Lafayette: Lessons in Leadership from the Idealist General

Assessing the legendary Frenchman and his remarkable military career on both sides of the Atlantic

The Marquis de Lafayette is an icon of both American and French history. In Marc Leepson’s concise and engaging biography of this captivating figure, we learn how Lafayette, born into an aristocratic French family of warriors, traveled to the colonies at the age of nineteen to fight as a volunteer in the American Revolutionary War. Continental Army Major General Lafayette was soon embraced by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who became his lifelong friends. A fearless, accomplished battlefield commander, he also helped to convince the French court to provide crucial financial and military support to the Americans, which aided their defeat of the British. On his return to France, Lafayette played a leading role in the movement to make France a constitutional monarchy, served as commander of the National Guard during the French Revolution, and as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, opposed Napoleon’s rule and was instrumental in ending the short-lived French July Revolution of 1830 that brought the “citizen king,” Louis-Philippe, to the throne. This focused biography of the legendary French statesman and military man offers a unique examination of his remarkable military career on both sides of the Atlantic.

© 2025 University of Virginia Press (E-book): 9780813954431

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