#founders online

[nordleuchten]

for God’s Sake, my dear General, take Care of Your Health, don’t devote Yourself So much to the Cabinet, while Your Habit of life Has from Your Young Years, Accostumed You to a constant Exercise. Your preservation is the life of Your friends, the Sallvation of Your Country—it is for You a Relligious duty Not to Neglect Any thing that May Concern Your Health—I beg You will let me oftener Hear from You

The Marquis de La Fayette to George Washington, August 23, 1790

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 23 August 1790,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0146. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 6, 1 July 1790 – 30 November 1790, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996, pp. 315–319.] (03/26/2024)

[jack-the-sol]

The Death of John Laurens: A Summarized Account of August 26th and 27th, 1782

Sources and links to said sources will be listed at the end of this post in Chicago format. This post is purely for educational purposes and is not meant to be used in any research, citations, or criticism of other works or individuals. Please refer back to the list of sources if you intend to use this material in a similar fashion.

What happened on the evening of August 26th, 1782, and the morning following? This was the eve of the death of John Laurens and the events that would occur on the morning on the 27th would go on to be recognized as incomplete, like a puzzle missing some pieces. However, after some recent diving into the topic and looking into letters from Nathanael Greene, Mordecai Gist, and others describing Laurens’ “gallant fall”, I will be presenting a summary and compilation of this information to paint an unfortunate night in an incomplete fashion. There are still things that remain unclear to me, but this may provide some clarity on those who are unaware of what happened. 

To set the scene, Tar Bluff, the Combahee Ferry, and the Combahee River in South Carolina is a mix of two sets of scenery in the present day. Nearer to the river and the flatter land, it is thick marshland and difficult to travel through. This is why the ferry was so necessary and useful and likely why the British commandeered it. The drier land higher than the marsh was primarily deciduous and coniferous trees that covered muddy and sandy ground with leaves and pine needles. Today, the area is very dense and overgrown along the riverbanks due to the nature of the region and its climate. It is uncertain what the weather at the time of this engagement might have been, but by referring back to lunar calendars, it is deductible that the night of the 26th-27th was a waning gibbous; the moon would be mostly full but not entirely so and would continue to cast less light in the coming days. Furthermore, it is important to mention that the location that is mentioned that Laurens had been staying and later buried at was roughly thirty-seven miles from where the engagement against the Regulars occurred. Gist mentioned that the main encampment he had made was twelve miles north of Chehaw Neck and roughly fifty miles away from Greene's main headquarters outside of Charleston.

The British were commanded by Major William Brereton and reportedly one-hundred and forty men strong consisting of the British 64th Regiment and volunteers from the British 17th Regiment. The 64th Regiment had been in other engagements where Laurens was present also, including the battles of Brandywine and Germantown as well as the much later and much more influential Siege of Charleston in 1780. This was not the end of the 64th engaging against Laurens as they were reportedly at the Siege of Yorktown and surrendered with the body of men under General Cornwallis’s command. 

On the days leading up to the 27th, Gist remarked that an enemy fleet of British regulars had taken the command of the Combahee Ferry and both sides had been locked in a stalemate regarding the waters due to the circumstances: the Patriots could not engage the enemy due to the ships in the river, and the Regulars could not get their supplies north and across the Combahee because the Patriots were patrolling the area. Gist, with a combined might of over three-hundred men consisting of the 3rd and 4th Virginia Regiments under the command of Colonel Baylor, the Delaware Regiment, one-hundred infantry of the line commanded by Major Beall, the entirety of the command under Lt. Col. John Laurens, and all of which was under the command of General Gist. 

It’s important to mention before continuing that despite much research into the matter of Laurens’ illness on the evening and morning of the 26th and 27th, myself and other partners in researching [the esteemed @pr0fess0r-b1tch] could not find a reputable source mentioning directly that John Laurens was ill. Gregory D. Massey does not explicitly mention a source in his book, but instead says,

“From his sickbed, Laurens learned of Gist’s orders. He forwarded the latest news to headquarters and added a query…”

Other sources we found mentioned that many of the northern regiments and men were falling ill, even some doctors themselves, but there is not a primary source that lists that Laurens was sick or bedridden aside from Massey and the sources that pull from his accounts including the Wikipedia of Laurens and the American Battlefield Trust. Because of this oversight, I am choosing to redact the concept of Laurens’ illness until otherwise proven by a primary source whether it be a letter or other statements. 

