation of hostilities
between the United States of America and the King
of Great Britain, to be publicly proclaimed to-mor-
row at twelve, at the new building; and that the
proclamation which will be communicated herewith,
be read to-morrow evening at the head of every
regiment and corps of the army; after which the
chaplains, with the several brigades, will render
thanks to Almighty God for all his mercies, particu-
larly for his overruling the wrath of men to his own
glory, and causing the rage of war to cease among
the nations.

‘Although the proclamation before alluded to
extends only to the prohibition of hostilities, and
not to the annunciation of a general peace, yet it
must afford the most rational and sincere satisfac-
tion to every benevolent mind, as it puts a period to
a long and doubtful contest, stops the effusion ofeer
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116 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

human blood, opens the prospect io a more splendid
scene, and, like another morning star, promises the
approach of a brighter day than hath hitherto illu-
minated the western hemisphere. On such a happy
day, which is the harbinger of peace—a day which
completes the eighth year of the war, it would be
ingratitude not to rejoice—it would be insensibility
not to participate in the general felicity.”LIFE OF LAFAYETTB.

CHAPTER X.

Visit of Lafayette to America in 1784 — Resolution of Congress —
fsrival and Reception at New York —Triumphal Extrance into
Philadelphia—Honour paid him by the Legislature—Visit to Mount
Vernon—Reception in Baltimore—Visit to the Six Nations—Pre-
sentation of the Freedom of New York—Visit to Massachusetts—
Proceedings in Boston—Touching Incident at Marblehead—Visit to
Virginia—Takes Leave of Washington—Proceedings in several of

‘he State Legislatures—The Marquis takes Leave of Congress—
Kmbarks for Europe.

N the summer of 1784, Lafayette de-
termined to pay America another visit,
to observe the fruits, in peace, of the
political independence which he had
aided to secure. ‘To this he was moved
by his private friendships, as well as by his
public attachments. After the establishment
of peace he had not intermitted his disinte-
rested labours, not only for the national in-
‘erests of America, but for the advantage of indi-
vidual citizens, whenever opportunity presented.
{lis services were acknowledged in the following
resolution of Congress, passed cn the 3d of May
1784 ;118 LIFB OF LAFAYETTE.

“Resolved, That a letter be written by the Presi
dent to the Marquis de Lafayette, expressing the
high sense which Congress entertains of his impor-
tant services, relative to the commerce of France
and these United States, and particularly to free
ports; and that there is every reason to expect
mutual and permanent advantages from these liberal
measures, adopted by his Most Christian Majesty.”

Lafayette arrived at New York on the 4th of
August. As soon as his arrival was known, all the
officers who had served under him during the war,
the citizens who had the pleasure of his acquaint-
ance, and the thousands who knew him by repute.
tion, hastened to bid him welcome. On the day
after his arrival he was invited to a eolendid enter-
tainment, at which the officers appeared in tne uni-
. forms which they had laid aside with the war. ‘The
readiness and impromptu character of this festival—
the first of which Lafayette partock wm America
after the acknowledgement of her incerendence—
added to the enjoyment of so happy ar occasion;
for long preparation oftener mars than meskes a fete.

After spending a few days in New Ycrk he de-
parted for Philadelphia, whither the nevs of his
arrival in the country, and of his intendeé¢ visit, had
flown before him. He was met at a dis ince fromNH Hi ig ——
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the city by a numerous escort, consisting of officers
who had served in the continental army, officers of
the militia, and a great number of citizens. The
ringing of bells and salvoes of artillery announced
his entrance. The streets, the doors, windows,
roofs—every place on his route which offered a
foothold, were crowded with spectators, and the air
resounded with hearty acclamations of welcome,
doubly grateful because heartfelt and spontaneous,
After visiting the Executive of the State he was

onducted to his rooms in the City Hotel, where he
iol of a splendid supper; and in the evening
there was a general illumination.

On the next day, Generals Wayne, St. Clair, and
irwin waited upon Lafayette, in behalf of the offi-
cers of the continental army, to congratulate him
on his arrival, and tender him the respects of the
Pennsylvania Line. The Legislature of the State
appointed a committee, consisting of one member
from each county, who presented him with a feeling
and grateful address, to which he made a happy
reply. Citizens and public functionaries vied with
li other in their testimonies of respect to the
man who had been so uniform and zealous a friend
of their country.

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120 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

his beloved friend Wasuineron, Lafayette left Phila-
delphia on the 14th, and hurried through to Mount
Vernon, where he arrived on the 19th—a rate of
travel expeditious in those days, though it would be
deemed dilatory now. After passing twelve happy
days with Washington, he returned to Baltimore,
and was received with hearty enthusiasm and joy.
He was presented with an address by a committee
of the principal citizens of Baltimore, and was the
guest at a civic festival, at which more than three
hundred persons were present.

His public services in this country were not yet
closed. Such was the reputation which the Mar-
quis de Lafayette had won, while yet only in his
twenty-eighth year, that the committee of Congress
who had been deputed to treat with the Six Nations
of Indians, invited him to accompany them on the
embassy; he having often treated with these savages
during the war. Upon his way to Fort Schuyler,
he was presented with the freedom of the city of
New York in a golden box, and invited to a superb
entertainment by the officers of the line then residing
in that city.

After participating in the “ talk” with the Indians,
Lafayette proceeded to Boston, via Hartford and
Worcester, everywhere making a triumphal pro-LIFE OF LAFAYETTR. 12)

gress. He was met several miles from Boston by a
military escort, and citizens in carriages; and as
ae drew near the town the concourse was every
noment increased. His approach was announced
by the ringing of bells and firing of cannon; and
as he entered State Street he was received with the
national salute of thirteen guns. Having presented
himself in the balcony of the old provincial building,
now called the Old State-House, he was received
with deafening cheers, and made his acknowledge-
ments to the people with his usual grace and
affability.

The officers of the Line in Boston, as in other
places, rendered him their affectionate congratula-
tions. The State authorities made the 19th of
October, the anniversary of the surrender of Corn-
wallis, the occasion of conferring public honours
upon their illustrious guest. He was received by
the executive and legislative officers of the State,
the Governor as their orator, in eloquent and im-
pressive terms, testifying to him the high esteem
and gratitude of the State. From the State-House
he was conducted to the City Hotel, where, in an
appropriately ornamented saloon, a splendid enter-
tainment was prepared; and the thirteen regular
toasts were each celebrated by thirteen guns. Theeine tt hake bei ein se Se Steet etek s epi tee e el Tost ee oe ae cots pe abek ethers tetet phil ge de esi iB oetyethsD Teregsecssssisspeees Sco ecetiee cee ees Sta 3 £i3. §
Sra hes ae Se ate = ge eee oes aie rah eh pasate yeast ees et tee Sspaepage sa h23% RR Iidp A
pe ee - =o ae

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122 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

festivities of the day closed with a grand ball and
fireworks.

By invitation of the Legislature, Lafayette at-
tended many of their sessions during his stay in
Boston. After a few days he made a tour through
the eastern part of Massachusetts to Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, where many of his old friends re-
sided. Everywhere he was received with the most
hearty welcome. We have not space to notice one-
tenth of the ceremonies which took place in his
honour, but cannot pass over an incident which
occurred in the small, but public-spirited and _ patri-
otic town of Marblehead. ‘The Marquis appeared
astonished at the large number of ladies mingled
with the male citizens who had been deputed to
receive him. “ These,” said the orator of the oc-
casion, who perceived the surprise of the Marquis,
“are the widows of those who perished in the Re-
volutionary War, and the mothers of children, for
whose liberty you have contended in the field of
battle. ‘They are now here in the places of their
husbands, many of whom were once known to you.”
We may here remark that Marblehead, in the honour
of furnishing soldiers, was the “ banner town ;” for
its proportion to the whole number of inhabitantsLIFE OF LAFAYETTR. 123

was greater than that of any other place in the
United States.

After visiting Rhode Island, Lafayette embarked
at Boston for Virginia, and in November arrived at
Williamsburg, the place of his head-quarters during
a great part of the arduous Virginia campaign.
In Virginia, the defender of her soil was hailed and
welcomed with most affectionate rapture. The
Legislature, then in session, deputed a committee
of five, among whom were James Madison and
Patrick Henry, to present their respects; which
duty was performed in a touching manner. Lafay-
ette responded with heartfelt emotion. From Rich-
mond Lafayette accompanied Washington to Mount
Vernon; and here awaited him the civilities of the
citizens of Alexandria and Annapolis, and the ad-
dress of the Legislature of Maryland, then in ses-
sion in the latter city.

At this time, or within a short period afterward,
many of the States passed acts naturalizing him
formally, who had estabiished so excellent a right
to be considered a citizen. In 1784, Maryland
passed an act of naturalization, couched in warm
terms, to which the language of legislation is usually
unaccustomed. Connecticut followed the example;
Massachusetts passed a special act in favour of theayaH

  

[24 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

Marquis and his family; Virginia and some other
States passed bills of the same nature. The col-
leges of Harvard and Princeton conferred on him
the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws; and most
of the scientific and other societies adopted him as
a member.

Virginia, whose soil was the scene of his most
glorious exploits and valuable services, ordered a
bust of the Marquis to be placed in the capitol of
that State. Nor did the zeal of the Legislature stop
here, but anxious to testify in his own land its grati-
tude to a Frenchman, the legislature caused a bust
of Lafayette to be presented to the city of Paris.
The municipality, with the expressed approval of the
French King, formally accepted the bust, and placed
it in one of the halls of the Hotel-de-Ville, where,
during the revolution, it was broken to pieces by
the mad fury of the Jacobins. The ceremony of
the official reception of the bust, included the
reading of the resolution of the Virginia Legisla
ture, and other documents relative to the subject,
and the delivery of an oration by the Attorney-
Genera., M. Ethit de Corny, a member of the Ame-
rican Society of the Cincinnati. In this address.
M. Corny sketched the various services which La-
fayette had rendered to the American Republic, andLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 124

the confidence and affection felt for him by the
American army and people. This novel ceremony
created quite a sensation among the vivacious Pari-
sians, whose national pride and love of the pictu-
resque were at once gratified by a testimony so
touching and unusual.

In strict order of time the erection of this bust
belongs to a later period, as it took place in 1786.
But as our subsequent chapters will be occupied
with the great events which took place in Europe,
we have chosen to introduce it here; and for the
same reason give in this place one or two other
anecdotes and incidents. In 1787, one hundred
buildings were destroyed by fire in the part of
Boston called “South End.” Of these buildings
sixty were dwelling-houses; and the conflagration
caused great distress, by making many families
houseless, and even penniless. Lafayette, as soon
as he heard of the calamity, authorised his corre-
spondent in Boston, Samuel Breck, Esq., to draw
on him for three hundred pounds sterling; within a
fraction, exchange considered, of fifteen hundred
dollars, to be applied to the relief of the destitute.
Acts like this, of noble munificence, show him to
have been the worthy possessor of the great wealth
which he enjoyed; and it may be remarked thatath
ua

126 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

large donations like this, which necessarily were
made public, formed but a comparatively small por-
tion of the amount which, as a good steward, he
dispersed among those who needed his kind offices.
In hundreds of cases he added to the benefit con-
ferred, by the delicacy with which he screened the
act from the public eye.

On very many occasions he found opportunity to
confer essential and timely succour upon Americans
in Europe; and this aid often reached them not only
unsolicited but unexpected. Sometimes it was at
the expense of his private purse, at others by the
exertion of the influence of his position. In the
matter of simple courtesy and affability, his de-
meanour was always delightful to the citizens of the
United States, and his house was ever open to them.
“You are now in America,” he said once to an
American who was his guest at La Grange. “Ame-
rica!” said the visitor, not comprehending him.
“ Yes, this apartment is what I call America.” ‘The
gentleman looked around him, and beheld every-
where arranged the tokens of his country. The
American flag, trophies and mementoes of the Re-
volution, articles received as memorials of esteem,
maps of states and cities, plans of campaigns, por-
traits of Washington and other distinguished Ame:LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 127

ricans, American books and newspaper files, and,
one of the most highly prized of all his treasures,
the electrical machine with which Franklin had
made so many experiments, and which he had pre-
sented as a token of his esteem to the illustrious
Frenchman.

The inhabitants of the Island of Nantucket, in
1786, adopted a curious and primitive method of
testifying their regard for the Marquis, and of
showing that, though separated from the main land,
they were not cut off from their share of respect
and gratitude. As a general acknowledgement, and
as a particular mark of their gratitude for the ser-
vice conferred by Lafayette, in procuring the admis-
sion of American whale oil into France on the same
terms that it was received from the Hanseatic
Towns—a measure which vastly benefited the Island
of Nantucket—it was, by the inhabitants in corpo-
ration assembled,

“Voted and resolved, That each of them should
contribute the milk afforded by his cow during the
space of twenty-four hours; that the whole quantity
thus obtained should be manufactured into a cheese
weighing five hundred pounds ; and that the same
should be transmitted to the Marquis de Lafayette,
as a feeble, but not less sincere testimonial, of the§
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128 LIFE OF LAFAYETTR.

allection and gratitude of the inhabitants of Nan
tucket.”

We must now resume the thread of our narrative.
At Annapolis Washington and Lafayette exchanged
their last affectionate adieux, and closed a persona]
intercourse which is one of the most touching and
beautiful passages in the history of a time, whict.
abounded in affecting incidents and the exercise of
noble friendships.

Lafayette arrived on the 8th of December at
Trenton, where Congress was then in session, to
take leave of that body. On the 9th he received
and replied to the congratulations of the Legislature
of New Jersey. On the 11th, the committee directed
in the following resolution of Congress, at the head
of which was Mr. Jay, performed the duty assigned
to them. The resolution passed Congress on the
9th.

“Resolved, That a committee, to consist of one
member from each State, be appointed to receive
the Marquis, and in the name of Congress to take
leave of him. That they be instructed to assure
him, that Congress continue to entertain the same
high sense of his abilities and zeal to promote the
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former occasions, and which the recent marks of
his attention to their commercial and other interests
jave perfectly confirmed. That, as his uniform and
unceasing attachment to this country has resembled
that of a patriotic citizen, the United States regard
him with particular affection, and will not cease to
feel an interest in whatever may concern his honour
and prosperity; and that their best and kindest
wishes will always attend him.

“Resolved, That a letter be written to his Most
Christian Majesty, to be signed by his Excellency
the President of Congress, expressive of the high
sense which the United States, in Congress assem-
bled, entertain of the zeal, talents, and meritorious
services of the Marquis de Lafayette, and recom-
mending him to the favour and patronage of his
Majesty.”

To the communication of the foregoing, and the
address of Mr. Jay, the Marquis made the following
reply :

“Sim:—While it pleases the United States in
Congress so kindly to receive me, I want words to
express the feelings of a heart, which delights in
their present situation and the bestowed marks of
their esteem.

“Since I joined the standard of liberty, to this130 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

| wished-for hour of my personal congratulations, |
have seen such glorious deeds performed, and virtues
displayed by the sons of America, that in the instant
of my first concern for them, I had anticipated but
a part of the love and regard which devote me to
this rising empire.

“During our revolution, sir, I obtamed an unli-
mited, indulgent confidence, which I am equally
happy and proud to acknowledge; it dates with the
time when, an inexperienced youth, I could only
claim my respected friends’ paternal adoption. It
has been most benevolently continued throughout
every circumstance of the cabinet and the field;
and in personal friendships I have often found a
support against public difficulties. While, on this
solemn occasion, I mention my obligations to Con-
gress, the States, the people at large, permit me also
to remember the dear military companions, to whose
services the country is so much indebted.

“ Having felt both for the timely aid of my country
and for the part which she, with a beloved king,
acted in the cause of mankind, I enjoy an alliance
so well riveted by mutual affection, by interest, and
even local situation. Recollection insures it. Fu-
turity does but enlarge the prospect ; and the private
intercourse wil] every day increase, which indepen:LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 13]

dent and advantageous trade cherishes, in proportion
as it is well understood.

“In unbounded wishes to America, sir, I am
happy to observe the prevailing disposition of the
people to strengthen the confederation, preserve
public faith, regulate trade; and, in a proper guard
over continental magazines and frontier posts, In a
general system of militia, in foreseeing attention to
the navy, to ensure every kind of safety. May this
immense temple of freedom ever stand, a lesson to
Oppressors, an example to the oppressed, and <
sanctuary for the rights of mankind! And may
these happy United States attain that complete
splendour and prosperity, which will illustrate the
blessings of their government, and for ages to come
rejoice the departed souls of its founders!

