The Project Gutenberg eBook ofLafayette, We Come!

The Project Gutenberg eBook ofLafayette, We Come!This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Lafayette, We Come!Author: Rupert Sargent HollandRelease date: September 29, 2013 [eBook #43843]Most recently updated: October 23, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Fred Salzer, Greg Bergquist and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFAYETTE, WE COME! ***

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Lafayette, We Come!Author: Rupert Sargent HollandRelease date: September 29, 2013 [eBook #43843]Most recently updated: October 23, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Fred Salzer, Greg Bergquist and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Title: Lafayette, We Come!

Author: Rupert Sargent Holland

Release date: September 29, 2013 [eBook #43843]Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Fred Salzer, Greg Bergquist and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFAYETTE, WE COME! ***

Lafayette Meets Washington

Lafayette, We Come!The Story of How a YoungFrenchman Fought for Libertyin America and How AmericaNow Fights for Liberty in FranceByRUPERT S. HOLLANDAuthor of “Historic Boyhoods,” “The Knightsof the Golden Spur,” etc.ColophonPHILADELPHIAGEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANYPUBLISHERS

The Story of How a YoungFrenchman Fought for Libertyin America and How AmericaNow Fights for Liberty in France

RUPERT S. HOLLAND

Author of “Historic Boyhoods,” “The Knightsof the Golden Spur,” etc.

Colophon

PHILADELPHIAGEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANYPUBLISHERS

All rights reservedPrinted in U. S. A.

ToThose Men of the Great RepublicWho Have AnsweredThe Call of Lafayette,Lover of Liberty

IllustrationsLafayette meets WashingtonFrontispieceFacing pageLafayette, a Prussian prisoner226“America’s Answer”302

Lafayette meets WashingtonFrontispieceFacing pageLafayette, a Prussian prisoner226“America’s Answer”302

ForewordIn1777 the young Marquis de Lafayette, only nineteen years old, came from France to the aid of the Thirteen Colonies of North America because he heard their cry for liberty ringing across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1917 the United States of America drew the sword in defense of the sacred principle of liberty for which the country of Lafayette was fighting. The debt of gratitude had never been forgotten; the ideals of the gallant Frenchman and of the young Republic of the Western World were the same; what he had done for us we of America are now doing for him.It is a glorious story, and one never to be forgotten while men love liberty and truth. Every boy and girl should know it, for it is the story of a brave, generous, noble-minded youth, who gave such devoted service to America that he stands with Washington and Lincoln as one of the great benefactors of our land. “I’m going to America to fight for freedom!” he cried; and the cry still rings in our ears more than a century later. The message is the same one we hear to-day and that is carrying us across the Atlantic to France. From Lafayette’s story we learn courage, fidelity to honor, loyalty to conviction, the qualities that make men free and great. The principles of “liberty, equality, and fraternity” of France are the same as those of our own Declaration of Independence, and the men of the countries of Washington and Lafayette now fight under a common banner. “Lafayette, we come!” was America’s answer to the great man who offered all he had to us in the days of 1777.

In1777 the young Marquis de Lafayette, only nineteen years old, came from France to the aid of the Thirteen Colonies of North America because he heard their cry for liberty ringing across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1917 the United States of America drew the sword in defense of the sacred principle of liberty for which the country of Lafayette was fighting. The debt of gratitude had never been forgotten; the ideals of the gallant Frenchman and of the young Republic of the Western World were the same; what he had done for us we of America are now doing for him.

It is a glorious story, and one never to be forgotten while men love liberty and truth. Every boy and girl should know it, for it is the story of a brave, generous, noble-minded youth, who gave such devoted service to America that he stands with Washington and Lincoln as one of the great benefactors of our land. “I’m going to America to fight for freedom!” he cried; and the cry still rings in our ears more than a century later. The message is the same one we hear to-day and that is carrying us across the Atlantic to France. From Lafayette’s story we learn courage, fidelity to honor, loyalty to conviction, the qualities that make men free and great. The principles of “liberty, equality, and fraternity” of France are the same as those of our own Declaration of Independence, and the men of the countries of Washington and Lafayette now fight under a common banner. “Lafayette, we come!” was America’s answer to the great man who offered all he had to us in the days of 1777.

ContentsI.The Little Marquis of France.7II.“Wake Up! I’m Going to America to Fight for Freedom!”25III.How Lafayette Ran Away to Sea45IV.The Young Frenchman Reaches America63V.“I Will Fight for American Liberty as a Volunteer!”82VI.Lafayette Wins the Friendship of Washington102VII.The Frenchman in the Field Again123VIII.The Marquis Aids the United States in France153IX.How Lafayette Sought to Give Liberty to France172X.Storm-Clouds of the French Revolution194XI.Lafayette in Prison and Exile225XII.In the Days of Napoleon248XIII.The United States Welcomes the Hero272XIV.The Lover of Liberty287XV.America’s Message to France—“Lafayette, We Come!”302

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