Lafayette's Attempt to Join the American Army

Background. Lafayette, a French military officer, had volunteered to join the Continental Army led by General George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. In 1775 he had met Charles François de Broglie at his unit's annual training in Metz, and in September 1775 he returned to Paris to receive a captaincy in the Dragoons promised as a wedding present. The year 1776 saw delicate negotiations between American agents, including Silas Deane, and Louis XVI and his foreign minister, the Count of Vergennes.

The Enlistment of 7 December 1776. On December 7, 1776, Silas Deane enlisted Lafayette as a major general. He was made a major general at age 19, though he was initially not given American troops to command. The passage record does not state the city in which Deane's enlistment occurred, so the legacy attribution of the act to Paris cannot be confirmed from the supplied material, even though considerable public support for Lafayette existed in Paris, where the American cause was popular.

Aftermath and Confirmation of Rank. Lafayette's father-in-law, de Noailles, scolded the young man and directed him to visit the Marquis de Noailles, the French ambassador to Britain, which he did in February 1777. Lafayette sailed for America on the Victoire, departing April 26, 1777, and after offering to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him a major general on July 31, 1777. He was initially not given American troops to command.