Laurens was given the command of the men under Gist by General Greene and despite not being well-liked by the men who were formerly under Light Horse Harry Lee’s command, it was theoretically remedied by the intermediary of Major Beall. On the night of the 26th, Brigadier General Mordecai Gist recounted in a letter to Major General Nathanael Greene that “Lt. Col. Laurens arrived in the intermediate time, that solicited the direction and command at that post”, the post being that Gist had ordered an earthworks to be constructed at Chehaw Neck to “annoy their shipping on their return”. In the evening that Laurens took command and oversight, Gist sent fifty men to be under his command with some Matrosses and a Howitzer. Laurens, in command of these men, were stationed on the northern bank of the river. 

The commanding officer of the British, Major Brereton, evidently received information of this movement of the Howitzer to the earthworks within the day that such a motion was ordered. The quick intelligence may allude to an inside source that the British had or a matter of good reconnaissance, but Major Brereton left in the ships at two in the morning and “dropped silently down the river”, according to General Gist. These movements went undiscovered until four in the morning when patrols noticed and alerted the extended body led by Laurens. It is stated that the troops were then “put into motion to prevent their landing”. Gist then mentions that before he could arrive and defend the efforts, the British had successfully landed and engaged Laurens directly. The men scattered when Laurens fell, but Gist regathered them within the quarter mile, following which the enemy forces reboarded the boats and left. 

According to a Delaware Captain, William McKennan, under Laurens’ command, Laurens was “anxious to attack the enemy” before the main body and Gist’s reinforcements arrived. McKennan says,

“being in his native state, and at the head of troops…were sufficient to enable him to gain a laurel for his brow…but wanted to do all himself, and have all the honor.”

After Laurens had been injured in three other battles, Brandywine, Germantown, and Coosawatchie, and having his pride wounded at losses most notably the loss of Charleston in 1780, it would be understandable that he would be so willing to return to the fight for his nation after being detached and moved frequently in the later years of the war. McKennan’s account states in the same paragraph that Laurens was killed in the first volley of the attack by Brereton’s men. Some sources say that Laurens was upon a horse when he fell and was mortally wounded, but others suggest that he may have merely been standing in the enemy fire. All appear to agree that Laurens was one of the first victims of the enemy volleys. Whether he died upon the first impact is unknown, but his body was abandoned until Gist could regroup the men and return to the site to gather an understanding of who was killed and wounded in the action. 

Following the death of a notable officer, statesman, and diplomat, many men would come to regard Laurens as an incredibly accomplished and noteworthy young man and officer. Greene writes in an August 29th letter to General Washington,

“Colo. Laurens’s fall is glorious, but his fate is much to be lamented. Your Excellency has lost a valuable Aid de Camp, the Army a brave Officer, and the public a worthy and patriotic Citizen.”

In “The Delaware Regiment in the Revolution” where McKennan’s recollection of events can be found, it states,

“In the fall and death of Colonel John La[urens], the army lost one of its brightest ornaments, his country one of its most devoted patriots, his native State one of its most amiable and honored sons, and the Delaware detachment a father, brother, and friend.”

Gist’s letter to Greene on the day of the 27th says that “that brave and gallant officer fell, much regretted and lamented.” Alexander Hamilton, a fellow aide, close friend, and alleged lover, remarks in a letter to General Greene on October the 12th, 1782, over a month since Laurens’ passing,

“I feel the deepest affliction at the news we have just received of the loss of our dear and inestimable friend Laurens. His career of virtue is at an end. How strangely are human affairs conducted, that so many excellent qualities could not ensure a more happy fate? The world will feel the loss of a man who has left few like him behind, and America of a citizen whose heart realized that patriotism of which others only talk. I feel the loss of a friend I truly and most tenderly loved, and one of a very small number.” 

As for how his own father, Henry Laurens, reacted to the news, a pair of letters and brief segments from them may very well put it into perspective of how not only close friends, but a good number of men felt about the death of Laurens. On November 6th, 1782 from John Adams to Henry Laurens:

“I know not how to mention, the melancholly Intelligence by this Vessell, which affects you so tenderly.— I feel for you, more than I can or ought to express.— Our Country has lost its most promising Character, in a manner however, that was worthy of her Cause.— I can Say nothing more to you, but that you have much greater Reason to Say in this Case, as a Duke of ormond said of an Earl of Ossory. ‘I would not exchange my son for any living Son in the World.’”