“ Hoover unwilling to trespass on your time, i
must yet present you with grateful thanks for the
la'¢ favours of Congress ; and never can they oblige
me so much, as when they put it in my power, in
every part of the world, to the latest day of my
life, to gratify the attachment, which will ever rank
me among the most zealous and respectful servants
of the United States.”

Lafayette, after this solemn and affecting farewell,
repaired to New York, and embarked on board Laaries
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132 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

Nymphe frigate to return to France. The vessel
sailed on the 25th of December, 1784. He was
accompanied to the vessel by the Governor of tne
State, the French Consul, the officers of the army,
and a number of citizens. The flaz of the United
States waved over the Battery, which gave him a
salute of thirteen guns, and La Nymphe answered
with the same number, as he stepped on her deck.
Little dreamed he, amid the auspicious circumstances
in which he left the United States, what scenes
awaited him in his native country.LIFE OF LAFAYETTE

CHAPTER XI.

The French Revolution — Prefatory Remarks —The Position of La
fayette— Assembly of the Notables —Lafayette’s Propositions —
Convocation of the States-General—It resolves itself into a National
Assembly — Lafayette’s Declaration of Rights — Institution of the
National Guard—Appointment of Lafayette to its Command—De-
struction of the Bastile—Butchery of Foulon and Berthier—Lafayette
saves the Lives of the Royal Family—Gratitude of the Court—

Fraternization of the Soldiers—The Removal to Paris — Horrid
Saturnalia.

Moss > 6 are now approaching a portion of

Hi aa he

aN Ne oe vay the hfe of Lafayette, in which it is
“Aa oO more difficult to present him to the
mee? young reader than in any other part
i le of his career; the participation which
*\4% he bore in the French Revolution. But
aN while the friends of hereditary rule and
44\° feudal abuse on the one hand, and on the

other the sanguinary Jacobins, abused his
person, misrepresented his conduct, and vilified his
motives, it is clear that the conduct which displeased
both extremes, was based upon high and sound prin-
tiples. ‘These principles, while at war with oppres-wu -

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

i34 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE

sion and hereditary tyranny, were no less obnoxious
to sanguinary and indiscriminate oppositicn. While
Lafayette may claim the glory of the enunciation,
in Europe, of the great principles upon which the
| French Revolution commenced, he is in no way to
| be held accountable for the excesses which grew
out of their declaration; or for the prostitution of
the name of liberty to those foul and most terrible
massacres and murders, which make that passage
of modern history, the eighteenth century, more
than a parallel to any page of the ancient times.
Indeed, so far from holding him accountable, the
reader will perceive that his influence was among
the last which was exerted, with any effect or suc-
cess, against outrage and murder ; and that, indeed,
he sacrificed himself in the effort to resist the blind
rage of a maddened and an oppressed people—who,
having burst at last from restraint, abused the free-
dom which they were neither prepared to appreciate
nor to improve.

That a necessity existed for a change in the condi-
tion of the French people; that the rights of the
individual were habitually unrecognised, except those
of such individuals as belonged to the privileged
classes; and that the rights of any subject were set
at naught and trampled upon, at the will of absolu-

Soe ene eee tr eoeeratrcnsnns teeterett st isi bitgsts cous tehh ar ab head otc: ch be chetthet risicd GREER Ese oR CRCRSREoeha sete ALSS St sisetats Biertesitsrpiaree ee ed
ere ae Steet mee tan ae nee eee eee oad a ata eae ret t Bia poeestt te westh he tata nae : ne Bhs 23
ee ee Iz Ta “afLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 135

‘ism—expediency, not justice, being the only fimita-
tion to the caprices of tyranny: all these are his-
torical facts—facts which can never be forgotten,
while their consequences are written in such deep.
staring, frightful letters of blood, as are the records
of the French Revolution.

The arbitrary taxation of two centuries, imposed
by the mere will of the crown, had not sufficed to
meet the expenses of misgovernment and the pro-
fligacy of the Court. Louis XVI., a man who in
times of ordinary quiet would have been remarkable
for nothing, perhaps, but his passive benevolence,
came to the throne at the very time when a man of
sterner stuff was necessary to breast the storm. A
tyrant was required to defend the abuses of tyranny.
Louis gave way before the pressure from without ;
and the very concessions which, in a strong mon-
arch, might have blessed his people, and formed the
foundation of an equitable and orderly government,
ended in the overthrow of the French monarchy,
and the long train of terrible events which followed.
Great results have indeed been produced, but by a
most terrible process; and the time has even now
hardly arrived, when men can look justly and _philo-
sophically upon the French Revolution, and weigh
its cost against its consequences.Serer sea tass tie so ol iota pesos She Spica sta eather at ie eto: spe ee pater as iel th RARE SEEGSS Ce PRSSSROE ICES OES

136 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

It is not to be disputed that, if its impulse was
not. absolutely derived from the American Revolu-
tion, the first steps of its progress were guided by
that great example. The friends of freedom in this
country, hailed with joy the opening scenes of what
promised the erection of a republic in Europe. and
the recognition of the rights of man all over the
world. That their joy was turned to horror, as
the drama which was opened with so much fair
promise became so foul a tragedy, will readily be
conceived. If the position of Americans as mere
spectators was so perplexing, what must have been
that of Lafayette, whose principles, character, and
position, whose ardent love of justice, and love of
his country, made him embrace with zeal the course
which the voice of the people indicated to him.
Once recognised as one of the leaders of the
movement, his position, as has been truly remarked,
was “without parallel in history. The annals of
the human race exhibit no other instance of a posi-
tion, comparable for its unintermitted perils, its deep
responsibilities, and its providential issues, with that
which he occupied as commander-general of the
National Guard, and as a leader of the Constituent
Assembly.” It was indeed unparalleled; and the
more so that Lafayette, far from seeking like ordLIFE OF LAFAYETTE 137

nary men—and great men are oftenest ordinary in
-his particular—to make circumstances favourable
to his ambition, or to sacrifice principles to the
times, he was throughout consistent in his adher-
ence to the great aims with which he commenced;
and when he could no longer see a prospect of de-
fending or pursuing them, and had lost his power
In averting evil, he abandoned the cause as hopeless.
Enlightened, generous self-sacrifice, too noble and
high-minded for contemporary appreciation, now
places his name high in honour among the bene-
factors of his race.

In February, 1787, De Calonne, the French Mi-
nister of Finance, or Comptroller-General, finding
himself inextricably involved, prevailed upon the
king to convene what was called an assembly of
Notables—a selection from all the grandees and
dignitaries of the kingdom. In this assembly, every
interest was represented but that. of the people. Of
this meeting Lafayette was a member. It was di-
vided into seven sections or bureaux, each presided
over by a prince of the blood; and Lafayette was
a member of the division under the charge of the
young Count d’Artois, who in our own time suc-
ceeded to the throne as Charles X., and in th:Serer ater enti eesceaterateresn os tetestr ies) tec tte sets oes eet ir aril ar 1 tip ot itses totter ee eeese ik Cee ih eee peieet retest ss tasteet eeceettaee acetate:

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138 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

events connected with whose abdication in 1830.
Lafayette appeared in his last important public acts.

At the convocation of the Notables, while others
were engaged in the temporary expedients waich
called them together, Lafayette’s wishes and hopes
reached something more comprehensive—a reform
more searching. He brought forward three im-
portant propositions: —the abolishment of Lettres
de Cachet and all arbitrary imprisonment ; the estab-
lishment of religious toleration and restoration of
the civil rights of the Protestants ; and the convoca
tion of a national assembly, representing the people
of France.

The demand for the creation of a national as
sembly alarmed the Count d’Artois, even though he
did not perceive its whole drift, but saw in it only a
temporary convocation of the States-General—that
is to say, of the clergy, nobility, and representatives
of the people. The Assembly of the Notables re-
sulted in nothing but the overthrow and dismissior
of the Minister, Calonne. He was succeeded by
Necker, who endeavoured to revive and enforce the
old mode of taxation by edicts. He was resistea
by the Parliaments, and as a last resort recommended
a convocation of the States-General, a measure
whicn had not been before resorted to for nearlyabel eT

mite ina

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 13S

two hundred years. The States-General assembled
on the Sth of May, Lafayette having a seat in the
body. Several weeks were consumed in struggles
between the three orders; the States-General re-
solved itself, on the 17th of June, 1789, into the
National Assembly, or more properly into the Con-
stituent Assembly, as the former term distinguishes
the legislative body which met under the constitution;
the representatives of the people refusing to deli-
berate in separate chambers, and compelling the
nobility and clergy to meet with them, or not at all,
as legislators.

On the 11th of July, Lafayette submitted in the
National Assembly a declaration of rights, which
was the basis of that afterwards adopted, and pub-
lished with the constitution. In the course of the
debate which preceded its adoption, Lafayette pro-
nounced the memorable sentence: — “ Insurrection
against tyrants 1s the holiest of duties.” This has
served in Europe as the theme of endless denuncia-
tion against its author. Probably, as suggested
by John Quincy Adams, Lafayette borrowed the
sentiment from the mouth of Jefferson—* Rebellion
against tyrants 1s obedience to God.” How Lafay-
ette understood the maxim has been shown in his
conduct. ‘I'hat his countrymen misapplied it, is one140 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

of the consequences of the condition to which op
pression had reduced them ; and in the circumstances
of the very time at which it was uttered, there was
sufficient to madden the nation. The king had
made the effort to overawe the Assembly by sur-
rounding the place where they were in session with
troops. Thirty-five thousand men were cantoned
in the neighbourhood of Paris, and twenty thousand
more were held in readiness.

The people rose in insurrection, and the Bastile,
which had frowned upon France four hundred years,
and which had once withstood a siege of twenty-
three days, was, on the 14th of July, destroyed by
the people in about the same number of hours that it
had endured centuries. With this edifice fell arbi-
trary imprisonment, and the “lettre de cachet,” a
form of arrest which put the life and liberty of any
citizen at the power of the crown, without assigning
any reason or specifying any offence. The key of
this building was afterwards sent by Lafayette to
Washington. The destruction of this prison was
an event so glorious for the human race, that all
men but tyrants and their advocates rejoiced at the
removal of such a monument of despotism; while
the hurried and fiendish execution of the governor
and several other persons, summarily hanged, orLIFR OF LAFAYETTE, 14

torn in pieces by the mob, caused a shudder of
horror. ‘This was but the commencement, however
of the sickening atrocities which accompanied the
rising of the French nation against its hereditary
oppressors.

One of the measures which grew out of the
“ Constituent Assembly” was the establishment of
the National Guard. Of this guard Lafayette was
almost spontaneously elected commander; a choice
confirmed by Louis XVI, who on the 17th of July,
the day following the election of Lafayette, visited
Paris, where he was received by the National Guard
with Lafayette at its head. This movement of
J.ouis, in whatever other light we may regard it,
must be conceded to have shown the possession of
courage and patriotism; and the Parisian populace,
ever ready to recognise an appeal to their confi-
dence, even in those whom they might the next hour
doom to destruction, celebrated the monerch’s ar-
rival with shouts of Vive le Roi!

Could the duty of reorganizing the government
have been left indeed to the Constituent Assembly,
the revolution might have been conducted in such a
mauner as to secure the ends at which it aimed, if
not with immediate success, at least without blocd-
shed and anarchy. But while the Assembly wereat

142 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

in session at Verseilles, the mob were at work ir
Paris; not only acting without recogn tion of the
proceedings of the Assembly, but awing and intiml-
dating it by lawless violence. While the Assembly
talked of insisting upon the king’s recalling M.
Necker, who had been superseded as minister by
M. Foulon, the latter fled in terror. He was over-
taken and brought before the Assembly, whi'e the
people clamoured for his death. Lafayette, as tue
only means of rescuing him, ordered him to be <on-
ducted to prison; but he was seized by the mob and
hanged, almost in presence of the whole Nattonal
Assembly. M. Berthier, the son-in-law of Fou’on,
arriving in Paris the same evening, was massac-ed
by those who had imbued their hands in the dlood
of his relation. Both these murders were com-
mitted despite the entreaties and even tears ci La-
fayette, before whom the heart of Berthier was torn
from his body and held in exulting triumph. Sick-
ened and disgusted, Lafayette on the instant sur-
rendered his command to the Mayor of Paris. In
his communication making this tender, he declared
that though devoted to his last breath to the inte-
rest of the people, he was incapable of purchasing
their favour by unjustly consenting to their wishes.
Ho desired to abandon a post in which he said heLIFE OF LAFAYETTR. 143

could no longer be useful. But this decision wag
overruled, and at the earnest entreaty of the As-
sembly and of the friends of order, he was induced
to withdraw his resignation. He resumed his com-
mand and his activity. Everywhere present, he was
the means of preventing many atrocities, and of
saving the victims of popular fury more than once,
even after rufhanly hands had adjusted the ropes at
the lamp-hooks, to launch the objects of the popular
hate into eternity. Meanwhile, he still laboured in
the Constituent Assembly, supporting with heart and
voice all measures of true reform, and identifying
himself with whatever of good was done by that
body.

It should be borne in mind that the sessions of
the Constituent Assembly were held at Versailles,
which also had long been the royal residence; and
there resided what shadow of a court remained to
the king. It 1s situated about ten miles from Paris.
On the 5th of October the Parisians having deter-
mined to insist upon the king’s removal to Paris,
Lafayette, after vainly striving to divert the Na-
tional Guard from their resolution, marched at their
head to Versailles. His reluctance to go has caused
much animadversion, principally from the fact that

it was misunderstood. The guard went, not to pro-Serer ee eee ntrnre aetretc tn tc Sts stda ht css teSLEE OE Seas is: sabe gE ESET LERESS LETRA SEAT Te Peta ea SSD Behe estates ceaee* Silas Se ERaE SS Shot cab en tt.
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144 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

tect Versailles, but avowedly to bring the king to
Paris. Had the first been their sincere and sole
purpose, Lafayette would have offered no opposi-
tion; and when at last he consented, it was to turn
their obstinacy and anarchy to a better account
than they had intended. He hesitated to undertake
the defence of the king, in a mode that might result
in the opposite of the thing purposed; but having
at last divided the responsibility with the municipality
of Paris, he set out with eight battalions.

The public distrust had been excited by rumours,
since established, that it was the purpose to remove
the king to Metz. Famine existed in Paris, in part
the effect of natural causes, in part the consequence
which must follow long-continued disturbance of the
public peace, and suspension of law and order.
The people were also irritated beyond measure by
feasts and fetes of the aristocracy and Life-Guards,
which the royal family countenanced at least, if they
did not participate in them. A hungry mob from
Paris, principally women, first took possession of
the chambers of the Constituent Assembly, inter-
rupting the debates, applauding, and even embracing
their favourites. The President of the Assembly
and fifteen of the members, went with twelve women
of the dregs of Paris to the king. He receivedLIFE OF LAFAYETTER, 145

them courteously, and they retired pacified; but
their infuriated companions without would have
murdered them, had not the Life-Guards rescued
the unlucky deputies from their companions. Now
began confusion and serious tumult. Shots were
fired, and wounds given; when toward midnight
Lafayette arrived at the scene with his battalions.
It had been a stormy march. Several times the
commander’s life had been threatened; but he suc-
ceeded at last in bringing his troops to such a dis-
position, having sworn them to faithfulness to the
king, that he had confidence in them; and they did
not betray that confidence.

Lafayette reported his arrival, first to the Assem-
bly, and then at the palace. Here again the blind
observance of military etiquette, of which we have
before had occasion to speak, produced a serious
difficulty. Had he received entire charge of the
palace, interior as well as exterior, the memorable
night of October 5th, 1789, would have passed, if
not quietly, at least without the outrage and murder
with which it was stained. He left the interior to
officers there in command, and placed strong guards
on the outposts. Meanwhile, the authorities in
charge of the palace sent to their homes in the
town the greater number of the officers of the Life-
K146 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE

Guards, and sent away to Rambouillet four hundrea
of those troops.

