Today's Date:

On July 31, 1777, after having crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Victory, a 19-year-old French officer arrived at General George Washington’s military quarters in Philadelphia to volunteer with the American revolutionaries. This man was Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, a French hero in the American war for independence.

Having celebrated the 225th anniversary of the victory in Yorktown in 2006, the year 2007 marks the 250 th anniversary of Lafayette’s birth. Commemorating this anniversary presents an opportunity to celebrate Franco-American friendship that has lasted more than two centuries and that remains resilient today. “Our Marquis”, as the 18 th century Americans liked to call him, is the historical incarnation of this friendship and the alliance between the French and American people.

Born on September 6, 1757 into a family with a long-established military legacy, Lafayette joined the ranks of the French noble army, the Dragons du Roi, in 1772. It was in Paris that the young captain developed a passion for the American patriots’ struggle against what was, at the time, the best army in the world, and that he volunteered to join and help the American forces.

Lafayette used his own funds to purchase a ship and arm it with munitions before joining the Americans in their fight. Marked by the recent memory of French and Indian war, the American officers initially extended a lukewarm welcome to the young Frenchman. Lafayette’s fervor for and loyalty to the American cause, his modesty, as well as the friendship that General Washington showed to his French-armed companion rapidly prevailed over this distrust.

His generosity towards the American troops – Lafayette refused to accept any form of compensation for his service and drew from his personal fortune to r aise, equip, and arm an infantry regiment – and his military endeavors equally contributed to the Frenchman’s popularity within the American forces. Lafayette’s first experience in combat attested to his ardor: wounded by gunshot at Brandywine, he insisted on organizing the retreat of his troops before being treated. His commitment did not go unnoticed and the young Marquis was quickly entrusted with the command of an entire division.

Marked by this first American experience, Lafayette returned to Paris to convince King Louis XVI to support the American revolutionaries’ cause. Despite the court’s initial retice nce, he returned in March 1780 to announce the arrival of an expeditionary corps composed of 5,000 men, under the command of General Rochambeau, supported by the Comte de Grasse’s fleet.

The Marquis de Lafayette’s excellent reputation in the United States proved to be essential in facilitating the collaboration of the Private Expedition with the American revolutionary forces. One year later, the French troops’ experience played a decisive role during the Battle of Yorktown, a major victory for the American forces and their allies, which would contribute to the departure of the British.

Upon his return to Paris, Lafayette was showered with honors and maintained diplomatic relations with the American allies and Benjamin Franklin. For years, George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette corresponded with one another, bearing witness to their friendship and mutual respect.

As a man of the Enlightenment, inspired by the American democracy, he was among those in France who crafted the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” presented at the Constituent Assembly in 1789. In the United States he was considered to have been one of the cornerstones of American national identity thanks to his precious contribution to the fight against the British troops, as well as his ties to the “Founding Fathers” of the American Constitution.

The friendship and trust that Revolutionary Army soldiers had for Lafayette remained anchored in the minds of Americans. The gracious welcome that the Marquis received on the occasion of two tours of the American continent attested to the high esteem that Americans held for him. Greeted as a “hero of the Revolution” in 1784, Lafayette’s second visit in 1824 brought about unprecedented demonstrations of gratitude. Received as a “Guest of the Nation,” Lafayette visited the 24 American states in thirteen months and became the first foreigner to address the two Chambers of Congress. Citizens of the New World received the news of his death in 1834 with great sadness. The United States honored the Marquis’ death by declaring a national period of mourning, equal only to that which was organized for the death of President George Washington.

Decades later, America still revered Lafayette’s role in the War of Independence. Upon the arrival of American troops in France during the First World War, General John J. Pershing reiterated the gratitude of the American people for a “hero of American Independence,” gathering before the Marquis’ grave and delivering his famous declaration : “Lafayette, here we are.”

Today, 25 towns or villages hold the name Lafayette in the United States, and the Marquis de la Fayette is more than ever a symbol of Franco-American friendship. Bearing witness to this fact is the honorary citizenship that President Bush posthumously awarded him in 2002.

Throughout the year 2007, the anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s birth will be commemorated from both sides of the Atlantic, from Auvergne to Paris, to Washington, D.C. and across the United States.