In a return letter to Adams from Henry Laurens dated November 12th, 1782:

“My Country enjoins & condescends to desire, I must therefore, also at all hazards to myself obey & comply. Diffident as I am of my own Abilities, I shall as speedily as possible proceed & join my Colleagues. For the rest, the Wound is deep, but I apply to myself the consolation which I administered to the Father, of the Brave Colonel Parker. ‘Thank God I had a Son who dared to die in defence of his Country.’” 

~~~

I would like to send a huge thank you to @butoridesvirescens for instigating this rabbit hole that we went down and @pr0fess0r-b1tch for being my research partner and assisting in transcriptions. I appreciate the work done by both of them.

Sources 

“Combahee River .” Combahee River Battle Facts and Summary . Accessed February 20, 2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/combahee-river. 

“From Alexander Hamilton to Major General Nathanael Greene, [12 October 1782],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-03-02-0090. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 3, 1782–1786, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962, pp. 183–184.] 

“To George Washington from Nathanael Greene, 29 August 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-09304. 

“From John Adams to Henry Laurens, 6 November 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0013. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 14, October 1782–May 1783, ed. Gregg L. Lint, C. James Taylor, Hobson Woodward, Margaret A. Hogan, Mary T. Claffey, Sara B. Sikes, and Judith S. Graham. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008, pp. 25–26.] 

“To John Adams from Henry Laurens, 12 November 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0029. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 14, October 1782–May 1783, ed. Gregg L. Lint, C. James Taylor, Hobson Woodward, Margaret A. Hogan, Mary T. Claffey, Sara B. Sikes, and Judith S. Graham. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008, pp. 56–57.] 

Bennett, C. P., and Wm. Hemphill Jones. “The Delaware Regiment in the Revolution.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 9, no. 4 (1886): 451–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20084730. 

Cook, Hugh (1970). The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's). Famous Regiments. London: Leo Cooper. 

George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: Mordecai Gist to Nathanael Greene, with Copy; with Letter from William D. Beall on Casualties. 1782. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw431868/. 

Johnson, William. 1822. Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene, Vol. II: 339. 

Massey, Gregory D. 2015. John Laurens and the American Revolution. Columbia: University Of South Carolina Press. Pages 225-227. 

[pitt-able]

William Pitt ... the little

That William Pitt had the byname “the younger” is no secret and I think we can all agree that this byname is quite useful in distinguishing him from his father, William Pitt (the elder), who was a British Prime Minister as well. Now, it seems as if Thomas Jefferson had a different name for the younger Pitt.

Thomas Jefferson to Madame de Staël, May 28, 1813

No, my dear Madam; the object of England is the permanent dominion of the ocean, and the monopoly of the trade of the world. to secure this, she must keep a larger fleet than her own resources will maintain. the resources of other nations then must be impressed to supply the deficiency of her own. this is sufficiently developed and evidenced by her successive strides towards the usurpation of the sea. mark them from her first war after William Pitt, the little, came into her administration.

“Thomas Jefferson to Madame de Stael, 28 May 1813,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 6, 11 March to 27 November 1813, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, pp. 140–145.] (02/14/2023)

I would love to know what Jefferson was thinking at that moment. Did he belittle Pitt (pun intended) due to some old grudges and personal antipathy? Was he simply scribbling this letter without too much thought?

Because Pitt was by no means “little” – quite the opposite. Just like Jefferson, he was very slender and above average height, often described as the tallest person in the company.

[there-is-cromwell]

“the most favorable possible to the faction of O-“

Attacking the protestors had been a grave mistake, you understood that quickly. But by then it had already been too late. The situation escalated quicker than you could have imagined and the angry mob of Paris forced you engage more troops. What was intended to restore the peace in Versailles became an outright battle with shifting loyalties. You fell in that battle, one of the many victims the Revolution would claim. It was a quick and clean death, for that you are thankful. What is probably the worst for a man with your taste for glory – you would end as a footnote to history, a fleeting legacy.

*fin*

Historical Context:

The historical context for this scenario is a prediction that William Short made in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on November 3, 1789:

These passions fermented a day or two and at length forced the Mis. de la fayette to march to Versailles in the manner described in my letter of the 7th. The game now seemed the most favorable possible to the faction of O———. Had the detachment of women, which had been sent off in the morning been attacked, the gardes Francaises and the mob of Paris would have forced the Marquis to engage the gards du corps and Regt. of Flanders. In this conflict he would certainly have fallen, and thus one of their principal obstacles would have been removed. If these women were not attacked, and repulsed, the retreat of the K. Q. and D. seemed inevitable, and thus an open field was left to the ambition of the D. of O. A council was held at Versailles. Most of the counsellors were for the retreat, but the King’s firmness, or if you please his confidence in the Mis. de l. f. turned the balance and saved his Kingdom from an immediate civil war. I can not omit one circumstance. Whilst the question of the retreat was undecided the King who that instant returned from hunting and got to the Chateau a very little time before the arrival of the women, asked if M. de la fa. was coming, and on being answered in the affirmative, took the resolution of remaining at Versailles.

“To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 3 November 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 15, 27 March 1789 – 30 November 1789, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958, pp. 530–538.] (09/13/2023)

The “faction of O———” is the group that had formed around the Duc d’Orléans.

I will admit that I do not fully understand if Short refers to an attack on the women when they left Paris or when they already where at Versailles. Based on the participants of this supposed battle and the reaction of the King, I would assume that he meant attacking the protestors before they arrived in Versailles. This prediction works either way though, since the participants and the general situation stays the same one way or another and this is why I used the scenario here as well.

[gracehosborn]

I absolutely LOVE that The Papers of Alexander Hamilton editors cited where the original manuscripts were at the time of publishing their series however I hate the fact that since the creation of Founders Online just over a decade ago these citations haven’t been updated accordingly since they were first written in the 1960s, because in the half-century since some stuff has clearly moved around as evidenced by the last hour I have spent checking a number of archives and utterly abusing their search engines to locate the manuscript of a letter The PAH editors stated to originally be in one archive, yet coming to the discovery that:

Said archive evidently no longer has the manuscript, (nor do those few others I checked for good measure) but I could be wrong and it’s just staring me in the face hidden somewhere

The manuscript is either lost

Or it has been moved to God-Knows-Where

I just wanted to look at one paragraph 😭

[alohapromisesforever]

First Principles: We Must Not Let Our Rulers Load Us With Perpetual Debt

““I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom. And, to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval (1816) — This letter may be read in its entirety at: “Proposals to Revise the Virginia Constitution: I. Thomas Jefferson to…

[nordleuchten]

(...) to potsdam I went to Make my Bow to the King, and notwisdanding what I Had Heard of Him, could not Help Being struck By that dress and Appearance of an old, Broken, dirty Corporal, coverd all over with Spanish snuff, with His Head almost leaning on one shoulder, and fingers quite distorted By the Gout. But what surprised me much more is the fire and some times the softeness of the most Beautifull Eyes I ever saw, which give as charming an expression to His phisiognomy as He Can take a Rough and threatening one at the Head of His troops (...)

Marquis de La Fayette to George Washington, February 6, 1786

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 6 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0461. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 538–547.] (01/23/2024)

i can kinda see the "fire and sweetness" in his eyes lafayette was yapping about

[seaskate]

Salazar Slytherin's Locket

[creative-robot]

Do y’all think it’s considered a promotion or a demotion for the Showfall employees to get assigned to be henchmen for cast members? Cause on one hand, they’re part of the show, They get the ‘honor’ of being a part of it! On the other hand the Puzzler likely accidentally fuckin blasted two off-screen henchrats off the face of the planet

[nordleuchten]

ALL of La Fayette’s Grandchildren

(This post discusses the death and loss of children)

While four children are still pretty easy to keep track of, La Fayette’s abundance of grandchildren can be quite confusing. You often see the following graphic, published in Jules Germain Cloquet’s book:

Jules Germain Cloquet, Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette, Baldwin and Cradock, London, 1835, p. 227.

All fine and dandy, but I was looking for more detailed information and I wanted to include the children that had already died by the time Cloquet publishes his book – I therefor made a graphic of my own. :-)

I am tempted to make one for the great-grandchildren as well, since La Fayette was very exited to become a Great-Grandfather – but this one was already a wild ride and La Fayette had more great-grandchildren then grand-children, let me tell you.

