David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "lafayette"
Lafayette In the Somewhat United States
Lafayette was a married nineteen-year-old with a child who happened to be the richest orphan in France when he purchased a ship and sailed to America to join up with Washington and the American Revolution. The French tried to stop him as they had a precarious treaty with England after losing the French and Indian War. They were also in dire need of money.
To say that Lafayette was an idealist about the Americans is an understatement. He was not aware that there may have been just as many loyalists in America as revolutionaries. What he did have was a degree of humility. Vowell psychoanalyzes Lafayette quite often. The young orphan was looking for a father, and he found one in Washington, who was willing to overlook his pandering and impulsiveness. The humility was something the other French mercenaries, whom Franklin and the French foreign minister had recruited, under the table so to speak. They wanted high command. Most of them were sent packing or left on their own.
Vowell reviews several of the early battles. Two that stand out are Brandywine and Germantown. At Brandywine Washington forgot to cover or didn't know about some of the fords in the river and the British were able to get behind him and attack his flank. He was lucky to get away with most of his army intact. Germantown was another blunder, but when the French found out about it, they were impressed that Washington was willing to take the fight to a modern European army, and they were more inclined to agree to an alliance. That inclination became a reality when Benedict Arnold and Mad Anthony Wayne defeated Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga.
Sarah Vowell is as much a satirist and smart aleck as she is a writer of popular histories. I first saw her on C-Span doing a reading and answering questions for her burgeoning fans. She insulted those wearing ugly sweaters in the front rows. She does that in this book as well. After the early battles of the Revolution, some of the members of the revolutionary government wanted to try one last time to get the king to intervene with Parliament. This effort was called the Olive Branch petition. George III never even read it. John Adams and John Dickenson stopped speaking to each other over the matter. Vowell interjects, “If two of the most distinguished, dedicated, and thoughtful public servants in the history of this republic could not find a way to agree to disagree, how can we expect the current crop of congressional blockheads to get along?”
The comparison to modern dysfunction comes up again when Vowell makes a case that the American rebels could not have won without France entering the war (It was their idea to blockade Yorktown from the sea; Washington wanted to recapture New York). Vowell was outraged when neocons during the Iraq war wanted to change the name of French fries to Freedom fries because the French voted against invading Iraq.
The book starts with Lafayette returning to the United States in 1824. He was the last surviving general to have fought in the Revolution. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were still alive. Two-thirds of the population of New York City showed up to cheer and shower him with accolades and mountains of swag. As many historical enthusiasts know, Lafayette rose to the rank of major general in short order after he arrived; he was also influential in convincing other European mercenaries, such as Von Steuben (who whipped Washington's army into shape) into coming to America. He also commanded two brigades at Yorktown.
To say that Lafayette was an idealist about the Americans is an understatement. He was not aware that there may have been just as many loyalists in America as revolutionaries. What he did have was a degree of humility. Vowell psychoanalyzes Lafayette quite often. The young orphan was looking for a father, and he found one in Washington, who was willing to overlook his pandering and impulsiveness. The humility was something the other French mercenaries, whom Franklin and the French foreign minister had recruited, under the table so to speak. They wanted high command. Most of them were sent packing or left on their own.
Vowell reviews several of the early battles. Two that stand out are Brandywine and Germantown. At Brandywine Washington forgot to cover or didn't know about some of the fords in the river and the British were able to get behind him and attack his flank. He was lucky to get away with most of his army intact. Germantown was another blunder, but when the French found out about it, they were impressed that Washington was willing to take the fight to a modern European army, and they were more inclined to agree to an alliance. That inclination became a reality when Benedict Arnold and Mad Anthony Wayne defeated Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga.
Sarah Vowell is as much a satirist and smart aleck as she is a writer of popular histories. I first saw her on C-Span doing a reading and answering questions for her burgeoning fans. She insulted those wearing ugly sweaters in the front rows. She does that in this book as well. After the early battles of the Revolution, some of the members of the revolutionary government wanted to try one last time to get the king to intervene with Parliament. This effort was called the Olive Branch petition. George III never even read it. John Adams and John Dickenson stopped speaking to each other over the matter. Vowell interjects, “If two of the most distinguished, dedicated, and thoughtful public servants in the history of this republic could not find a way to agree to disagree, how can we expect the current crop of congressional blockheads to get along?”
The comparison to modern dysfunction comes up again when Vowell makes a case that the American rebels could not have won without France entering the war (It was their idea to blockade Yorktown from the sea; Washington wanted to recapture New York). Vowell was outraged when neocons during the Iraq war wanted to change the name of French fries to Freedom fries because the French voted against invading Iraq.
The book starts with Lafayette returning to the United States in 1824. He was the last surviving general to have fought in the Revolution. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were still alive. Two-thirds of the population of New York City showed up to cheer and shower him with accolades and mountains of swag. As many historical enthusiasts know, Lafayette rose to the rank of major general in short order after he arrived; he was also influential in convincing other European mercenaries, such as Von Steuben (who whipped Washington's army into shape) into coming to America. He also commanded two brigades at Yorktown.
