{"product_id":"2940012773494","title":"St. Nicholas Volume XIII","description":"One hundred and nine years ago, in the month of February, 1777, a young\u003cbr\u003eFrench guardsman ran away to sea.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd a most singular running away it was. He did not wish to be a sailor,\u003cbr\u003ebut he was so anxious to go that he bought a ship to run away in,--for he\u003cbr\u003ewas a very wealthy young man; and though he was only nineteen, he held a\u003cbr\u003ecommission as major-general in the armies of a land three thousand miles\u003cbr\u003eaway--a land he had never seen and the language of which he could not\u003cbr\u003espeak. The King of France commanded him to remain at home; his friends and\u003cbr\u003erelatives tried to restrain him; and even the representatives, or agents,\u003cbr\u003eof the country in defense of which he desired to fight would not encourage\u003cbr\u003ehis purpose. And when the young man, while dining at the house of the\u003cbr\u003eBritish Ambassador to France, openly avowed his sympathy with a downtrodden\u003cbr\u003epeople, and his determination to help them gain their freedom, the\u003cbr\u003eAmbassador acted quickly. At his request, the rash young enthusiast was\u003cbr\u003earrested by the French Government, and orders were given to seize his ship,\u003cbr\u003ewhich was awaiting him at Bordeaux. But ship and owner both slipped away,\u003cbr\u003eand sailing from the port of Pasajes in Spain, the runaway, with eleven\u003cbr\u003echosen companions, was soon on the sea, bound for America, and beyond the\u003cbr\u003ereach of both friends and foes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn April 25, 1777, he landed at the little port of Georgetown, at the mouth\u003cbr\u003eof the Great Pee Dee river in South Carolina; and from that day forward the\u003cbr\u003ecareer of Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis de La Fayette,\u003cbr\u003ehas held a place in the history of America, and in the interest and\u003cbr\u003eaffection of the American people.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen he first arrived in the land for which he desired to fight, however,\u003cbr\u003ehe found but a cool reception. The Congress of the United States was poor,\u003cbr\u003eand so many good and brave American officers who had proved their worth\u003cbr\u003ewere desirous of commissions as major-generals, that the commission\u003cbr\u003epromised to this young Frenchman could not easily be put in force so far as\u003cbr\u003ean actual command and a salary were concerned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the young general had come across the sea for a purpose, and money and\u003cbr\u003eposition were not parts of that purpose. He expressed his desire to serve\u003cbr\u003ein the American army upon two very singular conditions, namely: that he\u003cbr\u003eshould receive no pay, and that he should act as a volunteer. The Congress\u003cbr\u003ewas so impressed with the enthusiasm and self-sacrifice of the young\u003cbr\u003eFrenchman that, on July 31, 1777, it passed a resolution directing that\u003cbr\u003e\"his services be accepted and that, in consideration of his zeal,\u003cbr\u003eillustrious family and connections, he have the rank and commission of a\u003cbr\u003eMajor-General of the United States.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeneral Washington was greatly attracted by the energy and earnestness of\u003cbr\u003ethe young nobleman. He took him into what was called his \"military family,\"\u003cbr\u003eassigned him to special and honorable duty; and when the young volunteer\u003cbr\u003ewas wounded at the battle of Brandywine, the Commander-in-Chief praised his\u003cbr\u003e\"bravery and military ardor\" so highly that the Congress gave La Fayette\u003cbr\u003ethe command of a division. Thus, before he was twenty, he was actually a\u003cbr\u003egeneral, and already, as one historian says, he had \"justified the boyish\u003cbr\u003erashness which his friends deplored and his sovereign resented, and had\u003cbr\u003eacquired a place in history.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNotwithstanding General Washington's assertion to Congress that La Fayette\u003cbr\u003ehad made \"great proficiency in our language,\" the young marquis's\u003cbr\u003epronunciation of English was far from perfect. French, Spanish, and Italian\u003cbr\u003ewere all familiar to him, but his English was not readily understood by the\u003cbr\u003emen he was called upon to command. It was therefore necessary to find as\u003cbr\u003ehis aid-de-camp one who could quickly interpret the orders of his\u003cbr\u003ecommanding officer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Illustration: STATUE OF LA FAYETTE BY A. BARTHOLDI,--\u003cbr\u003eUNION SQUARE, NEW-YORK CITY.]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuch an aid was at last found in the person of a certain young Connecticut\u003cbr\u003eadjutant on the regimental staff of dashing Brigadier-General Wayne,--\"Mad\u003cbr\u003eAnthony\" Wayne, the hero of Stony Point.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis young adjutant was of almost the same age as Lafayette; he had\u003cbr\u003ereceived, what was rare enough in those old days, an excellent college\u003cbr\u003eeducation, and he was said to be the only man in the American army who\u003cbr\u003ecould speak French and English equally well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese young men, General La Fayette and his aid, grew very fond of each\u003cbr\u003eother during an intimate acquaintance of nearly seven years.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47180809732336,"sku":"2940012773494","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012773494","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}