Anyway, some names are written in italics, these are the names the individuals commonly went by. I find it funny to see that all of Virginie’s children went by their second name, just like Virginie herself mostly just used her second name. Anastasie’s second child has an Asterix to her name. I have only once seen the name spelled out, on the certificate of baptism. The twins were baptized in Vianen (modern day Netherlands) and the name on the document was the Germanic spelling “Maria Victorina” – I used what I assumed is the best French spelling of the name.

The dates in bold indicate that the corresponding documentation of the birth/marriage/death can be found in the archives.

Anastasie and Charles: Finding Célestine’s dead twin sister was actually a surprise for me since I have never before seen her being mentioned. Anastasie gave birth for the first time in a town near Utrecht in what today are the Netherlands. The achieves there still have the certificate of baptism (on February 30, was the clerk sloppy or did the region in 1799 adhere to a different calendar style where February could have more then 29 days?) and we can very clearly see that there were too children. By May 9, 1799, La Fayette wrote to George Washington and referred to only one grand-child:

My wife, my daughters, and Son in law, join in presenting their affectionate respects to Mrs Washington & to you my dear g[ener]al the former is recovered & sets out for france on monday next with Virginia—our little grand Daughter [Célestine] is well, will your charming one accept our tender regard?

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 9 May 1799,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-04-02-0041. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 4, 20 April 1799 – 13 December 1799, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 54–59.] (02/12/2024)

I suspect that Anastasie had a stillbirth around August/September of 1801. La Fayette mentioned in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on June 21, 1801:

Anastasia Will Before long Make me Once More a Grand Father

“To Thomas Jefferson from Lafayette, 21 June 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-34-02-0318. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 34, 1 May–31 July 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007, pp. 403–404.] (02/12/2024)

There is no mention of this child being born and both the achieves in Paris and Courpalay yield no information so that it is unlikely that the child was born and then died young. Georges’ daughter died very young and she still is in the archives. Given La Fayette’s wording we can assume that Anastasie’s pregnancy was already somewhat advanced and the term miscarriage is only used up until the 20th week of a pregnancy, after that it is considered a stillbirth.

Georges and Emilie: The couple lost at least one daughter, Léontine Emilie, young, aged just four weeks. La Fayette wrote in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on February 20, 1807:

My family are pretty well and beg to be most affectionately respectfully and gratefully presented to you—We expected a Boy to be called after your name—But little Tommy has again proved to be a Girl [Léontine Emilie].

“To Thomas Jefferson from Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, 20 February 1807,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-5122. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. It is not an authoritative final version.] (02/12/2024)

La Fayette later wrote to James Madison on June 10, 1807:

We Have Had the Misfortune to Loose a female Child of His, four Weeks old [Léontine Emilie]. My Younger daughter Virginia Has Lately presented us With an other infant of the Same Sex [Marie Pauline]. My Wife’s Health is Not Worse at this Moment, But Ever too Bad.

To James Madison from Marie-Adrienne-Françoise de Noailles, marquise de Lafayette, 10 June 1807,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/99-01-02-1768. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of James Madison. It is not an authoritative final version.] (02/12/2024)

As a sidenote because it confused me while searching for the letter; the archives list Adrienne as the author. I am certain that is wrong because a) Adrienne was not corresponding with James Madison, b) this is not her writing style but La Fayette’s, c) the letter does not have her typical signature and d) there is the passage about the authors wife’s health – this one at the least gives it away.

Identifying Léontine Emilie was actually quite a bit of luck as well. I found the letter to Madison by accident and that letter is the only source that mentions her that I know of. I have never seen her in any other letters, documentation, contemporary or secondary books. The letter helped to narrow her birthday and her date of death down and with that information I searches the archives in Paris and Courpalay in the hopes of finding the child – and I was lucky. While I of course understand the order of things, it still saddens me to see that you can be born into such a prominent family – your father was a Marquis, your grand-father was the Marquis, and still, not even your families biographers care to even mention you.