Trusting that others had done ther duty as we.]
as himself—the mischief was an error arising from
a command divided without concert—and deceived
by the appearance of tranquillity, Lafayette, after
assuring the king that all was quiet. and himself
sassing the whole night in securing that tranquillity,
naturally sought some repose. He had now been
without rest for twenty-four hours. So judiciously
had he arranged his posts that not one of them was
attacked or disturbed. No reports reached him to
‘essen his confidence; and about five o’clock, having
partaken some slight refreshment, he threw himself
upon a bed.

It was raining, and the streets of Versailles, filled
with the infuriated and hungry people, were a perfect
pandemonium. Large groups of savage and in-
toxicated men and women were seated around
watch-fires, singing the terrible songs of that period.
“In one of these circles,” says Alison, “ their exas-
peration was such that, seated on the corpse of one
of the body guard, they devoured the flesh of his
horse, half roasted in the flames, while a ring of
frantic cannibals danced around the group!” Such
were the populace against whom Lafayette had toLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 147

contend, in an unpopular cause, and with an army
whose sympathies were by no means in the duty on
which they were employed; and who, indeed, were
desirous of reaching the result for which the mob
clamoured, though they aimed to attain it by a more
moderate path.

About six o’clock a straggling party came in col-
lision with some of the Life-Guards. One of them
fired from the windows of the palace. There was
a frantic yell, and a rush from all the streets toward
the palace. Unfortunately one of the iron gates
had been left open, and the crowd pushed in. They
encountered two of the guards, who disputed their
passage step by step; while a faithful servant shouted
“Save the Queen!” and one of the officers of the
guards conducted her to the king’s apartments.
Scarcely had she left when the brigands entered her
chamber, and furious at finding she had escaped,
vented their impotent rage in stabs through the
mattress from which she had but an instant before
fled. Others dragged the bodies of two of the slain
life-guardsmen below the windows of the king, and
behcading them, paraded the heads upon their pikes
through the streets of Versailles.

A good commander is present everywhere by his
orders, A portion of the command of Lafayette,{48 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

who were stationed near the palace, hastened a.
once to the rescue, and dispersed the brigands in
the immediate vicinity of the gate. Lafayette, who
had not yet fallen asleep, sprang upon the first horse
he met and repaired instantly to the spot. A few
hours before he had actually been refused admittance
to the king’s apartments. He had, as we have
before said, been denied the charge of the interior
of the palace; and as the next best position, repaired
to the house, still near the palace, where his staff
received reports.

Upon arriving at the palace, he found some of the
body-guards in the hands of the mob. ‘They would
inevitably have been sacrificed. With the earnest
appeal which he knew so well how to make, he
urged his grenadiers to rescue them. They per-
formed that apparent impossibility, and, under the
orders of Lafayette, conducted the veterans they
had rescued to the palace, where they rejoined their
comrades. Meanwhile, the heroic Lafayette re-
mained alone among the brigands who had been
arrested in their fell purpose. He was strong in his
invincible courage and high purposes. One villain
in the crowd levelled his piece at him, and cried out
to the mob, “ Kill him!” Lafayette coolly directed
the man to be brought to him. The mob—how
variable is the satanic disposition of an infuriatedLIFE OF LAFAYETTE 14S

crowd !—seized the culprit, and dashed out his brains
upon the pavement! Lafayette then repaired to the
palace, and found there such a force of his own
troops, that immediate danger was now over, and
the Life Guards and National Guards were embrac-
ing each other and exchanging cockades. The
shout arose, “ Lafayette for ever!”—and the whole
court overwhelmed him with gratitude for having
saved their lives. And when, at this dispassionate
period, we review his conduct through the whole of
this most trying and difficult affair, we know not
which most to admire, his prudence, his courage and
skill, or his self-sacrificing disinterestedness. The
first quality made him reasonably hesitate to lead
men to Versailles, who had many of them more
than connived at the movements of the mob; in his
management of such an army we perceive consum-
mate ability and fearlessness ; and surely no greater
disinterestedness could be shown, than in his suc-
cessful defence of a court which had treated him
with ill-concealed distrust.

The people still clamoured for the removal of the
king to Paris. When this was decided upon, La-
fayette again showed his wisdom, by presenting first
the king and then the queen to the people, upon the
balcony. He knew his countrymen. A chance
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156 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

taken by the romance of the movement, and shouted
| or the persons whom they had hardly been
prevented from massacreing in their beds. He then
led out one of the Life-Guards, and placing upon
him his own shoulder-belt, was greeted with new
plaudits.

The principal bands of the rioters now proceeded
to Paris, carrying with them on pikes the heads of
the butchered guardsmen. “Surely,” says the au-
thor of the Memoirs of Lavalette, “Satan himself
first invented the placing of a human head upon the
point of alance! The disfigured and pale features,
the gory locks, the half-opened mouth, the closed
eyes, frightful images of death, added to the ges-
tures and salutations which the fiends made these
dreadful objects perform, in horrible mockery of life,
presented the most hideous spectacle that rage could
have invented. A troop of women, ugly as crime
itself, swarming with insects, and wearing grena-
diers’ hairy caps, went continually to and fro, howling
barbarous songs.” It is an error, however, to say
that this hideous spectacle accompanied the return
of the king. Lafayette sent a detachment after
them to prevent their turning back; and though
their escape could not be prevented, they reached
Paris, their trophies were taken from them, and they
were dispersed, before even the king left VersaillesLIFE OF LAFAYETTR,

CHAPTER XII

Banish nent of the Duke of Orleans—Suspizions against him--Emi
gration of the Nobility—Activity of Lafayette—Grand Féte of the
Confederation—Preparations for it—Solemnity of the Mass—Per-
formance of the Te Deum—Mutual Oaths, by Lafayette as the Re-
presentative of the Nation, and by the People, the King, and Queen
—Disinterestedness of Lafayette—Attempt on the Castle of Vin-
cennes—T'he King prevented from leaving Paris—Resignation of his
Command by Lafayette—He is persuaded to resume it—The King’s
Flight to Varennes—Mutinous Assembly in the Champ de Mars—
Resignation of Lafayette, and its Acceptance with high Honour.

Zz. AVING succeeded in saving the life
fof the king and of his life-cuards,
and in protecting the Constituent
Assembly, Lafayette received the
thanks of the Court, and a formal
expression of the same feeling from
the Assembly, which now removed to Paris.
The full danger to which the king had been
exposed in the insurrection of October was
not clearly known; though it was suspected, and
with reason, that no spontaneous or unconcerted
rising could have been so formidable. It was

charged boldly that the Duke of Orleans had, inee ree Te eT eee ere agra tet sirat it $i bstst Mette teas eae ts wet D
eeeter teste ee rteer tr orto gt tee tari sstecteas ody Esk ce seesriahiess hath sai test eget gtk cs Sotbdeecst Seas
A sien fn em = 3 3 posse tkss habe = <i se ahats pedi 243642 F5
3 rs

SaGopedderqrasbocensoey spore pere reste F Ts ETE es

aati

  

152 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

conjunction with Mirabeau, determined to remove
the king, and even to put him to death; and that
the duke was to have been proclaimed lieutenant-
general of the kingdom. Lafayette, without investi-
gating this charge, satisfied himself that Orleans had
fomented the rabble, and encouraged the mutinous
disposition of the National Guards. Some step was
necessary to get rid of a man so dangerous. ‘To
arrest him in a time of so much excitement would
have been impolitic, if not absolutely dangerous ;
and Lafayette, with soldierlike promptness, informed
him that his passport was ready for him, that Eng-
land was deemed the most fitting country for him to
retire to, and that to cover his retreat he would be
furnished with a commission from the king, to pro-
duce as the ostensible reason of his journey. The
Duke of Orleans, probably conscience-stricken, sub-
mitted at once. It is said however by others, that
he made some objections, remarking, “ My enemies
say you possess proofs against me.” “ ‘They are
rather my enemies,” answered Lafayette; “if I
were capable of producing proofs against you, you
would already have been arrested.”

The removal of the king to Paris was an event
full of important consequences. Not the least
among them was the commencement of the “ emiLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 153

pration,” so often spoken of in the annals of the
revolution. ‘The Count d’Artois, afterward Charles
X., was at Turin with his father-in-law; and the
noblesse of France who left the country at the ap-
proach of the storm, and after its commencement,
repaired to him, and even kept up the show of a
court, and the effort to reconquer the land from
which they were exiled. ‘They did, indeed, under
the encouragement of foreign powers, make some
incursions into France; and after the death of Louis
XVI. recognised his heir as king.

But as we remarked in treating of that part of
the life of Lafayette connected with the American
Revolution, it is impossible in this brief biography
to give an account of all the public events of the
time. We must even pass lightly over many of his
personal acts, selecting for more elaborate descrip-
tion, those which have the greatest personal interest
and the most public importance. After the removal
of the king to Paris, Lafayette continued most active,
not only in his military duties, as commander of the
National Guards, but in his capacity as a member
of the Constituent Assembly. As commander of
the guards, in January, 1790, he suppressed a most
dangerous sedition, which had for its first object the
summary,execution of the Baron de Bezenval, not. . ae aig re hirer a eapy asters rere een aes
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154 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

withstanding his acquittal of conspiracy, with which
he had been charged; and during other legal pro-
ceedings, when the mob made demonstrations of
interference, his promptness was equally effectual.
In the Assembly, among his memorable speeches,
was one seconding the proposition to abolish all titles
of nobility ; and, true to his principles, he ever after
refused the title of Marquis.

The next public event in which Lafayette bore a
prominent part was the féte of the Confederation,
celebrated on the 14th of July, the anniversary of
the destruction of the Bastile. Deputations and
volunteers arrived from all parts of France to assist
in the ceremonies; and though two thousand men
were employed in preparing the Champ de Mars, an
immense field in front of the Military School, for the
ceremonies, it was still feared that the preparations
would not be complete, and the crowds in Paris
were, with great adroitness, induced to lend their
assistance. This occupation probably prevented
outbreaks ; and it certainly added in no small degree
to the interest of the ceremonies, that everybody
had participated in the preparations for them. All
sorts of people, men and women of all ranks, pro
fessions, and callings, vied with each other in theirLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 155

labours, and the preparations were scarcely less
imposing than the ceremony itself.

Three hundred thousand spectators awaited the
arrival of the National Assembly and the long train
of “confederates” from all parts of France—and
waited, too, dripping with rain and splashed with
mud. As soon as the first confederates arrived
they struck up a dance, in which they were joined
by the National Guards; and the three hundred
thousand spectators witnessed the strange spectacle
of sixty thousand dancing men; a spectacle which
could by no possibility have been witnessed out of
France. The sky cleared, the sun shone out, and
as the whole procession filed into the immense arena,
the Bishop of Autun, better known now as the cele
brated Talleyrand, proceeded to celebrate the mass
He blessed the banners—he struck up the Te Deum
—twelve hundred musicians played that hymn, and
peals of cannon thundered their base to the solemn
voice of the choristers. Altogether the ceremony
was unquestionably one of the most imposing ever
witnessed, notwithstanding its incongruous introduc-
tion. Perhaps that very contrast heightened the
effect. Three hundred priests, in white surplices
and tri-coloured scarfs, stood upon the steps and
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156 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

was built in the centre of the arena, elevated twenty
five feet from the ground.

Lafayette, as the head of the national militia,
alighting from his horse, ascended the steps of the
throne, which was placed on one side of the amphi-
theatre, and receiving from the king the form of the
oath, proceeded with it to the altar. All the banners
waved, and thousands of sabres glistened in the sun,
while the trumpets brayed, and the clangour of an
immense host of musicians waked every heart to the
highest pitch of enthusiasm.

All eyes were turned to him who now stood be-
fore this great concourse, the representative of the
nation. He rested the point of his sword upon the
Bible, and raised his arm to Heaven. The music
ceased, the mighty multitude held their breaths in
silence, and Lafayette pronounced the words :—
“We swear to be for ever faithful to the nation, to
the law, and to the king; to maintain to the utmost
of our power the constitution decreed by the Na-
tional Assembly, and accepted by the king.” A
solemn flourish of instruments, preluding the dis-
charge of cannon, announced the completion of this
part of the ceremony. Sabres and banners waved,
and all the people shouted, “ Vive le Roi! Vive le
Nation !” ‘The President of the National AssemblyLIFE OF LAFAYETTE 157

repeated the oath, and the mighty multitude, each
for himself, responded, “I swear!” The king fol-
lowed, with the form arranged for him; and the
queen, taking the dauphin in her arms and _ holding
him up to the people, exclaimed, “ Behold my son!
He joins me in these sentiments!” Vive le Roi!
Vive la Reine! Vive le Dauphin!” And amid the
Jeafening roar of artillery, the noise of instruments,
and the acclamations of the people, this great
solemnity closed. The sun now shone in unclouded
splendour. “It seemed,” says Ferrieres, “as if it
had pleased God himself to witness this mutual con-
tract, and to ratify it by his presence. Yes, he did
both see and hear it; and the terrible calamities
which ever since that day have not ceased to deso-
late France—oh Providence, ever active and ever
faithful!— are the just punishments of perjury!
Thou hast stricken both the monarch and the sub-
jects who violated their oath!”

In September of this year an effort was made to
induce Lafayette to accept the indemnity which was
legally his, for the immense expenditures which he
had been obliged to incur in maintaining his station.
He steadily but respectfully refused. His fortune
he said was considerable. “It has,” he wrote to
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LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

158

third shall occur for the benefit of the people, it
shall belong wholly to it.”

The year 1791 opened with alarming tokens of
a seditious spirit. Its first serious manifestation
was on the 28th of February, when an attempt was
made to destroy the Castle of Vincennes. ‘The
mob were already at work; and a detachment of
National Guards, which had been despatched to the
spot, seemed much more ready to second than to
resist the populace. Lafayette repaired thither, and
succeeded in bringing the guard to a sense of their
duty, and arresting sixty of the rioters, whom he
marched through the most seditious quarter of Paris,
and lodged in prison. While this difficulty was
going on at the Castle of Vincennes, another dis-
turbance was taking place at the palace of the
Tuilleries. Some indiscreet friends of the king had
admitted several hundred armed men, for the defence
of the king, very much to the irritation of that por-
tion of the National Guards who were on duty at
the palace, and who naturally considered this inter-
ference, made without consultation with them, a re-
flection upon their loyalty. ‘To pacify the Guards,
Lafayette ordered these men to be disarmed and
dismissed.
The public mind was now in great agitation, ag-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 159

pravated by the events we have just related. When
the royal family attempted to leave Versailles to
pass the Easter holidays at St. Cloud, the populace
surrounded the coaches and would not permit their
departure. The National Guards instead of oppos-
ing joined the mob, and closing before the coach,
detained the king in it for two hours, exposed to the
insults of the people and the mutinous soldiery.
Lafayette in vain ordered them to open to the right
and left and permit the coach to pass. He offered
to force a passage, but the king would not consent.
On the next day he sent in his resignation, observing
that as the troops would no longer obey, he would
abdicate a command which was merely nominal.
The guards besought Lafayette to resume the
command, sending him deputations from all the bat-
talions. The municipality, and other citizens of
Paris, seconded them ; but he persisted in his refusal,
srounding it on the fact, that proofs were given of
attachment to him but not to the laws. Then the
battalions met, and passed resolutions expressive of
their determination to respect the law and the con-
stitution, and obey the commander, whoever he
might be. Upon this, at the solicitation of the
Mayor and a deputation of the council, Lafayette
consented again to serve; and the first measure he160 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

proposed was, to lead his command to the palace
where he addressed the king in the name of the
guards, and received a gracious reception and an-
swer, which the troops acknowledged with loyal
acclamations.

