Ryan L. Cole Revives the Heroism and Legacy of America’s Beloved Revolutionary

The Last Adieu by Ryan L. Cole

Ryan L. Cole has brought Marquis de Lafayette, the French war hero of the American Revolution, back to full, vivid life reminding readers of the tremendous contribution this nobleman made to the colonists fight for independence from Great Britain. The Last Adieu: Lafayette’s Triumphant Return, the Echoes of Revolution and the Gratitude of the Republic should be required reading for every serious student of American history. Two hundred years ago, Lafayette completed his triumphant 13 month long farewell visit to America after a forty year absence. He was accompanied from France by a small entourage that included his son Georges Washington de Lafayette named after his mentor, Commanding Officer, Father of our Country and beloved surrogate father George Washington.  Lafayette was no longer the 19 year old youngest Major General in the Continental Army and energetic masterful horseman who rode into fierce battles commanding trepidatious troops with his limited English learned on the several weeks’ long Atlantic crossing.

He was a 66 year-old widower who walked with a cane and felt every bit his age; unable to ride horseback after a fall a decade earlier left him with a shattered kneecap and an improperly healed broken leg. Lafayette was also plagued by chronic gout but was uncomplaining about the arduous and at times perilous journey by water and land along scarcely tamed wilderness trails, hardly more than game trails, through dense growth once they left urban areas. The last leg of the American tour nearly ended in disaster on the Ohio River when the boat hit a hidden snag that tore a hole which flooded and sank the vessel. Rescuers were fortunately nearby as crewmen and passengers alike worked to save letters and precious documents along with the passengers who were all left wet and chilled to the bone. The challenging final 33 days of his tour of the United States and part of the western territory was done at a breakneck pace to cover 5000 miles in order to return to Bunker Hill in time for the 50^th anniversary observation of the shots heard around the world on June 17, 1825 leaving little time for lengthy receptions.

The Hero Honored by a Grateful Nation

The Marquise de Lafayette was the honored guest of a grateful nation, deservedly hailed as the conquering hero by statesmen including former Presidents Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, grizzled war veterans, women and children. Thousands of ordinary citizens turned out in jubilant droves to hear his words or simply to witness his coach pass by on this whirlwind tour. Six-year old Walt Whitman always treasured his memory of the thrill of reaching up to touch the great man’s hand.

One of Lafayette’s countrymen and friend Duc de Brogli marveled at his enthusiasm and stamina, “I found the General, big, fat, fresh, happy-in a word, not at all feeling the effects of several months without sleep, or nearly without it, chatting, writing, traveling, and drinking for a good eighteen hours out of every twenty-four.” There were endless demands for his attention and attendance at events great and small beginning at dawn and lasting well into the night.

A Nation in Transformation

America was readying to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  The thirteen colonies along the Eastern Seaboard that engaged in battles to obtain freedom from England, whose outcome was decidedly uncertain, became states which numbered twenty-four as the nation expanded westward. The population had tripled in size since the war ended, engaged industriously in agriculture and businesses which brought unimagined prosperity and opportunities. This rapid growth generated its own set of challenges, particularly in cities that were becoming overcrowded. The anti-slavery movement was becoming more prominent adding to an even more hotly contested presidential race. Lafayette’s visit was not a diplomatic mission but rather an invitation from a grateful nation to bid what was almost certain to be a final farewell.

The Making of a Revolutionary

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette was the full birth name of the most celebrated of the foreign generals who crossed the ocean to aid the cause of liberty. Born in 1757, his father was a colonel in the French Grenadiers who lost his life in battle which made his two-year old son the Marquis de Lafayette. His mother and maternal grandfather died when he was twelve effectively placing him among the wealthiest in France. In an arranged but loving union, he married Adrienne de Noailles, the daughter of a rich and noble family, in April 1774. The bride was 14 and the groom 16 when they took their place among the court of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. In August of 1776, after attending a dinner where the guest of honor was the Duke of Gloucester, the younger brother of England’s King George III, with whom he shared letters concerning the revolt in the Colonies, Lafayette became determined to travel to America. He spoke no English and despite a military commission, had never seen battle. However, his immense wealth along with the nobleman’s promise of financial support paved the way for Connecticut merchant Silas Deane to broker a contract making him a Major General in the Continental Army.

The newly minted 19 year-old Major General commissioned the construction and outfitting of the ship La Victoire and departed on April 20^th, 1777 from the Bay of Biscay bound for Charleston, South Carolina on the way to Philadelphia.  He left behind disapproving in-laws and a pregnant wife. Shortly after his arrival, he fully equipped 2000 troops providing uniforms, arms, clothing, food and shelter from his personal fortune while taking command during the Battle of Brandywine. His unflagging courage, despite sustaining a bullet through his lower leg, inspired the waning troops to victory. Following his recovery, he took part in several other key battles, returned to France for additional fund-raising and was present at the final campaign, the Siege of Yorktown.

Following his return to France, Lafayette was appointed to the Assembly of Notables and in 1789, elected a member of the Estates General along with representatives from the nobility, the clergy and the general populace. With the assistance of Thomas Jefferson, he was the primary writer of France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. When the French Revolution degenerated into the violent Reign of Terror, Lafayette’s participation in the transition to a constitutional monarchy saved him from the guillotine, although several close members of his wife’s family were executed. The Marquis as well as his wife and family were imprisoned for nearly three years. His property and much of his land were confiscated leaving him nearly destitute.

The Triumphant Return

The invitation to visit the United States in 1824 as an honored guest of a grateful nation moved this only surviving Major General of the American Revolution to accept with alacrity.

The Last Adieu: Lafayette’s Triumphant Return, the Echoes of Revolution, and the Gratitude of the Republic reminds readers of many events of the Revolutionary War, provides a concise history of the intervening 50 years and documents the Marquis de Lafayette’s event laden 13 month journey throughout America in 1824-1825.  Ryan L. Cole eloquently summed up the visit with these words, “The Frenchman was a living link to the Revolution, that his appearance, like the ghost of a long-lost relative, rallied Americans together in celebration of a memory and a tribute to a set of ideals.” Fittingly when Lafayette’s ship arrived in the New York Harbor, a rainbow appeared over Staten Island and upon his departure thirteen months later in 1825, another rainbow shone above the Brandywine, named for the battle he had led there, which would take him and his party safely to LeHavre. This compelling work of non-fiction is essential reading for anyone interested in delving into American history at its finest.