Memoirs of General La Fayette, Embracing Details of His Public and Private ...

HARVV:l) COLLEGE LIBRARY

fR .M

THE BEQUtST OF

f«*1 HNS*1* ""fNDfkk

DISTRICT OF ddftjVECTICUT, ,,.

Be It Remembered, That on the First day of Febrn L. 8. ary, in the forty-ninth year of the Independence of tht United States of America, Barber and Robinson of the said District, hare deposited in this office the t'tle of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following', to wit: "Memoirs of General La Fayette, embracing detail.' of his public and private life, sketches of the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the downfall of Bonaparte, and the restoration of the Bourbons, with Biographical notices ol individuals who have been distinguished actors in these events." In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An act lor the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned.'' CHAS. A. INGERSOLL.

Clerk of Ike District of Connecticut. A true copy of Record, examined and sealed by me, CHAS. A. INGERSOLL, •

Clerk of the District of Connecticut.

PREFACE.

• THE present volume, though necessarily compiled in great haste, it is hoped will be found to comprise all that is necessary to enable the reader to form a just estimate of the Life and Character of General La Fayette. It was the opinion of the writer, that a bare detail of his actions, without bringing into view the circumstances under which they were performed, or the persons with whom he was associated, or to whom he was opposed, could not present any adequate grounds upon which to form an opinion of a characer, who has been so conspicuous in the great movements of the last half century. It is obvious that the elevation of La Fayette's conduct in embracing the American cause, cannot be properly felt, unless we take into consideration the real state of the American struggle at the time— that we cannot comprehend the dignity with which he marched through the French Revolution, unless we are apprised of the fearful convulsions which shook every thing around him—and that we cannot assign him his comparative rank among the great men of the last age, without r«col)ecting the long list of mighty names which have figured by his side. The writer has therefore hastily sketched the great public events in which General La Fayette has been concerned—and in some instances has gone so far as to add a few pages, for the sake of completeness, not directly connected with his Memoirs. In this course he has. perhaps, in some instances, rather consulted what he apprehended must be the feeling and interest of his readers, than strict rhetorical symmetry. Those who fo4 tint in this he has not judged right, ai
who -it-tirp simply a relation of erents with which Gener
La Fayette has been directly coouected, can, by advertii
to the Contents, select those portions of the work which r
late to hrt persona] concerns.

Tne writer has alio extracted from Allen and Lempriert
ani others, such biographical notices, as, according to h
views, were desirable, and inserted them as notes.

Whatever temptation a writer may feel to dilate on a sut
ject so fruitful in sources of reflection as this, the author ha
deemed it best in the present instance generally, to conten
himself with a simple relation of facts. They speak a Iao
guage not to be misunderstood, and bear with them in th(
mind of the reader, every necessary commentary. The pa-
negyrist of La Fayette, can do no better than tell what he
has done.

On the whole, therefore, it is hoped that the work ma\
satisfy the reasonable expectations of its patrons, and not
only repay them by the interest of its details, but contribute
something towards doing justice to one of the most interest
lag characters of this or of any other age.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. Page 13

Early life of La Fayette...His marriage and fortune.

CHAPTER II. 15

American Revolution...Causes which led to it...Stamp Act...

Briti-h troops arrive at Boston...Hutchinson's Letters...Tea

thrown overboard.

CHAPTER III. 27

Commencement of the war...Battle of Lexington.. .Ticonderoga

taken...Congress meets.. Battle of Bunker's Hill...Boston

evacuated ..Expedition to Canada...Canada evacuated by the

Americans...Norfolk burnt...British fleet arrives at Charles-