The emigration of the noblesse, the countenance
given to the exiles by the sovereigns of Europe, and
the well-founded suspicion that the royal family were
in correspondence with them, kept the public mind
in terrible excitement, which the Jacobins did not fail
to foment. The great fear was that the king would
escape, rejoin his former friends, and operate against
France. The king, whose life was passed in con-
stant fear of violence, did attempt to escape, and
succeeded, on the night of the 20th of June, in get-
ting out of the capital. Many unfortunate delays
and accidents occuzred, but Louis succeeded in
reaching Varennes. ‘There he was arrested, having
been recognised at several points on the route; and
amid excessive insults and annoyances was brought
back to Paris—the return occupying eight days, to
accommodate the pace of the guards. The flight
took place at midnight; Lafayette was not apprised
of it until six o’clock. The mob accused him of
conniving at and assisting the flight; and nothing
but his courage, and the confidence which the peopleLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 161

reposed in him, prevented his destruction. He. faced
the infuriated crowd alone, and disarmed them by
his firmness. He was compelled to despatch a mes-
senger after the royal family; but the arrest had
taken place before his aid-de-camp reached Varennes.
On the return of the unhappy fugitives, he took such
measures as enabled the royal party to alight in
safety, and without insult. A public notice had
been widely distributed: —** Whoever applauds the
king shall be flogged—whoever insults him shall be
hanged.” He was received in perfect silence, and
by a decree of the Assembly placed under guard in
the palace—Lafayette, as commander, being thus
his jailor. The matter of his flight occupied the
Assembly until the 16th of July, when it was de-
clared by resolution, based on the report of the com-
missioners appointed to investigate the case, that in
this flight there was nothing culpable. Lafayette
performed his duty as guard over the king conscien-
tiously ; he opposed with energy the efforts which
were made in the Assembly to declare that the king
had abdicated. He drew on himself at once the
displeasure of the king, and the hatred of the ene-
mies of the crown. In relation to the flight, he was
charged by the Jazobins with having promoted it,
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162 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

and by the royalists with having caused the arrest ;
while a third set of accusers have not scrupled to
combine the two charges, and assert that he pro-
cured both flight and arrest. Perhaps, as had been
suggested, he was ignorant of the departure of the
king, but winked at that of the queen. Whatever
Lafayette may have thought or done, if the return
of the king was desired by him, he was an exception
to all save the Jacobins. The wise and moderate
would have been heartily glad if Louis had escaped,
for his arrest was a capital error. With his usual
eye to peace, Lafayette moved a decree of amnesty
to all who had assisted in the flight or journey.
During the debates on the disposition of the subject
of the “flight,” Lafayette declared in the Chamber,
that if any violence was offered to the king he would
proclaim Louis XVII., at the head of the National
Guard.

The decision of the Assembly relative to the king
did not please the Jacobins; and they procured an
assembly in the Champ de Mars on the 17th of July,
the object of which purported to be to sign a peti- .
tion against the re-establishment of Louis. People
flocked to the place where, a year before, they had
sworn fealty to the king and the law, breathing furyhebete eres ii reerel Cot bitibercres

pita iarerea terete ee ityirrs iets!

 

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
    

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 163

against the one and contempt of the other. Murders
were committed—martial law was proclaimed—La-
fayette, at the head of the guards, repaired to the
scene of confusion; and after enduring insult and
outrage, his own life having been attempted, and
several of the soldiers and some of the officers
wounded, he fired, first with blank cartridges, which
as usual in such cases increased the violence of the
mob, then with ball, which suppressed the riot.
Greater order and tranquillity were conferred upon
Paris, than the city had for a long time known.
The royal prisoner had accepted the constitution ;
and Lafayette, alleging that the occasion which re-
quired his services was now over, resigned his post
as commander of the National Guard. The city
of Paris caused a gold medal to be struck in his
honour, and presented him with a sword, and a bust
of Washington. He retired to his estate in Au-
vergne, and there remained until April, 1792, when
he was called to command in the army. During his
short retirement he had been put in nomination as
Mayor of Paris, in opposition to the Jacobin Pethion.
Pethion was successful by an immense majority, not
only his popularity, but the influence of the court,
being opposed to Lafayette. Strange, that shorttee
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164 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

sighted displeasure against Lafayette should have
excited the royal family to favour the interests of
one of their worst enemies, and to aid in elevating
a man who had made himself disgustingly and
personally disagreeable during the return from Va-
rennes. But so it was, and bitterly did Louis after-
ward lament the folly.LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 165

CHAPTER XII.

Lafayette appointed to the Army—Resists the Jacobins—The Disor
ders of the 20th of June—Lafayette appears at the Bar of the As
sembly— Abortive Attempt to check the Jacobins— Jacobin Rage
against him—He arrests the Commissioners sent against him—
Is arrested by the Austrians, and tampered with by the Allies—Is
imprisoned, first by the Prussians, and then by the Austrians—In-
effectual Attempt at Escape — Devotion of Madame Lafayette—
Efforts of the American Minister and Government—Liberation of

Lafayette.

AFAYETTE was, in April, 1792, ap-
pointed one of the three major-gene-
rals who commanded the French
armies, and soon after was named
lieutenant-general, and marshal of

France. The Jacobin faction, which had

now become paramount, had compelled the

declaration of war against Austria ; and was
at the same time engaged, as it had been from
the beginning, in the origin or ageravation of all
the disorders which harassed France. Had the
counsels of Lafayette and other moderate men and
crue friends of France prevailed, the commencement
of hostilities would have been thrown upon Austria.

  
 

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166 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

Nevertheless, he did not hesitate to accept the com-
mand which had been tendered to him, and repaired
to his post, where early opportunities occurred, to
offer signal though not brilliant services to his
country, in the resistance of the invasion which
followed the declaration of war.

Meanwhile the Jacobins, sure by their strengtn
in the clubs of controlling the action of the Assem-
bly, or, failing in this, of intimidating that body by
tumultuous assemblages, were proceeding with fright-
ful strides toward the violences which they afterward
committed. Lafayette, no longer a member of the
legislative body—as none who were members of the
Constituent could be elected to the National As-
sembly—still did not shrink from assuming the re-
sponsibility of resisting the growing power of the
Jacobins. ‘lhe Assembly had passed three decrees
to which the king refused his assent. These decrees
disbanded the king’s constitutional guards, directed
the formation of a camp of twenty-thousand men at
Paris to defend the capital, and put it in the power
of any twenty men to procure the exile of a priest
by denouncing him. ‘The ministry, all of the Jaco-
bin faction, were dismissed ; and the excitement was
increased by a letter of Lafayette to the Assembly,
in which he fearlessly denounced the Jacobin clubsLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 167

as the cause of all the disturbances, and earnestly
called upon the legislature to put down the domina-
tion of the clubs.

The Jacobins now determined upon an insurrece
tion, under the cover of presenting a petition to the
Assembly. A mob of twenty thousand men filed
before the Assembly, accompanied by women and
children, dancing, and singing revolutionary songs,
carrying seditious flags, and such emblems as ragged
garments, held aloft with the cry, “Vivent les sans
culottes ? The most horrible emblem of all was a
calf’s heart, pierced by a pike, and inscribed, “ The
heart of an aristocrat.”

This mob, after passing through the hall of the
Assembly, proceeded to the Tuileries, into which
they forced their way, and demanded of the king
the sanction of the decrees which he had refused,
with cries of “No veto!—no priests !—no aristo-
crats!” The king answered with firmness, that this
was neither the place nor the moment to sanction
the decrees, but that he would do all that the con-
stitution required. “Vive la Natton !” shouted the
assailants. “ Yes,” replied Louis, “ove la Nation !
Iam its best friend!” “Prove it then!” said one
of the rabble, presenting him a Jacobin’s red cap
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168 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

have been of no service, and might have cost the
king his life. He placed it upon his head. Bona-
parte, who afterward swayed Paris as one man, was
a spectator of this outbreak from the garden of the
Tuilleries. When the king showed himself at the
window with the red cap upon his head, the future
emperor could no longer restrain his indignation,
but cried to Bourienne who stood with him: “ What
madness! How could they allow the scoundrels to
enter! They ought to have blown four or five
hundred of them into the air, and the rest would
have taken to their heels!”

Eight days after this, Lafayette arrived in Paris,
alone. He was immediately waited upon by several
battalions of the National Guard, and his friends in
the capital exhibited every mark of continued at-
tachment. Great hopes on one side and great fears
on the other were entertained from his presence. It
was supposed either that he would be followed by the
army, or that he must have strong friends in the
capital, to venture upon such a step as he had taken.
Hie appeared unattended before the bar of the Na-
tional Assembly, and demanded the punishment of
all instigators and performers of the violence of the
20th, when the Assembly was bearded in its session,
and the king in his palace. He insisted upon theLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 169

suppression of the Jacobin clubs, and required that
the Assembly should take care of the internal peace
while the army was defending the frontier from
foreign foes. His discourse was at first received
with applause, but the arts of the Jacobins turned
the tide against him; and the most he could procure
was leave to have his petition referred. This was
not effected, however, without a stormy debate,
during which the Jacobin orators managed with
much address to defeat the great effect which the
manly address of Lafayette had produced upon the
Assembly. Lafayette made one more effort. He
called upon the National Guard to muster with him,
and shut up the hall of the Jacobins— but only
thirteen persons presented themselves; and thus
finding every effort abortive, he left Paris and re-
turned to the army, on the 30th of June, after two
days’ stay in Paris.

The fury of the Jacobins was now systematically
directed against Lafayette. He was denounced as
a foe to liberty, his effigy was burned by the popu-
lace, and he was accused of having proposed to
march upon Paris with the army. A project for his
impeachment was brought before the Assembly, and
the last independent act of that body was, on the
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170 LIFE OF LAFAYETE.

proposal to impeach Lafayette. On the very next
day the members declared by resolution, that the
sessions of the Assembly, in consequence of the
conduct of the Jacobins, were no longer free.

On the 10th occurred the fearful insurrection
during which the palace of the Tuilleries was
stormed. The king and royal family took refuge
with the National Assembly. ‘The mob sacked the
palace; butchered the unfortunate Swiss Guards
almost to a man; and destroyed all the works of
art upon which they could lay their hands, with a
truly Vandal ferocity. ‘They then proceeded to the
National Assembly, which, no longer possessing even
the semblance of free agency, was compelled to issue
a decree, suspending the regal functions, and placing
the king in prison, to save him from instant destruc-
tion by the furious mob. 'To these events succeeded
the hideous murders of the first of September, when
the prisons of Paris were emptied of their tenants by
ruthless murder ; and the bodies of men and women,
pulled limb from limb, were paraded in bleeding and
ghastly fragments about the streets of Paris, upon
the points of lances. Many, whose appeals had
assisted in raising this state of things, would have
checked it; but the eloquence which was potent to
produce was powerless to allay the fearful stormLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 17]

We have now done with the events of the French
Revolution, as Lafayette was no longer a partici-
pant in them. He had seen the impending horrors,
and striven to no purpose to rally the friends of
order to prevent them. He had in vain besought
the king and royal family to take refuge with the
army. Great astonishment was produced among
the troops by the events in Paris. At first there
seemed a hope that his soldiers would support him ;
and he even caused the arrest of the commissioners
who had been sent to the camp by the Assembly,
now under the control of the Jacobins. But every
day increased the difficulties of his position. De-
fection to the cause of the Jacobins was hourly in-
creasing among his troops. Even had they all been
faithful to him, if he had marched upon Paris, the
king would have been instantly massacred ; and if
he had raised the standard of resistance against the
Assembly, he would have been attacked by the other
armies. France was pressed upon on all sides by
foreign foes; and he ended at last the painful un-
certainty in which he was placed, by abdicating his
command, and withdrawing from the army and the
country.

On the night of the 19th of August, accompanied
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172 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

an advanced guard of the Austrians. ‘They desirea
passports, but when it was discovered who they
were this was refused. An effort was made to
sound Lafayette, with the hope that he would attach
himself to the “emigrants ;” but Lafayette refused
to converse with the Count d’Artois, and this hope
was abandoned. They were next visited by an
Austrian major, commissioned to receive the trea-
sure, which it was supposed Lafayette had secured,
and which, the major remarked, would be seques-
tered in behalf of his Christian Majesty. “ All that
J understand of this strange commission,” said La-
fayette, “is, that had he been in my place, M. the
duke of Saxe Teschen would have stolen the military
chest of the army !”

The seizure was made in the neutral territory of
Liege; and Lafayette with his companions was
transferred by the Austrians to Prussian guards.
They were detained, not as prisoners of war, for
which there was no pretext, but as prisoners of State.
They were first conducted to Wesel, on the Rhine,
under every circumstance of indignity, and were
thence removed to Magdeburg, Glatz, and Niesse.
After remaining about two years in the hands of the
Prussians, they were transferred to the Austrians
who imprisoned them ir the castle of OlmutzLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. iio

While in the hands of the Prussians, several over-
tures were made to betray his supposed feelings
against France into the assistance of the allies; and
it was the resistance of these temptations which
increased the rigour of his sufferings.

When Lafayette entered the Austrian prison of
Olmutz, he was warned that the four walls of his
dungeon would thereafter be to him the world, that
he would never receive news from without, and that
his name would be unknown in the citadel, and in
all official reports—he would be designated by a
number. He was informed that he would never
receive any notice of his family, or of the existence
of his fellow-prisoners; and, in short, that his life
would pass in complete isolation and solitude. With
a mock of humanity, knives and forks were taken
from him, as he was informed that his situation
would be such as naturally to provoke suicide!
The walls of the dungeon were of such massive
thickness, as scarcely to admit a breath of air
through the loop-holes; and what did enter, came
loaded with pestilential miasma from the ditch
beneath the wall. During rains the loop-holes were
gutters through which streams of water poured in
and except when the sun shone, this dismal den
was in almost total darkness. ‘The furniture con-eerstatersesyre crs dt Se rte tS te ake Rt Ths haa pha sh BAS phe pees bareneestweseotes sr perts pe pretest tates kits is tite
= ped pee ie sy lei hk Parr ek oa ek ees rena TY Bod races Lata so oto ebsites eee Sqiist eae
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epeteet tte teen oioot ey

174 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

sisted of a miserable bed, full of vermin, and a broken
chair and table; and under these terrible privations
and positive inflictions, Lafayette was more than
once brought to the borders of the grave, his hair
falling from his head by the excess of his sufferings
and destitution. Unremitted pursuance of such a
system would have procured his death; and he was
at length permitted first to walk daily in the fortress,
and then to more extended privileges, as will appear
in the progress of our narrative. Still, even under
the most favourable circumstances, his condition was
wretched enough. He was permitted to know no-
thing of his family positively, and what gleams of
intelligence reached him were of a terrible character.
His wife was in prison, his estates were sequestered,
and his name furnished a title for a crime, which the
Jacobins punished with death. That crime was
attachment to the constitution, of the solemn ratifi-
cation of which, in the Champ de Mars, the reader
is aware. It was called Fayetteism. Thus, un-
wittingly, did his enemies bear testimony to his
consistency and honesty. His persecution by the
despots of Europe, and his proscription by the
Jacobins, equal in vindictiveness and coincident in
duration, form a key to his character. His virtuous
moderation and true patriotism suited neither ex-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 175

-reme; and, being above the surrender of his prine
c} les to circumstances, he sacrificed himself to
aims which his enemies would not, and many of his
friends could not appreciate.

In 1794, Dr. Erick Bollman, with the knowledge
only that Lafayette was in an Austrian prison, set
about the enterprise of discovering him, and attempt-
ing his release. By well-directed manceuvres, as an
inquisitive traveller, making inquiry into so many
things, that he established a reputation for curiosity
which made no question seem strange for him, he
at last discovered the particular fortress in which
Lafayette was immured. Satisfied at last that he
was at Olmutz, Dr. Bollman made the military sur-
geon the unconscious bearer of messages, written in
the blank leaves of books with sympathetic ink. It
was thus arranged between Dr. Bollman and La-
fayette, that the attempt should be made to rescue
the latter, when the prisoner was permitted to ride
for his health, a privilege which had now been con-
ceded to him. ‘This relaxation in the severity of
his confinement had been procured through the
earnest representations of the American govern
ment, and the friends of the Marquis.

An assistant was necessary. Dr. Bollman com-
municated his purpose to Francis Kinlock Huger, aet ess het teersrs " a
Sanhis rheebyat esha SuPbaths BAS RASELSGLAT Anat Sehetcath tat catsia ua cestoe teat te at oth gigi piss iesa Tet ghee Speen tet peal agypasedsaets Gantt si sit iet ee tht tert eaets se , ‘
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176 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

young American, at whose father’s house Lafayette
was a guest when he first Janded in Amen
Young Huger, with an ardour which does his cha-
eacter high credit, and which will perpetuate his
name in history, with that of Dr. Bollman, as long
as Lafayette is remembered, or generous adventure
is admired, entered at once with his whole heart into
the plan.

