Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch- Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette was born on September 6, 1757, to the Motier family— better known by their noble title of La Fayette (" Lafayette " is an American spelling). After three years of study in the Collège du Plessis, a distinguished secondary school in Paris, France, Lafayette joined the French army in 1771. In 1773, Lafayette married Adrienne de Noailles (1759-1807), daughter of the Duc d'Ayen. After the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Lafayette decided to put his military training to use by assisting America against France 's historic enemy, England. Refused the king's permission to go to America, Lafayette sailed anyway, after buying and equipping a ship with his own money.

On June 13, 1777, he landed in North Carolina. The Continental Congress had given the distinguished volunteer an honorary commission as a major general, but his actual duties were as aide-de-camp (a top...