He went to Philadelphia; there he was coldly received by Congress which hesitated to give the young foreigner the position to which he was entitled by his rank and by the promise of the American commissioner in France. A less enthusiastic patriot might have taken offence. Lafayette only wrote to Congress: “After the sacrifice I have made I have the right to exact two favors; one is, to serve at my own expense, the other is, to serve at first as a volunteer.”
His generosity was not unrewarded. Congress made him major-general; he was soon attached to the staff of Washington and between the two there grew to be the warmest friendship. Lafayette suffered many hardships in the patriot cause. He was wounded in the battle of Brandywine while leading his troops; he bore without a murmur the privations of Valley Forge, and fought gallantly in the battle of Monmouth.
In 1779 Lafayette went to France for a few months; it was largely through his influence that land and naval forces were sent to the aid of America. France formed an alliance with America and aided the patriots chiefly because she hated England and wished revenge for the loss of her northern colonies. The young French officer, however, was inspired by love for the cause of freedom.
In 1781 he was sent in command of twelve hundred New England soldiers to help the Virginians against the invading Cornwallis who had about five thousand men. “The boy cannot escape me,” said Cornwallis when he heard of Lafayette’s approach. But “the boy” managed to keep out of reach, until he was so reinforced that when he offered battle Cornwallis withdrew. It was now Lafayette’s turn to pursue and Cornwallis’s to retreat. At Yorktown the British were hemmed in by the American army under Lafayette on one side and the French fleet on the other, until Washington’s forces came up. The siege and capture of Yorktown followed, and Lafayette who had contributed largely to the success of the campaign was publicly thanked by Washington. In December, 1781, the young nobleman returned to his home in France.
A few years later the French began their struggle for liberty, the famous French Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette drew up a famous “declaration of rights,” modeled after the Declaration of Independence, and drew his sword again in the cause of the people. The great French prison, the Bastile, regarded as the stronghold of tyranny, was taken, and its key was sent by Lafayette to Washington.
Lafayette wanted freedom but not license for his countrymen, and he lost favor with the violent republican party. At last, sick of anarchy in the name of liberty, he left France, intending to come to America. He was seized by the Austrian authorities, and for five years was kept in close and cruel imprisonment.
In 1824 Lafayette, an old and broken man who had been deprived of wealth and property, came to visit the young republic for which he had fought. He was received as the nation’s guest, the people’s friend; he went from Boston to New Orleans, welcomed and honored at every turn. He made a pilgrimage to Mount Vernon to visit the tomb of his “great good friend,” Washington. In Boston he laid the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill monument. Congress voted him a grant of two hundred thousand dollars and an American vessel was sent to convey him home. The United States joined France in lamenting the death of this great patriot in 1834.
Some American Improvements and Inventions
Franklin, the first great typical American, was interested in science,—not so much the abstract principles as the practical application of those principles so as to increase the comfort and well-being of people. This was true, also, of Jefferson, another great typical American. From those days to the present time, this practical turn has been characteristic of American talent. Sometimes it has been said in reproach that America stands for progress in material ways, that her men of science care, not for abstract truth, but for its market value.
Let us remember, however, that whenever a great cause or principle has needed support, Americans have always risen to the occasion. Material progress and business ability are good things, if only we do not overestimate their value in comparison with others.