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La Fayette (de), Gilbert du Motier

Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette

Born

6 September 1757

Died

20 May 1834

Celebrated for his service in the American War of Independence and appointed commander of the Paris National Guard in 1789, Lafayette sought to establish a constitutional monarchy founded on representative government and the rights proclaimed in 1789. On 17 July 1791, National Guardsmen under his command fired on a crowd gathered at the Champ de Mars to petition against the restoration of Louis XVI, deepening his estrangement from the radical clubs and popular militants of Paris. In June 1792, he left his army command to appear before the Legislative Assembly and denounce the Jacobins. After the overthrow of the monarchy in August, the Assembly ordered his arrest. Lafayette crossed the frontier in an attempt to reach the Dutch Republic, but was captured and held by Prussia and Austria until 1797.

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