Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette, known in the United States as Lafayette, was a French nobleman and military officer who volunteered to join the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, in the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette was ultimately permitted to command Continental Army troops in the decisive siege of Yorktown in 1781, the Revolutionary War's final major battle that secured American independence. After returning to France, Lafayette became a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830 and continues to be celebrated as a hero in both France and the United States.
A portrait of Lafayette in the uniform of a major general of the Continental Army, painted by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1779-80
Lafayette's birthplace in Chavaniac, Auvergne
Lafayette's wife, Marie Adrienne Francoise
Statue of Lafayette in front of the Governor Palace in Metz, where he decided to join the American cause
The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, began September 28, 1781, and ended on October 19, 1781, at exactly 10:30 am in Yorktown, Virginia. It was a decisive victory by a combined force of the American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington with support from Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops led by Comte de Rochambeau and a French naval force commanded by Comte de Grasse over the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, an 1820 portrait by John Trumbull depicting the British surrendering to Benjamin Lincoln flanked by French (left) and Continental Army troops
Siège de Yorktown by Auguste Couder, c. 1836. Rochambeau (center L), Washington (center R), Marquis de La Fayette (behind Washington, R), Marquis de Saint Simon (behind Washington, L), Duke of Lauzun (L, mounted) and Comte de Ménonville (R of Washington).
Washington firing the first gun
Storming of Redoubt No. 10