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were unlikely comrades-in-arms. One was a self-taught, middle-aged
Virginia planter in charge of a ragtag army of revolutionaries,
the other a rich, glory-seeking teenage French aristocrat.
But the childless Washington and the orphaned Lafayette forged
a bond between them as strong as any between father and son.
It was an unbreakable trust that saw them through betrayals,
shifting political alliances, and the trials of war.
Lafayette came
to America a rebellious youth whose defiance of his king made
him a celebrity in France. His money and connections attracted
the favor of the Continental Congress, which advised Washington
to keep the exuberant Marquis from getting himself killed.
But when the boy-general was wounded in his first battle,
he became a hero of two countries. As the war ground on, Washington
found in his young charge the makings of a courageous and
talented commander whose loyalty, generosity, and eagerness
to please his Commander in Chief made him one of the war’s
most effective and inspired generals. Lafayette’s hounding
of Cornwallis’s army was the perfect demonstration of
Washington’s unconventional “bush-fighting”
tactics, and led to the British surrender at Yorktown.
Their friendship
continued throughout their lives. Lafayette inspired widespread
French support for a struggling young America and personally
influenced Washington’s antislavery views. Washington’s
enduring example as general and statesman guided Lafayette
during France’s own revolution years later.
Using personal
letters and other key historical documents, Adopted Son
offers a rare glimpse of the American Revolution through the
friendship between Washington and Lafayette. It offers dramatic
accounts of battles and intimate portraits of such major figures
as Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, and Benjamin Franklin.
The result is a remarkable, little-known epic of friendship,
revolution, and the birth of a nation.
David A. Clary, former chief historian of
the U.S. Forest Service, is the author of numerous books and
other publications on military and scientific history. He
has been a consultant to several government agencies and has
taught history at the university level. He lives in New Mexico
with his wife, Beatriz.
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