Lafayette on these excursions rode in an open
carriage, with an officer, two soldiers as a guard,
and a driver—four men; quite sufficient for the
custody of one, where no rescue was apprehended.
Dr. Bollman and Mr. Huger had never seen him;
but signs for their mutual recognition were arranged.
The two adventurers rode past the carriage, and
satisfied themselves which was the prisoner. ‘hey
followed till the carriage stopped, and Lafayette
descended with the officer to walk. ‘The two com-
panions rode up— Lafayette at the same instant
seized the officer’s sword by the hilt. The officer
resisted; but Dr. Bollman having dismounted, as-
sisted Lafayette to disarm the Austrian, and all three
fell to the ground together. The officer made a
terrible outcry for assistance, while the guard in-
stead of rendering any ran away. Dr. Bollman
neld the officer, while Lafayette rose and mountedLIFE OF LAFAYETTER, 74

one of the horses. The other, unfortunately, had
slipped his bridle and run, though a peasant was
holding him at a little distance.

Mr. Huger told Lafayette to “go to Hoff,” the
town at which a conveyance was waiting, and gave
him a purse. Lafayette unfortunately understood
him to say “ go off,” and after some hesitation rode
away. ‘The officer now followed the guard back to
Olmutz, and Bollman and Huger mounted the other
horse.

Everything had been well arranged. One of the
horses was trained to carry double, and a convey-
ance was waiting at Hoff, which would have carried
all clear. But unfortunately the double horse was
the one which Lafayette had taken; and the other,
untractable under his heavy load, threw both Huger
and the Doctor. Huger insisted upon Dr. Bollman’s
taking the horse, while he would take his chance on
foot for his escape. But the alarm was now given;
Huger was soon secured and carried to Olmutz.
Dr. Bollman pushed on to Hoff, hoping to find La-
fayette there, waited in vain for him, till he was
arrested, and conducted also to Olmutz. Lafayette,
with his indefinite directions, took the wrong road,
was suspected, arrested, and detained till he was
recognised and reconducted to prison. His physicas
Mne
oa

178 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

sufferings were doubled; he was loaded with heavy
chains, and to all this was added terrible mentas
misery. During the few days that he was out, he
had heard appalling stories of the sanguinary doings
of the French Revolution, and knew not how many
of his friends had fallen under the revolutionary axe.
He was in terror for his wife. He was told also,
that his deliverers had perished on the scaffold, and
that he himself was now reserved for public execu-
tion. His chivalric friends, after a tedious imprison-
ment, and a wearisome process of examination,
were, after some months, set at liberty.

While Lafayette was suffering imprisonment from
the crowned despots, his wife was enduring perse
cution from that most terrible of all tyrants, an in
furiated faction, above the restraint of all law. Shi
was arrested on the 10th of August, 1793, and sen
with her daughters to Paris, where she was impri
soned among the condemned. Her mother, he
grandmother, and sister perished upon the scaffold
and she herself was in daily expectation of death,
when the counter revolution of July 27th, 1794, put
an end to the reign of terror, and stayed the bloody
guillotine. She was, however, detained in prison
some months longer, making the whole term in
Paris about a year and a half.LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 179

On the 9th of September, 1795, Madame La-
fayette, furnished with an American passport as
Mrs. Motier, by Governeur Morris, then American
Minister to France, proceeded to Vienna, and ob-
tained an audience of the emperor. She prayed the
liberation of her husband, or permission to share
his captivity. On the first point she was told that
the emperor’s hands were tied, and she did not hesi-
tate for an instant to embrace the other condition of
the alternative she had proposed, and with her two
daughters, Anastasia and Virginia, aged respectively
sixteen and thirteen, joined her husband in prison.
Here the devoted wife and children remained twenty-
two months. Once she prayed to be permitted to
spend a week in Vienna, for the restoration of her
health and the benefit of advice. She was told,
after two months’ delay in the answer, that no ob-
jection would be made to her leaving the prison,
but that she must not come to Vienna, nor expect
to be readmitted to her husband’s prison. This
fixed her determination. She remained, enduring
with her husband and her daughters all the horrors
of imprisonment, until the hour of liberation arrived.
Her health suffered a terrible shock from these afflic-
tions; and she died in 1806, having never fully re-
covered from their effects. “The history of femalepn ates oigmh inlets bebe tebeags aes thtee a sehai at tates Lott lar at atsa cus SRL Ele At toe ph abecbstisa ranted so heaShutas ie bhasneeasca behets taht ht thcstsk Sette ett es Tene eee OT”
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180 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

virtue and heroism,” remarks M. de Stael, “ presents
nothing more rare in excellence, than the life and
eharacter of Madame de Lafayette.” Fit com-
panion for such a husband, her name will share with
his the homage of a world.

On the 19th of September, 1797, the captives
were liberated. ‘They were conducted under escort
to Hamburg, where, on the 4th of October, they
were surrendered by the Austrian Minister to Mr.
Parish, the American Consul, who had engaged to
the emperor to remove them from Germany within
ten days. The meeting between Lafayette and Mr.
Parish was most affecting. Despotism desired that
the liberation of the prisoner should be quiet and
secret; but the world’s enthusiasm in the case of
Lafayette never could be checked. An immense
crowd of sympathizing people lined the streets, and
attended the hero of the two worlds to the American
consul’s house; and his heart was refreshed with
the evidence, that more than five years’ imprison-
ment, with the expressed intention of burying him
alive, had not caused his name to be forgotten, or
his services to humanity to pass out of memory.

The immediate cause of the liberation of Lafay-
ette was the success of Napoleon. Under instruc-
tion from the Directory, probably at his own sug-Erpctieer tees vit tint. air est re ‘ -
‘ HV ihireisepe. sees Fark trite be tty pi eh cee pey copie Cpa ptes
AMMAR aes pan ease

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE 181

gestion, the young general insisted at the treaty of
Campo Formo, that the prisoners of Olmutz should
be released. The Austrians, complying with an il:
grace, wished to couple Lafayette’s manumission
with degrading conditions; but his spirit unbroken
by his sufferings, he declared he would never accept
his freedom with any stipulations which should
compromise his rights as a Frenchman, or as an
American citizen.

While to Napoleon is due the credit of cutting
short negotiation for Lafayette by his energetic
eonduct, it is not to be forgotten that Washington
had left no measure untried. In 1796, Mr. Morris
in France, Mr. Pinckney in London, Mr. Parish,
consul at Hamburg, and all the American ministers
abroad, were instructed to use their influence to
obtain his liberty, or ameliorate his condition.
Washington addressed a letter to the Emperor of
Germany, which was transmitted through the Aus-
trian minister in London. Mr. Parish, at Ham-
burg, obtained permission to transmit to Lafayette
small sums of money, large sums being interdicted ;
and thus toward the close of his imprisonment his
sufferings were relieved. Mr. Morris furnished Ma-
dame Lafayette with twenty thousand florins, and
transmitted to Lafayette ten thousand in small sumsees

SC De Gees bhbs chon wh oaewee pees tetee hated Pam ees ss tee eeiets tts obi si eese std pe dhestineee ls

= DVB rhs She ete tgteed! epg te rere neta te i erewerecente spescnr rete tt

182 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

In the British Parliament, the gallant soldier
Gen. Fitzpatrick, brought forward a motion to re-
quest his Majesty to intercede for the deliverance
of Lafayette and his companions. He was sup-
ported by Col. Tarleton, who had met Lafayette in
his American campaigns—and by Sheridan, Wilber-
force, Fox, and Grey. Fox’s speech was one of the
most eloquent of his efforts; and although the
policy of the then ministry forbade any special in-
terference under the circumstances, it cannot be
doubted that this bringing forward the enormous
wrongs of Lafayette into the light of day, aided in
forcing the crowned jailors of the hero to yield to
the rebuking sentiments of the world, and to open
his prison doors for very shame.

The intention to release him was forinally an-
nounced to the American consul at Hamburg, in
September, 1797, on account of “the particular
interest which the United States appear to take
in the liberation of this prisoner ;” and in one of
his despatches the Austrian minister says :— You
will take care to inform the American consul, that
his Majesty having made no positive engagement with
the French respecting the enlargement of this prisoner,
the motive of the particular interest that the United
States of America appear to attach to it, has con-4 Vi tem teu hy (eat ~-
bastbeearrteHi iii cirbtetetge tt lyetigty gi dearass toeteeees 6)

eet

   
  
 
 
 
 
  
   

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 183

tributed not a little to engage his Majesty in this
beneficent action.”

There is little doubt, that without the terror of
the rising star of Napoleon, Austria would have
remained deaf to all negotiations and entreaties ;
but we preserve the testimony in the above authentic
documents, to show that in his imprisonment Ame-
rica was not unmindful of her benefactor, and that
Washington did not forget his aporreD son.e dantt ein tt as ene haben eee bebe tt aes bhieto ne ss tetas el th ttt sist shs toes tetr ir sees ay tts tose sti tte rate Seer es pees SB SEataeneesaSi hats Mitte si SLathd Seth oti ot eet ttt ss: Wey fy
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184 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

CHAPTER XIV.

Lafayette’s Return to La Grange—His Consistent Course in referenca
to Napoleon—The Fall of the Emperor, and Restoration of the
Bourbons—Resclution of the Congress of the United States—La-
fayette visits America— His Reception in New York— Route ta
Boston—Reception in that City—Return to New York—Journey up
the Hudson—Reception in Philadelphia—Baltimore —Washington
— Virginia—Visit to Jefferson—Return to Washington— Proceedings
in Congress—Southern and Western Tour—Bunker Hill Monument

F'TER Lafayette’s restoration to free-
oe ) dom, he spent two years in the
uyere\ Danish territory of Holstein, and
tga ty the Bavarian territory of Utrecht.
He was still under proscription; but
when the consular government was pro-
“oR claimed in France, in 1799, he repaired to
ry La Grange. His son, George Washington

Lafayette, had returned from America; and
in everything but the declining state of his wife’s
health, his domestic relations were most delightful,
and peace rewarded his life of toil and change. He
-esisted all effarts to bring him into public life; andLIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

183

when Napoleon would have made him one of his
new order of peers, he said with great candour to
Bonaparte himself, that “from the direction which
public affairs were taking, what he already saw, and
what it was easy to foresee, it did not seem suitable
to his character to enter into a new order of things,
so contrary to his principles, and in which he would
have to contend without success, as without public
utility, against a man to whom he was indebted for
great obligations.” When a short time afterward
he was summoned to vote on the question, whether
Napoleon should be consul for life, he added to his
vote the following comment: “I cannot vote for
such a magistracy until the public liberty shall have
been sufficiently guarantied; and, in that event, I
vote for Napoleon Bonaparte.”

Through the next ten years Lafayette remained
in quiet at La Grange. His son and son-in-law,
receiving no countenance from the emperor, re-
mained with the father; and thus, while Europe
rang with the clangour of war, Lafayette, who had
more than once held the destiny of France in his
hands, presided, happier than any crowned head, in
his domestic empire. Nor did he come out from
his retirement at the first restoration of the Bour-
bons. “Silent,” says Adams, in his eloquent eulogy,186 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

“amid the deafening shouts of victory from Marengo
and Jena, and Austerlitz, and Friedland, and Wa-
gram, and Borodino; silent at the conflagration of
Moscow, at the passage of the Beresina at the
irretrievable discomfiture of Leipsic, at the capitu-
lation of the gates of Paris, and at the first restora-
tion of the Bourbons under the auspices of the in-
veterate enemies of France, as little could Lafayette
participate in that restoration as in the usurpations
of Napoleon.”

Lafayette remained in retirement until the returr
of Napoleon from Elba, within a year from the day
in which he had been exiled to that island. He was
then urged to take his seat in the Chamber of Peers,
again refused, and was elected a member of the
popular chamber ; which he entered, with the deter-
mination to direct all his efforts “to make the
chamber of which he was a member, a representa-
tion of the French people, and not a Napoleon
Club.” During the twelve days from the opening
of the Chambers to the battle of Waterloo, Lafay-
ette was a silent member, voting for all judicious
supplies, on the ground that France was invaded.
It was not until Napoleon returned from Waterloo,
and proposed by a despotic force to dissolve the
Assembly, levy a new army, and assume the Dicta-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 187

torship, that Lafayette, for the first time in over
twenty years, ascended the tribune, as is the custom
in the French Legislature, and addressed the As-
sembly. The emperor, who was in council when
he heard that Lafayette was about to speak, changed
countenance, and betrayed his knowledge that, in
such a case, all his prospect of a dictatorship was
over. At the instance of Lafayette, the Assembly
declared themselves in permanent session, and that
any attempt to dissolve the body should be de-
nounced as high treason. After a fruitless effort to
obtain a decree from the Assembly establishing a
dictatorship, Napoleon abdicated in favour of his
son. The Assembly strove to treat with the allies ;
a commission being appointed, with Lafayette at its
head, for that purpose. This commission indig-
nantly rejected, as one of the conditions of peace,
the surrender of Napoleon into the power of the
allies. Lafayette replied, that Napoleon having
voluntarily abdicated, his person was under the pro-
tection of the national gratitude and honour; and
that “ when it was proposed to the French people
to commit such an act of unexampled treachery, he
did not think that the prisoner of Olmutz would be
selected as the fittest agent for its execution.” But
the allies had no intention of treating with the repre-Pear ie

Ba

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[88 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

sentatives of the nation Their purpose was to
defend the rights of monarchs as monarchs under-
stand them, and not to recognise the rights of the
people. ‘They put Louis again on the throne at the
point of the bayonet, closed and guarded the As-
sembly chamber, and imposed a dynasty upon the
people, to be again overthrown at a later period.
The members had no power to resist, France was
wearied and weakened with wars; the Assembly
signed a fearless and eloquent protest against this
arbitrary exercise of power, and returned to their
homes. Lafayette went back to La Grange, in-
flexibly refusing to resume his title of nobility, and
his place in the Chamber of Peers; and declaring
on more than one occasion, when forms brought the
question up, that he adhered to the resolution of the
Constituent Assembly, by which titles were abolished.
Ele, however, was almost constantly in the Repre-
sentative Chamber by election, though the influence
of the Court sometimes succeeded in preventing it.

Lafayette having expressed his intention of re-
visiting the United States, Congress unanimously
passed, in February, 1824, a resolution directing
the President to assure him of the grateful recollec-
tion of the American people, and tendering him a
national ship for his passage hither. But with hisLIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 189

consistent love of true republicanism, he preferred
to take his passage in a private ship; and on the
16th of August, 1824, arrived at New York in the
Cadmus, Capt. Allyn. He was accompanied by his
son, George Washington Lafayette, M. Auguste de
Vasseur, and one servant. His arrival opened a
series of grateful pageants, which in splendour
surpassed anything exhibited before in America:
and in sincerity, heartiness, and spontaneous move-
ment, displayed a spectacle of the moral sublime,
which the world has seldom witnessed. In mere
pomp and glitter, a tyrant may command all that
art can do in the semblance of triumph; but the
heartfelt offerings of a free people are beyond the
reach of all save those who deserve that people’s
gratitude. ;

Lafayette landed on Staten Island on the 15th of
August, where he passed the night. On the day
following a fleet of steamboats went down to the
Island, to convey and escort him to the city, includ-
ing the war-steamer, Robert Fulton; and on board
of these were over six thousand persons, besides the
committee of the corporation, members of the So-
ciety of the Cincinnati, revolutionary officers and
soldiers, a deputation from West Point, and many
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New York bay never presented a more magnificent
spectacle than on this occasion. The shipping were
all liberally decorated with flags and signals. ‘The
day was delightful, and the surface of the water
was dotted with every imaginable description of
craft in their holiday array. Continual salutes of
artillery rolled out their deep base above the shouts
of welcome and congratulation, and it seemed as if
the great city of New York, conscious of its honour
in speaking the first welcome to the nation’s guest,
was determined to do itself credit by enthusiasm
and heartiness. On shore hundreds of bells were
ringing, and the very air seemed vocal with the
music of welcome. As the fleet arrived off the
Battery, at two o’clock, P. M., the scene was most
impressive. ‘The military formed in line were over
three thousand in number; and as the national
guest landed, he was received with a salute of
twenty-one guns, and the acclamations of between
thirty and forty thousand people, who filled the
Battery, and the adjacent streets and avenues. All
places where a foot-hold could be obtained, to the
very roofs of the buildings, were filled with specta-
tors; and to give a full idea of the moral grandeur
and beauty of the scene, is beyond the ability of
any pen in description. No Roman triumph in theihe
tata

      
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
   

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 19}

proudest days of the Eternal Citv ever gave welcome
like this; no man, in any age, ever received testi-
mony so glorious of the gratitude of a great nation.
The susceptible and gratified patriot was more than
once affected to tears; particularly when, under
circumstances so overpowering, he exchanged con-
gratulations with his former companions in arms.
We may here remark, that the numerous evidences
which Lafayette gave of his distinct memory of
places, incidents, names, and persons, was, through-
out his whole American journey, truly wonderful.

