Lafayette, Marquis de

Cultural  

1. A French nobleman, political leader, and general of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Enthusiastic for the ideals of the American Revolutionary War, Lafayette served as a general in the American army during the Revolutionary War, fighting alongside his friend George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown and elsewhere. On returning to France, he was active in the early stages of the French Revolution.

---

Discover More

A United States Army officer, speaking at the tomb of Lafayette after United States forces had arrived in support of France in World War I, said, “Lafayette, we are here.” He meant that the United States, in aiding France in the war, was returning the favor that Lafayette and the French had done for the United States in the Revolutionary War. The officer is sometimes identified as General John Pershing.

Example Sentences

Lafayette, Marquis de, address to the scholars of the N. Y. African free school, 168.Langston,

From History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2) Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens by Williams, George Washington

Lafayette, Marquis de, arrival in America, 345;operations in Virginia, 385;expressions of Washington to, as to necessity of naval help, 397, 400;associations of his name to Americans, 501.

From The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by Mahan, A. T. (Alfred Thayer)

Lafayette, Marquis de, French general and statesman, 28, 54, 237.

From Latin America and the United States Addresses by Elihu Root by Bacon, Robert

Lafayette, Marquis de, enlists in the American cause, 508; influences France to send a second expedition, 511; in Virginia, 530; in Yorktown campaign, 531.

From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene

Lafayette, Marquis de, entertained by John Edgar, 193; mention, 209.

From The Settlement of Illinois, 1778-1830 by Boggess, Arthur Clinton