Virginie und Louis: For all I know, and I again have to say that I have not nearly as much data/correspondence as I would like with regard to these topics, Virginie never lost a child. There is always the question what La Fayette would feel comfortable telling and to whom. There is also the question if La Fayette himself was always aware of everything. For example, in the case of a miscarriage very early on in the pregnancy he might have not included it in his correspondence or in fact maybe not even known himself.

As much as would wish a happy family life for Virginie, stillbirths, infant deaths and especially miscarriages were and still are not uncommon.

I have put excerpts from a few more letters by La Fayette to his American friends under the cut that help identify his grandchildren.

La Fayette to Thomas Jefferson, June 4, 1803:

I am Here, with my Wife, Son, daughter in law, and New Born little grand daughter [Natalie Renée Émilie] taking Care of my Wounds, and Stretching My Rusted Articulations untill I can Return to my Beloved Rural Abode at La Grange.

“To Thomas Jefferson from Lafayette, 4 June 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0361. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 485–486.] (02/12/2024)

La Fayette to Thomas Jefferson, April 20, 1805:

Here I am with my son and daughter in law who is going to increase our family [Charlotte Mathilde]. Her father is to stand god father to the child and if He is a Boy we intend taking the liberty to give Him Your Name.

“To Thomas Jefferson from Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, 20 April 1805,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-1556. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. It is not an authoritative final version.] (02/12/2024)

La Fayette to Thomas Jefferson, April 8, 1809:

(…) My Children are in Good Health. Two of them, My daughter in Law [Clémentine Adrienne], and Virginia [Françoise Mélanie] are Going to increase the family.

“To Thomas Jefferson from Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, 14 December 1822,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/98-01-02-3215. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series. It is not an authoritative final version.] (02/12/2024)

[nordleuchten]

In the case of my historical favourites that actually happened – in a rather comical incident:

La Fayette to George Washington, February 6, 1786:

I [Marquis de La Fayette] went to Silesia where He [Frederick II (the Great)] Reviewed an army of 31 Bataillons, and 75 squadrons, Making in all thirty thousand men, seven thousand five hundred of whom were on Horse Back—for eight days I made dinners of three Hours with Him, when the Conversation was pretty much Confined at first to the duke of York [Frederick Augustus, duke of York, second son of George III] the King and myself, and then to two or three more—which gave me the opportunity to Hear Him throughout, and to admire the Vivacity of His wit, the endearing charms of His adress and politness, so far that I did Conceive people could forget what a tyrannic, Hard Hearted, and selfish Man He is—lord Cornwallis being there, He took Care to invite Him at table to a seat By me, Having the British King’s son on the other side, and to Make thousand questions on American affairs—Among others I Remember He Asked the duke of York if it was trüe you intended taking an House in London.

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 6 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 538–547.] (06/15/2023)

One day I have to go and see if we have reports from Frederick as well. He was pretty consistent with his letter writing home, what gives me hope that there is something.

Imagine your favorite historical figure meeting your other favorite historical figure

[uchiha-gaeshi]

Ok, so for *reasons*, I need to get reacquainted with common mainstream Naruto takes. Does anyone care to share the ones they remember/see frequently off the top of their head? Thanks.

[adbros]

30 ways to make real; money from home

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[there-is-cromwell]

“the most favorable possible to the faction of O-“

Attacking the protestors had been a grave mistake, you understood that quickly. But by then it had already been too late. The situation escalated quicker than you could have imagined and the angry mob of Paris forced you engage more troops. What was intended to restore the peace in Versailles became an outright battle with shifting loyalties. You fell in that battle, one of the many victims the Revolution would claim. It was a quick and clean death, for that you are thankful. What is probably the worst for a man with your taste for glory – you would end as a footnote to history, a fleeting legacy.

*fin*

Historical Context:

The historical context for this scenario is a prediction that William Short made in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on November 3, 1789:

