Paris - Forgotten Footprints: Lafayette and Liberty

05/09/2023

28/09/2021

“The Boy” wins the game. Outmaneuvered, trapped, and outnumbered, Cornwallis surrenders his army at Yorktown. The siege started September 28, 1781. It was over on October 19, 1781. England is finished in The American colonies that have declared independence. The world has been turned upside down. In a world wide war; England has had victory after victory; except in America. Africa, Mediterranean, India… England wins. America is new. It is victorious with a little help from new friends (France and Spain). This is an experiment in history. We’re not done yet. The experiment continues.

Still fighting for Liberty.

28/09/2021

The finale… the short version: General Lafayette taunted the enemy. They (Cornwallis & Tarleton) chased. They could not catch him. He could not match them in numbers. He played hit and run. They chased more, until supplies were low. They retreated to a “safe” resupply location; Yorktown, VA. It was there, that General Lafayette closed in. The French Navy arrived. The beat the hell out of the English navy. And the bombardment of Yorktown from land and sea commenced. Continental Army, French Army, and French Navy, combined and not significantly contested took positions and engaged. Cornwallis eventually surrendered; but forever to his shame, did not attend the surrender. (British military… typical…).

So… Lafayette has, forever, titles .. “Hero of Two Worlds” and “Conquerer of Cornwallis”. He’s got a few more… but for now, let’s just savor those two from 240 years ago.

https://fusilier.wordpress.com/banastre-tarleton-article-2000/

12/09/2017

September 11, 2017 ... We all remember September 11, 2001. That day was etched in all of our memories. No matter our political beliefs, our religious affiliation, our age, or race. On September 11, 2001, we all reacted as one. We gasped. We prayed. We called. We responded. We didn't ask questions about race, religion, party affiliation, economic grouping, hair color, eye color, skin color, clothing preference, or favorite sports franchise. We just responded. All of us, like an ocean wave. We moved forward inexorably forward. It was, in the end, expected and inevitable. After all, we are American. This is our thing. We overcome when we are attacked. It's been a July party theme since 1776.

But did you know 9/11 was memorable before 2001? September 11, 1777 the Continental Army led by General George Washington faced off against the British army at The Brandywine River, just south of Philadelphia. Howe leads the British. Cornwallis is sent wide left and crosses at an unscouted fordable position on the Continental Right. Cornwallis hits the Continental right like a hammer.

Lafayette begs Washington to allow him to assist on the failed right flank. Washington, as a parent pestered by a child for tokens for a carnival game, reluctantly agrees. Lafayette is sent to the right to aid Sullivan if he can. Lafayette arrived just as the Continental troops were about to be routed. He did not turn the tide toward victory, but, Lafayette was instrumental in organizing an orderly retreat with an effective rear guard. Without him, the British and Cornwallis would have swept the field clean of "rebels"/Patriots.

Lafayette's disregard for his own safety in pursuit of a cause is a family tradition. Most of his ancestors have died bravely in combat. He seems certain to join his ancestors, as his valet removed his boot to pour out the blood that had filled it after Lafayette received a British musket ball in his calf. And then, when asked to remove himself from the field, he refused. Surely he would die there. Not so. And that is another story... wait for the book. It's worth the wait. I promise.

The Continental Army was defeated but it had retreated in good order. It would fight again, and soon. Lafayette survived his wound, and he would fight again also. In fact, he would fight until the end of it all. He was there when the world turned upside down.

09/11/1777

06/09/2017

Happy Birthday Gilbert 🎊🎉

in 1757, French General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette was born. Lafayette, moved by the American struggle for independence, traveled to North America in 1777 to fight in the revolutionary war.
Upon returning to France in 1787, he and Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. He continued to remain an influential force throughout the French Revolution as he was appointed commander-in-chief of the National Guard.

04/09/2017

This just in ... from our FAKE NEWS Bureau:

Lafayette mortally wounded in America and captured by redcoats! The cause of Liberty may be doomed!

Just to be clear; Cornwallis was in Virginia. Everything else is/was complete fabrication. Arnold had already been recalled to New York by British General Clinton. Lafayette had effectively drawn Tarrelton and Cornwallis into a fruitless chase into the Virginia wilderness. He was never truly in danger, however, he did note that no opponent had brought him anxiety until he faced Cornwallis. Cornwallis was a master at war. Lafayette saw first hand and wrote of it. Lafayette won the duel of whits. His evasive, & antagonistic tactics exhausted Cornwallis of men and supply. And so, Cornwallis retired to Yorktown, VA to be resupplied and reinforced in order to finally rid himself of "The Boy".

The Boy, then moved to block his landward escape, as his French countrymen arrived in force with their navy. And word was sent north. Generals Washington and Rochambeau brought the Continental Army and French Expeditionary forces south to Virginia. Cornwallis was trapped. He reluctantly surrendered. The world turned upside down.

26/08/2017

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Foundational document of the French Revolution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen), passed by France's National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is an important document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights. The Declaration was directly influenced by Thomas Jefferson, working with General Lafayette, who introduced it. Influenced also by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human nature itself. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law. It is included in the beginning of the constitutions of both the Fourth French Republic (1946) and Fifth Republic (1958) and is still current. Inspired by the Enlightenment philosophers, the Declaration was a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a major impact on the development of freedom and democracy in Europe and worldwide.

Not to be confused with Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793, a second declaration, written in 1793 but never formally adopted.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights. The Declaration, together with Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the United States Bill of Rights, inspired in large part the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.