Lafayette and the American Revolution

The Marquis de Lafayette was a very wealthy French lord who should have been playing games and attending parties in King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's royal court in Paris. Instead, the 19-year-old bought a ship, and sneaked out of the country to join the American rebels. France was trying to

keep the political peace with England, while hiding the fact that they were shipping supplies and money to the Americans, as well as closing their eyes to the fact that many French officers and soldiers were heading over to join the fight. Lafayette showed up offering to fight without pay (he did have plenty of his own money), and use his royal contacts to help the Americans, as long as he was given the rank of major general. It was a no-brainer for George Washington and the Continental Congress, though they made the rank honorary until Lafayette proved himself in battle. Not everything went well for him: he was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, spent the difficult winter at Valley Forge with Washington and the troops, and had to stop an ill-fated attempt to invade Canada. Loyal and hardworking, the Frenchman proved to be a worthwhile ally to the rebels, and his French connections helped to turn the tide of the war. He was key in cornering British general Cornwallis into surrender on the Yorktown peninsula, with Washington's troops and the French navy filling out the other sides of the triangular trap. Stellar research, with illustrations and paintings of the time, as well as photos of important letters and documents. This is an important addition to any collection, as it brings to life another fascinating part of the story of the American Revolution. It wasn't just poor colonists pitching tea into Boston Harbor; the ideals of freedom and democracy were important across all levels of society. This is as good as Washington at Valley Forge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Especially good for 8th graders who are knee deep in American History!

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LibraryThing member DavidCrawford

Mr. Freedman wrote an excellent biography of Lafayette. It was a bit short, but still I got a very good education into this revolutionary war figure. There are plenty of pictures, and other illustrations in the book. If you want a crash course into Lafayette's life then this is the book for you.

Enjoy.

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LibraryThing member hailelib

Freedman writes great nonfiction for younger audiences and Lafayette and the American Revolution is no exception. A fact-filled and well-illustrated book for the middle grades it would be an excellent addition to any school library. Lafayette, although married and with a child on the way, was only

nineteen when he sailed for America to become a general in Washington's army and only 24 when he played a major part at the Battle of Yorktown, which effectively ended the war with the surrender of Cornwallis.

Although this book is primarily about his experiences during the Revolutionary War, Freedman does give us a summary of Lafayette's early life and also a chapter about his experiences after the War. Definitely recommended for all ages.

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LibraryThing member scnelson

The story of the impetuous, young French nobleman who ran off and joined the American Revolution, and in so doing became a leader and hero. There seems to be a city or town named Lafayette in every other state and for good reason, because the Marquis played an pivotal role in the success of our

fight for independence. For students of history, this would be a good book to show them that we're not the only country where the ideals of liberty and freedom are strong, and that even a member of a ruling class might feel them as well. Lafayette was one of the more colorful characters in the colorful history of our country and is well worth reading about today.

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LibraryThing member sapphireblueeye

Very, very dry. It has a lot of useful information, but I wouldn't put it for any younger than 5th grade. It is like trudging through a textbook. I'm not sure it'd be worth it to spend the money on it for a classroom library. It's one of those books that is so in depth that I didn't even feel that

I learned much of anything. There was just too much to absorb,

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LibraryThing member Sullywriter

Anothger exceptionally written, handsomely illustrated historical biography from Russell Freedman.

LibraryThing member SASegsworth

This biography of Lafayette includes beautiful primary source documents and illustrations to support the information provided. Timeline included at the end.

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