After a review of the troops, which must have
awakened deep emotions in the mind of him who
could but recollect the condition of the American
army nearly half a century before, Lafayette pro-
ceeded to the City Hall, in a barouche drawn by
four horses. He was escorted by a troop of horse,
and followed by the long column of citizen soldiery.
Such was the crowd, that the march was very much
impeded ; all eyes were directed to the one point of
attraction, all voices raised in acclamations of wel-
come. Shout after shout went up, in continued and
prolonged cheers; while the bands played now a
‘nineenan welcome, now a reminiscence of a belle
France. At all the windows fair hands waved the
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192 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

eloquent, from its gentle contrast to the no less
sincere, though noisy and hilarious shouts of the
citizens.

After the mayor of the city had spoken his wel-
come, in behalf of the municipality and the nation, to
which Lafayette feelingly and gratefully responded,
and many citizens and strangers were introduced,
including not a few old friends in the “times that
tried men’s souls,” Lafayette received the parting
salute of the military, and was escorted to the City
Hotel, where apartments had been prepared for him.
Thus closed a day, which, so far as any earthly
triumph can, compensated him for his labours in
behalf of the cause of liberty, and for a long life
passed in its consistent support.

The landing of Lafayette at New York took
place on Monday, and on that and the three follow-
ing days the city was alive with testimonies of
respect to him. ‘The Common Council caused the
freedom of the city to be presented him in a golden
box. ‘Trades, societies of all kinds, the professions,
associations, private individuals, and public authori-
ties, vied with each other in doing him honour. His
portrait, presented by Capt. Alivn of the Cadmus,
was placed in the City Hall; and men of all parties,
sects, and conditions, rejoiced that they had foundLIFE OF LAFAYETTR, 193

a@ common sentiment, in which all Americans could
heartily unite.

On Friday, the 20th, he left New York for Boston,
via Connecticut, in a carriage provided by the cor-
poration of the city. He was also attended by a
committee of the Common Council, appointed to ac-
company him. The military escort from one town
attended him, until met by the soldiers deputed on
behalf of other towns to receive him. The whole
journey was a continued triumphal progress. Every-
where he met “hands with hearts in them.” The
old claimed his remembrance, and the young lisped
his praise. Every class of the population joined in
the welcome. His way may literally be said to have
been upon flowers; and his progress was crowded
with incidents, agreeable surprises, and unexpected
recognitions. He was welcomed at New Haven by
the Governor of Connecticut, and at Providence by
the Governor of Rhode Island; and at these and
other principal towns was received with the more
imposing testimonies of high respect, which the
facilities of those places afforded, and patriotism
dictated; while into no town, however small, could
he enter, without finding the descendants of the men
of "76, ready to cheer and welcome him The
anecdotes of his meetings with old soldiers, and his
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194 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

recognitions, would of themselves suffice to fill a
volume larger than this.

Lafayette was met on the Massachusetts line by
the aids of the governor of that State, and his prc
gress to Boston was no less imposing than the route
through Connecticut and Rhode Island. By day he
found all other business deferred to the happy duty
of welcoming him; and by night, bonfires, illumina-
tions, and rockets, announced his progress. From
the mansion of Gov. Eustis, in Roxbury, he was
attended by a numerous cavalcade to the city line,
where a truly imposing procession awaited him, and
the assembled citizens greeted him with prolonged
acclamations. Here he was welcomed by the
mayor, in behalf of the city. The procession then
passed through several of the principal streets,
everywhere lined with spectators, and frequently
arched, to the Common. The entrance to this public
ground was made between two lines of the children
of the public schools—the girls in white, and the
boys in white trowsers and blue jackets, and all
wearing badges. The number of these young wel-
comers was about three thousand ; and the occasion
was made more interesting by the springing forward
of a little girl, who, on her request to speak to La-
fayette, was handed into his carriage, and presentedLIFE OF LAFAYET?E 194

him with a wreath of flowers, and a simple but
touching poetic tribute.

The governor and council received the nation’s
guest at the State-House, and welcomed him in be-
half of the State. He was also waited on by the
Society of the Cincinnati, and other associations.
On the next day Lafayette attended the commence-
ment exercises of Harvard University, giving evi-
dence there, in his unpremeditated classical quota-
tions and allusions, that he was no less a scholar
than warrior and statesman.

After some days spent in Boston and its imme-
diate vicinity, in a perpetual series of ascriptions
of honour on the one hand, and gratified acknow-
ledgement on the other, Lafayette proceeded as far
east as Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Everywhere
the same scenes awaited him; the heartfelt tribute
of all ages and conditions—the greatest exercise of
patriotic ingenuity in arranging devices and sur-
prises—and frequent recognitions of old friends, and
presentation of old soldiers, who talked with him
“their battles o’er again.” In Salem, which he
took on his way to Portsmouth, the orator and pre-
sident of the day was Judge Story, and the recep-
tion was the occasion of many delightful incidents
From Portsmouth he returned to Boston, and196 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

thence, through the interior of Massachusetts and
Connecticut, to New York. The old battle-grounds
of Concord, and Lexington, and other famous places,
were visited. In Connecticut he was more formally
received than was possible on his first hurried pas-
sage through; and at New York the enthusiasm of
the people appeared unabated. The closing féte
was a ball at Castle Garden, unexcelled in the inge-
nuity and happy neatness of its arrangements.
After a hurried but delightful visit to the towns and
cities upon the Hudson, Lafayette proceeded through
New Jersey, on his way to Philadelphia. Through
the State of New Jersey the same triumphal pro-
gress was made as in other places. The descend-
ants of those who lived upon the battle-ground of
the Revolution, led by the survivors of the glorious
bands of worthies in that State, crowded forward
to do him honour. At Trenton and Princeton the
proceedings were truly imposing; and one notice-
able incident in this State was, the passage of several
hours with Joseph Bonaparte.

The governor of New Jersey had the pleasure
of presenting to him the governor of Pennsylvania ;
and on Monday, the 28th of September, the nation’s
guest entered the Keystone State, resting for the
night at Frankford. To this place, distant altLIFE OF LAFAYETTR. 19?

five miles from Philadelphia, it seemed as if the
whole population of the city had repaired to meet
him; and yet, as he approached, the crowd grew
more and more dense. The progress from Frank-
ford to the State-House occupied over six hours.

The head of the procession was composed of a
cavalcade of citizens, after which came between
two and three thousand infantry and cavalry, the
whole number of soldiers in the procession being
between five and six thousand. Then followed La-
fayette in an open barouche, splendidly adorned and
appointed, and followed by other carriages, in which
rode the committees, public officers, and one hun-
dred and twenty veterans of the Revolution. After
these came the trades and other associations. This
was a most imposing part of the pageant—the dif-
ferent artificers, led by the printers, at work upon
an ode which they distributed, being engaged in
their different avocations. The procession exceeded
three miles in length, and every step of its progress
was through a dense crowd of people, whose faces,
radiant with joy and welcome, made the spectators
not the least delightful part of the pageant. The
doors, windows, and balconies were all alive with
graceful forms and happy faces; the decrepit with
age, and the babe in arms, all estates and conditionsmee

me Eos b sas Spe eras seceat ace rea aeat nee pe ae cS Re te FERRIER mba IG Ad pe eee Shee nim peoeepe eres ge ga haGe4 RESTATE se Pea EET
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“ett > 2 *: . z ~ = er Tl Pee ct. SABIE BA. She te ees bas Lhias a
ets aos tereeene a FLti py : : roe Sette as4 eee ee tie ge >

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

198 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

acknowledged their common interest in the welcome
to the friend of his race, the benefactor of America,
the adopted son of Washington.

When at length the guest reached the old State-
House, he passed under a magnificent arch into the
Haut or Inpepenpence, where, amid patriotic ob-
jects and decorations, the officers and citizens de-
puted to welcome him were assembled. After the
formalities of reception, Lafayette was escorted to
his quarters at the Mansion-House. ‘The city was
brilliantly illuminated in the evening; and magnifi-
cent transparencies took the place of the various
objects which had attracted, during the day, the
admiring gaze of the hundreds of thousands who
kept holiday. ‘The arches thrown across the streets
at various points were very numerous, and in inge-
nuity of construction, and tastefulness of design,
were truly unique and appropriate. The pencil of
a Sully, the chisel of a Rush, and the designs of
a Strickland could not produce other than beautiful
and memorable effects ; and as the soul of patriotism
animated the whole people, everybody contributed a
share, direct or indirect, to this most magnificent
pageant.

Some days were spent in meeting old friends, and
partaking of private hospitality, and receiving pubiic| Hh.
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honours, not the least gratifying of which was, the
tribute of two thousand children in Washington
Square. A grand civic ball, given at the Chesnut
Street Theatre, was magnificent in all its appoint-
ments, and was less a ball than a splendid reception.

On the 5th of October having exchanged courte-
sies with as many of the Philadelphians as the time
would admit, Lafayette, highly gratified with the
visit to a city, which had made his stay one con-
tinued féte, departed for Baltimore. Of his passage
through Delaware we can only say, that it was like
his movements in every other direction, a triumphal
progress. At Baltimore, he was upon landing con-
ducted to the Tent of Washington, where, after an
address from the governor of the State, he was re-
ceived by the Society of the Cincinnati, among
whom was Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Lafayette,
unapprised of the delicate compliment conveyed in
the selection of the tent, still seemed to divine that
there was some hidden meaning. When at last he
recognised a portion of Washington’s camp equip-
age, and said in a voice husky with emotion—* I
remember!” the burst of feeling was instantaneous
vith all present. It was a most impressive moment.

The other circumstances of reception in Buaiti-
more were like those we have already described:tee
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200 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

and the Monumental City acquitted herself as
worthily as her sisters. In the District of Columbia
he was no less heartily welcomed than elsewhere,
and with the same ingenuity of patriotic devices.
The President, Mr. Madison, with the Cabinet, and
other high officers of the government, gave him an
affectionate welcome, as became the representatives
of the nation. Visiting the Tomb of Washington,
he was there presented with a ring, containing a
portion of the hair of his departed friend, and with
other memorials of the Father of his Country ; and
Mr. Custis, in presenting them, made a most appro-
priate address.

The next remarkable and most imposing cere-
monies took place upon the battle-ground of York-
town. ‘The field was converted into a camp; and
among the tents were that of Washington, and many
others which saw service in the Revolutionary war.
A triumphal arch, bearing the names of Lafayette,
Hamilton, and Laurens, was erected on the spot
where once stood the redoubt stormed by Lafayette ;
and on the spot where stood that carried by the
French, an obelisk was erected bearing the names
of illustrious Frenchmen. On this classic field no
pageantry was attempted. As was happily remarked
by Gen. Taylor, who made the address, the associa-LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 201

tions of such a scene admitted no attempt at em-
bellishment. On the very spot where the redoubt
was stormed, Gen. Taylor was prepared, at the close
of his address, to place a blended civic and martial
wreath ; but the considerate veteran, while he grace-
fully acknowledged the high compliment, as grace-
fully averted its consummation; and, taking the
expressive coronal in his hand—a prouder than any
diamond circlet, called forward Col. Fish, the only
other survivor of the attack upon the redoubt, and
insisted that half the honour belonged to him.
Thus, as indeed on all occasions, did the self-pos-
sessed and modest veteran gracefully support hom-
age which would have crushed any ordinary man;
and through the whole of his happy but trying pro-
gress through the United States, he manifested a
self-command which left his character as high in
the respect of a nation as before he arrived.
The illustrious men of the “Old Dominion” vied
with each other in honour and hospitality to the
man who so gallantly defended their soil. After a
week delightfully spent with Jefferson, and a visit
to Mr. Madison at his seat, Lafayette was called to
Washington, to meet the successors in Congress of
those who welcomed and honoured him forty years
before. The Congress of 1824 paid him no lesse Oe eS oe ee een ete ee ree ee etee rat anetet ahs Saterat teat et tS ce te Sects eree eee Se Pere eee Teter Peet pee ere nr tt tras setter re see Teese test ere te °
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202 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

respect than did the Congress of 1784. He was
introduced to the House and Senate in joint session
by a committee of twenty-four members, on the 10th
of December; and the address of the Speaker, and
reply of Lafayette, eloquently contrasted the condi-
tion of the country at the two epochs marked by
Lafayette’s visits. He had previously been received
by the Senate, the members rising as he entered ;
and it is a fact not to be forgotten, that Lafayette
was the only stranger who ever received this honour
from the Senate of the United States. On Monday,
December 21st, a bill passed the Senate, granting
Lafayette two hundred thousand dollars and a town-
ship of land, for his services in the Revolution ; and
on the next day the bill passed the House.

On the Ist of March, 1825, Lafayette left Wash-
ington on his southern and western tour. He trav-
elled from Washington to Charleston, and thence to
New Orleans over land—to St. Louis, Cincinnati,
Pittsburg, Buffalo, and Albany, to Boston, which
city he reached on the 16th of June. Through the
whole of the long route of four thousand miles, he
met the same cordial reception that we have de-
scribed in other places. ‘I'hat we have not space
to notice these honours more particularly is of it-
self a high compliment to the recipient for theLIFE OF LAFAYETTE, 203

deeds by which he merited them pre-occupied our
space.

On the 17th of June, Lafayette was present at
the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monu-
ment, Of itself a most sublimely interesting cere-
mony, its interest was thus enhanced by the pre-
sence of Lafayette, the last surviving major-general
of the Revolution. The oration of Webster, which
has taken its rank among American classics, is an
echo of the sentiments of the whole nation upon
this day, which will not cease to repeat itself while
a pulse beats on the free soil of the United States,~ rims ?336s a seDeebetes RPAESASALiC a abd Seitath.s ab siitdt ia scent abt atin ad ts: ptbbet ches cia sct ba ee See tS 1B Chas. Ab basa bi eats hALTS 13 35.03 Ra SEs hee take

vereravtertersty ta viast hag sihdc wasn pica ss iets peteyetth esterase tes otters ata reRet st

pe ererretet tet etorerte se iatteet coo rr tte cerares

    
  
  
 
   
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

CHAPTER XV

Lafayette’s Departure from America—Reception in France—Rev olution
of July, 1830, and Overthrow of the Government of Charles X.-—
Lafayette appointed to the Command of the National Guard—Louis
Philippe elected King of the French—Death of Lafayette—Funeral
Ceremonies in Paris—Respect to his Memory in the United States.

AFAYETTE'’S life would have been
, complete, his character established,
and his mission finished, with the
close of his visit to the United States.
He was now well advanced in years,
i.& and his long life presented events enough to
*) have furnished fame for many; but to the
very close of his days he was destined to
trials of his patriotism and his consistency ;
and the evening of his life, like a glorious sunset,
was brilliant in the virtues which had marked his
whole career.

After the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker
Hill Monument, he spent several months in visits to
various interesting points, as Brandywine, and the
battle-fields in Virginia, and in the exchange of
courtesies with the personal friends of the old timeWIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 205

and the new. He was accompanied to Virginia by
Mr. Monroe, then President, in-a visit to the two
ex-Presidents, Jefferson and Madison. Returning
to Washington on the 8th of September, 1825, the
President, in the name of the nation, took leave of
him in an impressive and deeply affecting address ;
and he embarked on board the steamer which was
to convey him to the Brandywine frigate, which was
waiting for him in the Chesapeake. As the steamer
passed down, Lafayette and his escort being at
dinner, it was noticed that the band had changed its
enlivening music for the plaintive strains of Pleyell’s
Hymn. It was announced —“ We are opposite
Mount Vernon.” Lafayette left the table, and as-
cending to the deck, looked in meditative silence
toward the spot where the remains of WasHINGToN
rest, until the deepening shadows of twilight, and
the distance of the boat, closed the scene from his
view, and then in silence he descended again to the
cabin. Nobody presumed to disturb a reverie so
sacred with a single sound.