These passions fermented a day or two and at length forced the Mis. de la fayette to march to Versailles in the manner described in my letter of the 7th. The game now seemed the most favorable possible to the faction of O———. Had the detachment of women, which had been sent off in the morning been attacked, the gardes Francaises and the mob of Paris would have forced the Marquis to engage the gards du corps and Regt. of Flanders. In this conflict he would certainly have fallen, and thus one of their principal obstacles would have been removed. If these women were not attacked, and repulsed, the retreat of the K. Q. and D. seemed inevitable, and thus an open field was left to the ambition of the D. of O. A council was held at Versailles. Most of the counsellors were for the retreat, but the King’s firmness, or if you please his confidence in the Mis. de l. f. turned the balance and saved his Kingdom from an immediate civil war. I can not omit one circumstance. Whilst the question of the retreat was undecided the King who that instant returned from hunting and got to the Chateau a very little time before the arrival of the women, asked if M. de la fa. was coming, and on being answered in the affirmative, took the resolution of remaining at Versailles.

“To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 3 November 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 15, 27 March 1789 – 30 November 1789, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958, pp. 530–538.] (09/13/2023)

The “faction of O———” is the group that had formed around the Duc d’Orléans.

I will admit that I do not fully understand if Short refers to an attack on the women when they left Paris or when they already where at Versailles. Based on the participants of this supposed battle and the reaction of the King, I would assume that he meant attacking the protestors before they arrived in Versailles. This prediction works either way though, since the participants and the general situation stays the same one way or another and this is why I used the scenario here as well.

[nordleuchten]

I know that this was intended as a joke, but ever since reading it, I can not stop asking myself: what was La Fayette’s taste in music?

And to be honest, there is not much to be found in his letters, Memoirs and the writings of his family and friends. I searched for the words song/music/tune/melody/piano/singing/voice/concert/opera and there was not really much turning up.

La Fayette wrote to John Adams on February 22, 1786:

(…) However Strange it Appears, if they will Give up the forts, or let us Have the pleasure to Walk into those formidable Works on our Saratoga tune of Yankee doodle.

“To John Adams from the Marquis de Lafayette, 22 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-18-02-0091. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 18, December 1785–January 1787, ed. Gregg L. Lint, Sara Martin, C. James Taylor, Sara Georgini, Hobson Woodward, Sara B. Sikes, Amanda M. Norton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016, pp. 182–183.] (02/13/2024)

I am pretty sure that I read somewhere else that his son later wrote, that La Fayette liked indeed the popular song “Yankee Doodle” and he even ordered his marching band to strike up the song after the Battle of Yorktown was won.

Jules Germain Cloquet has a passage in his book where he writes:

Whenever an author of his acquaintance had a new dramatic piece represented, Lafayette felt pleasure in going to the theatre with his children. He sometimes attended benefit representations, and always preferred the French national theatre and the Italian opera to any other theatre. He also went to balls or concerts given for the benefit of the poor and of refugees, and made it a point to accept invitations to patriotic banquets (…)

Jules Germain Cloquet, Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette, Baldwin and Cradock, London, 1835, p. 251.

Seems like La Fayette most often had a “reason” to go to these sorts of entertainments instead of just enjoying himself. But the opera seems to be something he truly valued. When he was in London as a young man he also attended the Opera and chatted with General Clinton shortly before the performance started. There is also a letter by Emma Willard that, in part, talks about the two of them visiting the opera. Willard wrote to her sister Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps from December 7, 1830:

I must now tell you, how it was that we spent the evening together. It was at the Opera Francais, usually called the Grand Opera. You will remember that he told me he had not been at a theatre since the revolution, and the first time he did go, he would go with me. One evening before had been appointed, and failed from the illness of one of the performers. It was the evening before last that we finally went [December 5]. I expected that the people would have cheered him as he entered. But he was in a citizen's dress, and went with a determination, as it appeared, not to be known.

Emma Willard, Journal and Letters from France and Great-Britain, 1833.

So, opera most likely.

what do you think Lafayette or Hamilton’s favorite music artist/ band would be?

That's a hard one. I'm thinking that Lafayette would love the indie music scene and Hamilton would love the bassy type of music.

[amarisrosalette]

just for your reminder, mondstadt literally means "moon city". moon being "mond" and city as "stadt". fyi on why i'm talking about this is because i am a literal moon enthusiast and whenever i come across this thought in my head i think "wow. my favoritest city in my favoritest game is really named after my most favoritest thing to look at." and then it just ends up strengthening my love for mondstadt even more

just wondering if there are any mondstadt enthusiasts who are also fellow moon enjoyers? plus points if you're a lore enthusiast because i REALLY wanna know the lore and origin behind mondstadt's name.