When Washington Met Lafayette

[Sequoia]

James Gaines' new book elegantly portrays the two great republican revolutions of the late 18th Century—and reminds America the debt it owes to France in gaining its liberty.

On July 27, 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette and 14 other French military officers arrived, hot, filthy, and exhausted, in Philadelphia. They had slipped past the British blockade in Charleston and trekked for 32 days to the capital of the newly created United States of America to offer their services. Told to present themselves at the Carpenters' Hall, where the Continental Congress was meeting, the men brushed off their frock coats and knocked on the door. After a long, humiliating wait, the French officers were dismissed, shooed away, as "adventurers." As author James Gaines describes the astonishment and chagrin of Lafayette and his fellow officers, "they were left open-mouthed on Chestnut Street, fifteen French officers who had risked an ocean crossing and spent the worst three months of their lives for the pleasure of this moment."

sometimes seems that Franco-American relations must bridge an ocean of resentment and misunderstanding. Americans who cracked jokes about the French during the run-up to the Iraq war forget how much we owe France for our liberty. During the Revolution, George Washington's army was equipped largely with weapons smuggled in by the French. A French fleet bottled up the British to secure the American rebels' decisive victory at Yorktown in 1781. And dozens of French military officers volunteered to fight for American independence. On the other hand, writes Gaines in “For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions,” many of the Frenchmen were vain and condescending and obsessed with pay and rank—more of a burden then a blessing to the fledging republic.

Lafayette was not put off for long by his rude welcome. The sandy red-haired 19-year-old nobleman had fallen in love with his adopted country from the moment he arrived there. While his aristocratic brother officers were complaining about the "horrible lodgings," the "detestable water," and the "very sullen" women," Lafayette was writing his wife, "The manners of the people here are simple, honest and altogether worthy of the country where everything re-echoes the beautiful name of liberty." Thanks to some persuasive introductions (including one from Benjamin Franklin), Lafayette was eventually granted an audience with Gen. Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20378578/site/newsweek/from/RS.5/

As a kid, I liked reading about him in history class.

[1620rock]

1. Yes, and they also gave us our most sacred symbol of liberty a

century later.