The Brandywine, upon his embarkation on the
9th, immediately made sail for France. This frigate,
which was upon the stocks when Lafayette arrived
in the country, was finished and named, with a view
to the honourable service of conveying home theeee aeeed

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206 LIFE OF LAFAYETTE.

nation’s guest. He arrived at Havre on the 4th of
October. Upon landing he was received with an
enthusiastic welcome by the people of his country,
while the despotic government of Charles X., by
continual interruptions and assaults upon the people,
who made his journey from Havre to La Grange a
triumphal progress, failed not to mark its fear of
popular liberty. Lafayette was even threatened
with arrest ; as if he were responsible for the honour
which the nation was resolved to show their coun-
tryman, who had been received with so much
honour abroad.

In a few years Charles X. completed the ruin of
himself, to which all his acts had tended. ‘The Re-
volution of the Three Days of July, 1830, expelled
the antiquated dynasty of the Bourbons. To La-
fayette, as in many former hours of danger, the
nation looked; and on the 29th he was called, at
the age of seventy-three, to the command of the
National Guard. They had resumed their old uni-
form, and with it the best spirit of the old revolu-
tion, before the degeneracy into violence and blood.
In the camp, in the details of the police, and in the
legislative council, Lafayette’s wisdom and courage
aided to carry the nation through a revolution with-
out anarchy. He approved of the nomination ofVAS) i ——— a ee If !
PUNIRES Wye ———— — ] Wo itetl ddan
~ SAN WS = = n i at ht ly
Dy :
‘> SRS

OH

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ape stebet eraea ease, yr aseter itor’

woe oe at oer gr as:LIFE OF LAFAYETTE,

207

Louis Philippe, first as Lieutenant-General, and ther
as King of the French, as the best possible step
which could be taken under the circumstances—the
best guarantee against the recurrence of civil war
His influence, as representative of the nation, con
summated the work of the deputies in the eleva-
tion of the King of the French; and thus, in the
last days of his life, he showed the same disinte-
restedness which had marked his whole career; the
same contempt of self and love of country. After
all danger of anarchy was over, he resigned his
command in the National Guards, and retired to La
Grange ; appearing in public life only in his capacity
of legislator, which he kept until his death.

On the 19th of June, 1834, the intelligence of his
death was received in this country. The President
of the United States issued general orders, as the
head of the army and navy, directing the same tes-
timonies of respect to be paid as were observed at
the death of Washington. On the 24th, Congress
adopted a series of resolutions, expressive of honour
to the dead, and condolence to the living friends;
and at the session of 1824-5, an eloquent eulogy
was pronounced by Hon. John Quincy Adams_ In
all the principal cities in the country, eulogies were
pronounced, and fuuera: processions took place.208 LIFE OF LAFAYETTYE.

The children, who, ten years before, assisted in the

fétes at his reception, in 1834 aided, as men and

women, in the solemnitres of his funeral honours.

Lafayette died at his hotel in Paris, on the 21st

of May, 1834, at the age of seventy-seven. On the

| 18th he had followed on foot the remains of the

patriot Dulong to Pére le Chaise, and, in consequence

of the exposure took a cold, which in less than a

week thereafter led another mournful pageant to the

Garden of Tombs. A moment before his death the

attendants were putting a blister upon his breast.

“It is of no use,” he said, and falling back into the

arms of his son George Washington, breathed his
last.

The funeral was a mournful pageant, in which all
the people of Paris participated. No oration was
spoken, no formal eulogy was attempted; for the
aspect of the city, and the faces of the people were
more eloquent than words. Thus was a man be-
loved in death—thus was he honoured, who always
dared the right, whether for the moment it pleased
or displeased. If he forfeited popularity for an hour,
nis constant adherence to principles has made his
good name immortal.

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,
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Ee
taePATRIOTIC SERIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

 

“Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime.”

 
  
 

PATRIOTIC The volumes included in this
“SERIES. Series tend to inculcate the spirit
FOR of patriotism and good citizenship.
Boys I'he boys and girls of to-day are

  

here made acquainted with the lives
and characters of many noble men
and women of this and other
countries. The information is pleas-
antly and vividly imparted in the
form of popular biography as well
as fiction by well-knownand popular
writers.

Unirorm Croru Binping New
AND ATTRACTIVE Digs _ Inwus-
TRATED Price per volume $1.00
1. Bossin Boy The Early Life of

Gen. N. P. Banks
2. BorpER Boy A Popular Life
of Daniel Boone By W.H.
Bogart
DARING DEEDS OF THE REVOLUTION By Henry C. Watson
Dora Daruine or the Daughter of the Regiment By Jane G
Austin
Dora DARLING AND LITTLE SuNSHINE By Jane G. Austin
FATHER OF HIS CouNTRY A Popular Life of George Washington
By Henry C. Watson
FRIEND OF WASHINGTON A Popular Life of General Lafayette.
By Henry C. Watson.
GREAT MEN AND GALLANT Deeps By J. G. Edgar
GREAT PEACEMAKER A Popular Life of William Penn By
Henry C. Watson
GREAT EXPOUNDER Young Folks’ Life of Daniel Webster
Goop AND GreAT Men ‘Their Brave Deeds and Works By
John Frost, LL.D.

 

 

- Lirtte Corporat Young Folks’ Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

By Jobn Frost, LL.D.

- Mitt Boy or THE SuiasHes Life of Henry Clay_ By John Frost
- NoBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN Edited by J. Clement

OLD BELL Gf INDEPENDENCE By Henry C. Watson

. OLtD Hickory Life of Andrew Jackson By John Frost
- OLD RoucH AND ReEApy Young Folks’ Life of Gen. Zachary

Taylor By John Frost, LL.D.

. PIONEER MOTHERS OF THE West Daring and Heroic Deeds of

American Women By John Frost, LL.D.

2INTER Boy or How Ben Franklin made his Mark :
Pope Hae aaanis Srory A Popular Life of Ben Franklin By

C. Watson
ene Prxsis or the Revolutionary Struggle in the Mohawk
By Mary E. Brush
ween ae Ze InDIANS By Thomas C. Battey

Swamp Fox Life of Gen. Francis Marion By John Frost
_ WomMEN oF WorRTH WHOM THE WORLD Loves TO HONOR

Youna INVINCIBLES or Patriotism at Home. By I. H. Anderson

LEE and SHEPHERD Publishers, BOSTONeee teeter et eeete st eet ey thre enes m —

: a dak hb tie ahs alg he Ah Parent hon aawererrperen pees tea Seth s TETeTTTUEES SST ett Sto ol ty ft kee te

is poo Sane ee Seeha tt ots be oat oooh oo . ae Re ts St Uae Fe eRe BR oe! ‘2 Sa rieisp thas; : thehebebhbehee nek CLO Lette cael ek eee te Meee Trie ei ey eee eT ART Cos fia a hse e teens t es 8. tak ck Meet ee P

= Sista See ste SS PS aatt 33 atnbbchs st 8 atts $05, 25 th7 sone ep ary ee Sts - = : be as Es Thies gat hoa be 2: ARTI 51 24 TLAt Bed ghee ibs ST Sh
2 _ a ae os ~~ ae ISITE Se - ™ . 3 BF ty t bA84 ‘ SS ties ee

Serie etrrereeeretert stots

AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES

Ninety-five copyright books for boys by noted American
Authors

   
   

: ; |
The books selected for this series are all

 

 

epo

© EWAN S

td
9

rr.
12.
13.
14.
“5,

17.
18,

I.

thoroughly American, by such favorite Ameri-

 

 

can authors of boys’ books as Oliver Optic,
Elijah Kellogg, P. C. Headley, Captain Farrar,
George M. Towle, and others, now made for
the first time at a largely reduced price, in order
to bring them within the reach of all. Each

volume complete in itself.

UNIFORM CLOTH BINDING NEW COVER

DeEsIGN ILLUSTRATED Price per volume

 

 

 

 

 

$1.00

 

Adrift in the Ice Fields By Capt. Chas. W. Hall

All Aboard, or Life on the Lake By Oliver Optic

Ark of Elm Island By Elijah Kellogg

Arthur Brown the Young Captain By Elijah Kellogg

Boat Club, The, or the Bunkers of Rippleton By Oliver Optic

Boy Farmers of Elm Island, The By Elijah Kellogg

Boys of Grand Pré School By Prof. James DeMille

«B.O. W.C.,’? The By Prof. James DeMille

Brought to the Front, or the Young Defenders By Elijah
Kellogg |

Burying the Hatchet, or the Young Brave of the Delawares
By Elijah Kellogg

Cast Away inthe Cold By Dr. Isaac I. Hayes

Charlie Bell the Waif of Elm Island By Elijah Kellogg

Child of the Island Glen By Elijah Kellogg

Crossing the Quicksands By Samuel W. Cozzens

Cruise of the Casco By Elijah Kellogg

Fire in the Woods By Prof. James DeMille

Fisher Boys of Pleasant Cove By Elijah Kellogg

Forest Glen, or the Mohawk’s Friendship By Elijah
Kellogg

Good Old Times By Elijah Kellogg

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers BOSTON20.
21.

22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
an.
28.

20.
30.

41.
32.
33:
34-
35+
36.
37:
38.
39-
40.

qi.

42.

AMERrCAN BOYS’ SERIES — Continued

RTE

    
 
   
  
   
  
 
   
   
  
  
   
   
 
 
  
   
   
  
    
   
  
   
  
    

Hardscrabbie of Eim Isiand By Elijah Kellogs

Haste or Waste, or the Young Pilot of Lake Champlats
By Oliver Optic

Hope and Have By Oliver Optic

In School and Out, or the Conquest of Richard Grant By
Oliver Optic

John Godsoe’s Legacy By Elijah Kellogg

Just His Luck By Oliver Optic

Lion Ben of Elm Isiand By Elijah Kellogg

Little by Little, or the Cruise of the Flyaway By Oliver
Optic

Live Oak Boys, or the Adventures of Richard Constable
Affoat and Ashore By Elijah Kellogg

Lost in the Fog By Prof. James DeMille

Mission of Black Rifie, or Gn the Trail By Elijah
Kellogg

Now or Never, or the Adventures of Bobby Bright |
Oliver Optic

Poor and Proud, or the Fortunes of Kate Redburn By
Oliver Optic

Rich and Humble, or the [lission of Bertha Grant By
Oliver Optic

Sophomores of Radcliffe, or James Trafton and His Boston
Friends By Elijah Kellogg

Sowed by the Wind, or the Poor Boy’s Fortune By Elijah
Kellogg

Spark of Genius, or the College Life of James Trafton By
Elijah Kellogg

Stout Heart, or the Student from Over the Sea By Elijah
Kellogg

Strong Arm and a/iother’s Blessing By Elijah Kellogg

Treasure of the Sea_ By Prof. James DeMille

Try Again, or the Trials and Triumpits of Harry West By
Oliver Optic

Turning of the Tide, or Radcliffe Rich and his Patients By
Elijah Kellogg

Unseen Hand, or James Renfew and His Boy Helpers By
Elijah Kellogg

Aw

y

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers BOSTON

PRI rn MSH oe hao ue PERRET rete
PUNCH nbn sate igiel tient tes a HPT ear peer es BEd aT ts Aes teed abapaetoe se eRe anpiven if

eat RES $5 25 oo

peebompe crab ines * Laas 11 ES!

bhshace) cacanstess 5c thigh geet hots etl nt ee
Saeki ht oars ee eg bas pata:
a) as) - ee ——

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Poet tn aaa SPARES Se aes pashicre bbe he Process tees)

aes Habtoacgtace

AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES — Continued

43.
44.

45.
46.
47>
: 48.
49.
50.
sr.

52.
53-

54.
55.
56.
57-
58.
39.
60.
eae
62.
63.
64.

65.

 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
   
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
  

Watch and Wait, or the Young Fugitives By Oliver Optic

Whispering Pine, or the Graduates of Radcliffe By Elijah
Kellogg

Winning His Spurs, or Henry [orton’s First Trial By
Elijah Kellogg

Wolf Run, or the Boys of the Wilderness xy Elijah
Kellogg

Work and Win, or Noddy Newman on a Cruise By Oliver
Optic

Young Deliverers of Pleasant Cove By Elijah Kellogg

Young Shipbuilders of Elm Island By Eljah Kellogg

Young Vrail Hunters By Samuel W. Cozzens

Field and Forest, or the Fortunes of a Farmer By Oliver
Optic

Outward Bound, or Young America Afloat By Oliver Optic

The Soldier Boy, or Tom Somers in the Army By Oliver
Optic

The Starry Flag, or the Young Fisherman of Cape Ann By
Oliver Optic

Through by Daylight, or the Young Engineer of the Lake
Shore Railroad By Oliver Optic

Cruises with Captain Bob around the Kitchen Fire By B.P,
Shillaber (Mrs. Partington)

The Double-Runner Club, or the Lively Boys of Rivertown
By B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington)

Ike Partington and His Friends, or the Humors of a Human
Boy By B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington)

Locke Amsden the Schoolmaster By Judge D. P. Thompson

The Rangers By Judge D. P. Thompscn

The Green Mountain Boys By Judge D. P. Thompsun

A Missing Million, or the Adventures of Louis Belgrave
3y Oliver Optic

A Millionaire at Sixteen, or the Cruise of the ‘‘ Guardian
Mother’’ By Oliver Optic

A Young Knight Errant, or Cruising in the West Indies
By Oliver Optic

Strange Sights Abroad, or Adventures in European Water$
By Oliver Optic

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers BOSTONChirp

    
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
   
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
 
 
  
 
 

AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES — Continued

66. Facing the Enemy The Life of Gen. Wm. Tecumseh Sher-
man By P. C. Headley
) 67. Fight it Out on This Line The Life and Deeds of Gen.
: U. S. Grant By P. C. Headley
68. Fighting Phil The Life of Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan By
P, C. Headley

69. Olid Salamander The Life of Admiral David G. Farragut
| By P. C. Headley

vo. Olid Stars The Life of Gen. Ormsby [1. Mitchell By P. C.
Headley

“1. The [Miner Boy and His Monitor The Career of Jonn Erics-
son, Engineer By P. C. Headley

72. The Young Silver Seekers By Samuel W. Cozzens

73. Drake the Sea King of Devon By George Makepeace Towle

74. Tlagetian, or the First Voyage around the World By G. M. Towle

75. Marco Polo, His Travels and Adventures By G. M. Towle

“6. Pizarro, His Adventures and Conquests By George M. Towle

“7, Raleigh, His Voyages and Adventures By George M. Towle

78. Vasco da Gama, His Voyages and Adventures By G. M. Towle

79. The Heroes and [lartyrs of Invention By George M. Towle

80. Live Boys, or Charlie and Nasho in Texas By A. Morecamp

81. Live Boys in the Black Hills By Arthur Morecamp

82. Down the West Branch By Capt. C. A. J. Farrar

83. Eastward Ho! By Capt. C. A. J. Farrar

84. Up the North Branch By Capt. C. A. J. Farrar

85. Wild Woods Life By Capt. C. A. J. Farrar

86. Child of the Tide By Mrs. E. D. Cheney

87. The Boys of Thirty-Five By E. H. Elwell

88. Perseverance Island By Douglas Frazar

89. Going West By Oliver Optic

go. Little Bobtail By Oliver Optic

NEW TITLES ADDED IN 1904

gt. Fore and Aft By Robert B. Dixon

92. Pocket Island By Charles Clark Munn

93. Donald’s School Days By Gen. O. O. Howard
94. Henry inthe War By Gen. O, O. Howard

95. Aji Adrift By Oliver Optic

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers BOSTONStgsis tb UETIET a eh ee!
pasts: t aa
r ke mete 15 ag!)

secpatrsy
eee ea

Peteat tran sacitet

   
 
 
  
  
   
    
  
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
    
  
 
    
    

aE cn atolis stad eshee shale heed eka tas

ve een eee: Chae he eek eee oe ek ee eo TEP SE TELNET

PHILLIPS EXETER SERIES

    
  

By A. T. DUDLEY

IHustrated by Charles Copeland. Cloth. Price per vol., $1.25

FIRST VOLUME

FOLLOWING THE BALL

 

Saas
yee BALL

ile hy
a NA

we a pot
ig Hiece oun

  
   

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Here is an up-to-date story presenting
American boarding-school life and modern
athletics. The scene will readily be recog-
nized as at Exeter. Of course football is
an important feature, and in tracing the
development of the hero froma green player
to an expert it might serve as a cuide.
Other branches of athletics are also finely
dealt with. But it is far more than a foot-
ball book. Itis astory of character forma-
tion told in a most wholesome and manly
way. In this development athletics play
an important part, to be sure, but are only
one feature in carrying the hero, ‘‘ Dick
Melvin,” on to a worthy manhood.

“« A seasonable school and football story, by a writer who knows the game

and knows boys as well.

It is of the ‘Tom Brown’ type, an uplifting as well

as a lively story.”—<dAdvance, Chicago, Il.

SHCOND VOLUME

MAKING THE NINE

The cordial reception of the great foot-

ball story, ‘‘ Following the Ball,” which had ff

the distinction of so fine a spirit in its de-
velopment of the hero’s school life that not
only the boys but their elders were enthusi- }
astic over it, has led to this second book, in
which baseball is sufficiently prominent to
suggest the title. Itisa pleasure for a pub- |
lisher to present such a book as this, in
every way worthy to continue the success
of the previous volume. The special points }
of excellence are that the storyis lively and |
worth telling, and the life presented is that }
of a real school, interesting, diversified, and |
full of striking incidents, while the char-

 

 

 

 

 

acters are true and consistent types of American boyhood and
youth. The athletics are technically correct, abounding in

helpful suggestions,

soundly and wisely given, and the moral

tone is high and set by action rather than preaching.

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, BostonTOM WINSTONE, “WIDE AWAKE”

By MARTHA JAMES

Author of ‘“‘ My Friend Jim” and ‘“‘ Jack Tenfield’s Star”

Large 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated by W. Herbert Dunton. Price $1.00

a

— ea ‘‘ Another book equally worthy of a
| TOM WINSTONE place in our Sunday-school libraries
“WIDE AWAKE.” is Tom WINSTONE, ‘ WIDE AWAKE,’ by
ap Martha James. It is a thorough-going
e boy’s book of the right sort,—fulloflife,
bubbling over with high spirits and
noble ambition; a most intelligent
interpretation of boy life and charac-
ter. The young hero of this narrative,
equally efficient in athletics at school
and in the harder school of manly
sacrifice, is a character well worth
knowing.” — Pilgrim Teacher, Boston.
‘““The young hero of the story, equally efficient in athletic
sports and in noble deeds, is well worth the acquaintance of every
healthy boy reader.” — Boston Transcript.
‘<Any healthy boy will delight in this book.”— Living Church,

Milwaukee, Wis.

‘‘ Another excellent story for boys is Tom WINSTONE, ‘ WIDE
AWAKE,’ by Martha James. Here is a recital of adventure,
with much account of boyish sport, in a pure tone and with
Christian teaching.”— Fall River News.

‘This is a real ‘ boy’s story,’ full of incidents and interesting
characters drawn to the life, while the tone is wholesome and
gsenuine.”— Portland Press.

“The author has done a good work for the lads of the gener-
ation, and her effort will doubtless meet with the popularity it
deserves. ”— Indianapolis Sentinel.

 

 

 

 

For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers.

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston

par essMY FRIEND JIM
A STORY OF REAL BOYS AND FOR THERM
By MARTHA JAMES

Square 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Frank T. MERRILL 200 pages $1.00

 

    

As a sub-title to her latest book
for young people, “ My Friend
Jim,” Martha James has added
the line “A Story of Real Boys
and for Them,” and it ts a. teal
book im the ‘best sense of the
word. As a testimony as to what
one real boy at least thinks of it
it may not be out of place to re-
late a little incident which oc-
curred Christmas week.

Having missed one of the boys
of the household, a lad given
more to baseball and shinney
than books, the writer was surprised to find him lying at
full-length on a big rug before the fire in the library, deep
in a book.

“Hello! what are you reading?” was the exclamatory
question.

“©¢ My Friend Jim,’ ”’ was the brief reply.

fist sood ?.”’

“Well, I guess; it’s a dandy!” and with an impatient
gesture that indicated that he did not want to be further
interrupted, he turned his back toward his questioner and
buried his face in his book.

Jim is a country boy, strong and healthy in mind and
body, though poor and humble, whose companionship is
the means of improving physically, as well as broadening
in mind and character, the invalid son of a man of means
forced to remain abroad on business. Brandt, the city
boy, spends the summer in the country near Jim’s home,
and the simple adventures and pleasures of the lads form
the interest of the story.— Brooklyn Citizen.

 
   
 
     

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LEE and SHEPARD BestonYoung Heroes of Wire and Kail
By ALVAH MILTON KERR
Illustrated by H. C. EDWARDS, J. C. LEYENDECKER, and others

12mo Cloth Price $1.25

 

This is a book of wonderfully vivid stories of
railroad life, portraying the heroism of trainmen,
telegraph operators, and despatchers, each story
a complete drama in itself, with thrilling climax,
and yet too truthful to be classed as sensational,
It is by Alvah Milton Kerr, formerly a train-
despatcher of long experience, and now a justly
noted writer of railroad stories, who has brought
together from many sources the most striking
acts of heroism performed during the last quar-
ter of a century of railroad activity, and has cast
them in stories of singularly intense interest.

Most of these stories first appeared in
“McClure’s Magazine,” ‘The Youth’s Com-
panion,” “ Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post -
and “Success;” which fact is a very strong guarantee of merit. No
one who begins reading these stories in this finely printed, illustrated,
and bound book will be likely to allow anything to interfere with their
completion.

 

 

 

 

“ An ideal book for a young boy is ‘ Young Heroes of Wire and Rail,’ and,
indeed, the older folks who begin to read will continue to the end.” — Episcopal
Recorder, Philadelphia.

““ The tone of the work is healthful and inspiring.’’ — Boston Herald.

“‘ They teach more bravery, unselfishness and forethought in a page than can
be imparted in an hour of ‘ethical’ instruction in school.” — New York Times.

“ The tone of the stories is fine, showing unexpected bravery and courage in
many of the characters.” — Delineator, New York.

“ A book that not only yields entertainment and healthy excitement, but
reveals some of the possibilities always confronting railroad workers and train

despatchers.’’ — Christian Register, Boston.
“ They are calculated to inspire boys to become manly, and incidentally they
contain considerable valuable information.”’ — Newark News.

For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers.

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, BostonSerre. 0) as se beees tues tebene ihe eee ch ok SERCO OR LER LCE eS Lean Baie

Seat SE ntar af Sead ae Se MLD eee Soe, Pi PETE ROT TET AE LET TA LEDIETESESE SS TEATS RIE SEs oe ak ed aede ge ck Seth keene heat
~ _ a els he Parr Sa rn mm Pen ee Se ST Te oe tt tated os ae eye Mots ee FE:
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BY EVERETT T. TOMLINSON.

~— Ey

THE WAR OF 1812 SERIES

Six volumes Cloth [Illustrated by &. B.
Shute Price per volume reduced to $1.25

   
  

Warm, OF 1812 SERIBS

 Tecumgen's No American writer for boys has ever occupied
O/oune Braves a higher position than Dr. Tomlinson, and the
3 ‘War of 1812 Series” covers a field attempted
by no other juvenile literature in a manner that
has secured continued popularity.

The Search for Andrew Field
The Boy Soldiers of 1812
The Boy Officers of 1812
Tecumseh’s Young BraveG
Guarding the Border
The Boys with Old Hickory

ST. LAWRENCE SERIES

CRUISING IN THE ST. LAWRENCE

Being the third volume of the ‘‘St. Lawrence Series®? Cloth
Illustrated Price $1.50

Our old friends, “ Bob,” “Ben,” “Jock,” and “Bert,” having completed
their sophomore year at college, plan to spend the summer vacation cruising
on the noble St. Lawrence. Here they not only visit places of historic inter-
est, but also the Indian tribes encamped on the banks of the river, and learn
from them their customs, habits, and quaint legends.

  

 

 

 

PREVIOUS VOLUMES
CAMPING ON THE ST. LAWRENCE
Or, On the Trail of the Early Discoverers
Cloth Illustrated $1.50
THE HOUSE-BOAT ON THE ST. LAWRENCE
Or, Following Frontenac
Cloth [Illustrated $1.50
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
STORIES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Biret and Second Series Cloth Illustrated $1.00 each

 

LEE @ SHEPARD, Publishers - BOSTONJHE FAMOUS “OLD GLORY SERIES”

By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
stuthor of ** The Bound to Succeed Series,” ‘‘ The Ship and Shove
Servies,”? ** Colonial Series,” ‘* Pan-American Series,” ett.
Six volumes Cloth [IIlustrated Price per volume $1.25
UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA
Or The War Fortunes of a Castaway

Hwy [IGHTING in A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA

UBAN WATERS

Wve see Or Fighting for the Single Stax

FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS
Or Under Schley on the Brookiyn

UNDER OTIS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Or A Young Officer in the Tropics

THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE
Or Under Lawton through Luzon

UNDER MACARTHUR IN LUZON
Or Last Battles in the Philippines

«©A boy once addicted to Stratemeyer stays by him.’? — 7%e Living
Church.

“The boys’ delight —-the ‘ Old Glory Series.’’?-- The Christian Ad-
wocate, New York.

‘¢ Stratemeyer’s style suits the boys.’?-- JOHN TERHUNE, Szfz. of Pub-
lic Instruction, Bergen Co., New Hersey.

‘Mr. Stratemeyer is in a class by himself when it comes to writing
about American heroes, their brilliant doings on land and sea.’’ -~ 77mes,
Boston.

*‘ Mr. Stratemeyer has written a series of books which, while histori-
cally correct and embodying the most important features of the Spanish-
American War and the rebellion of the Filipinos, ar sufficiently inter-
woven with fiction to render them most entertaining to young readers,*°
aw The Cal, San Francisco,

 

 

 

 

 

For sate by alt booksellers, or sent, postpazd, on recetp: of price by

LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers,
BOSTONFash hee ee etree et

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Boys’ Life of
Roosevelt

 

American

Theodore

 

 

By EDWARD STRATEMEYER 325 pages IIlustrated
from photographs $1.25

 

 

CS ance es
Nene

 

AS EVES since the enormous

success. of Mr, Strate-
meyer’s ‘ American Boys’ Life
of William McKinley” there
has been an urgent demand
that he follow the volume with
one on the life of our present
President, and this has now
been done with a care and
a faithfulness certain to win
immediate appreciation every-
where.

The book covers the whole
life of our honored executive
step by step, as schoolboy, col-
lege student, traveler, author,
State assemblyman, Civil Ser-
vice and Police Commissioner, Governor of New York,
as a leader of the Rough Riders in Cuba, as Vice-Presi-
dent, and finally as President. Many chapters have also
been devoted to Mr. Roosevelt’s numerous adventures as
a hunter and asaranchman (true stories which are bound
to be dear to the heart of all boys who love the strenuous
life), and full particulars are given of the daring battles
for Cuban liberty, in which our worthy President, as
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Rough Riders, took such a
conspicuous part.

The Appendix contains a Chronology of Theodore
Roosevelt, and also brief extracts from some of his most
famous speeches and addresses.

For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpatd, on
receipt of price, by the publishers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEE AND SHEPARD

BOSTONTHE COLONIAL SERIES

By EDWARD STRATEMEYER

Author of “ Pan-American Sertes,” “ Old Glory Series,” *‘ Greaé
American Industries Series, “A merican Boys’
Biographical Series,” etc.

Four volumes Cloth Itustrated by A. B. Shute
Price pet volume, $4.25

 

—————

  
    

i

WITH WASHINGTON IN THE WEST
Or A Soldier Boy’s Battles in the Wilderness

MARCHING ON NIAGARA
Or The Soldier Boys of the Old Frontier

AT THE FALL OF MONTREAL
Or A Soldier Boy’s Final Victory

Ag ~¢]) a ON THE TRAIL OF PONTIAC
iy NAL stratenever Or The Pioneer Boys of the Ohio

  

 

 

“Mr. Stratemeyer has put his best work into the ‘ Colonial
Series.’ ” — Christian Register, Boston.

“A series that doesn’t fall so very far short of being history
itself.”” — Boston Courter.

« The tales of war are incidental to the dramatic adventures of
two boys, so well told that the historical facts are all the better
remembered.” — Boston Globe.

“Edward Stratemeyer has in many volumes shown himself
master of the art of producing historic studies in the pleasing
story form,” — Minneapolts Journal.

“The author, Edward Stratemeyer, has used his usual care in

matters of historical detail and accuracy, and gives a splendid

picture of the times in general.” — Milwaukee Sentinel.

“Told by one who knows how to write so as to interest boys,
while still having a care as to accuracy. — Commercial Advertiser,

New York.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price by

LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers
BOSTONme

an aleigand i neg terecnnate ss a apeiee =< Seer ee SE emee a
~- a apes Bele ee eS

Tue STRATEMEYER POPULAR SERIES

 

10 volumes Illustrated and handsomely bound in gold and colors
Attractive new cover designs Price $.75 per volume

“INCE the passing of Henty, Edward

of all living writers for the young, and
each year extends the vast and enthusi-
asticthrong. In obedience to the popular
demand we have established this POPULAR
SERIES comprising ten representative
books by this great writer, on which
special prices can be made. The stories
are bright and breezy, moral in tone, and
while full of adventure, are not sensational.
These books, at a popular price, will be a

 

Stratemeyer is the most widely read

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rare treat for the boys and girls.

ss

TONEY

va

10.

The Last Cruise of the Spitfire Or Luke Foster’s Strange
Voyage

Reuben Stone’s Discovery Or The Young Miller of Tor-=
rent Bend

True to Himself Or Roger Strong’s Struggle for Place
Richard Dare’s Venture Or Striking Out for Himself
Oliver Bright’s Search Or The Mystery of a Mine

To Alaska for Gold Or The Fortune Hunters of the Yukon
The Young Auctioneers Or The Polishing of a Rolling
Stone

Bound to be an Electrician Or Franklin Bell’s Success
Shorthand Tom the Reporter Or The Exploits of a Bright
Boy

Fighting for His Own Or The Fortunes of a Young Artist

 

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers BOSTON

ae
Ne:

os
be
=THE START IN LIFE SERIES
By J. T. TROWBRIDGE
Cloth Illustrated Price per volume, $1.00

Te GEG A Start in Life eé ¢ A STORY OF THE
oe ue e

 

 

 

 

GENESEE COUNTRY.

J.T. SJ Trowanjoces

In this story the author recounts the hard-
=] ships of a young lad in his first endeavor to
start out for himself. It is a tale that is full
of enthusiasm and budding hopes,

Biding His Time.

“Tt is full of spirit and adventure, and
presents a plucky hero who was willing to
‘bide his time,’ no matter how great the
expectations that he indulged in from his
uncle’s vast wealth, which he did not in the
least covet.” — Boston flome Journal,

The Kel D- Gatherers f A STORY OF THE MAINE COAsT.

A bright and readable story, with all the hints of character and the
vicissitudes of human life, in depicting which the author is an acknowl
edged master.

the Scarlet Tanager, xv Oruer Bweps.

Every new story which Mr. Trowbridge begins is followed through
successive chapters by thousands who have read and re-read many times
his preceding tales. One of his greatest charms is his absolute truthful-
ness. He does not depict little saints, or incorrigible rascals, but just doys.

The Lottery Tichet.

“This is one of the many popular stories written by this well-known
author, whose name on the title- -page of a book makes it a welcome arrival
to most of the young people who read. The moral is always good, the
influence in the right direction, and the characters so portrayed that the
right is always rewarded and the wrong fails to prosper.” — Dudugue,
Lowa, Herald,

The Adventures of David Wane and David Crane.

A strong, homely, humorous story of the everyday life of American
country-bred boys, by one who is acknowledged to be the best living story-
teller in his peculiar vein.

 

 

 

 

(Tr PT

 

For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price, by

LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers
BOSTON$33
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