George Washington and General Lafayette
A Research Guide
1777, June 13. Lafayette arrives at Georgetown, South Carolina.
1777, July 31. Congress appoints Lafayette a Major General in the
United States Army.
1777, Aug. 1. Lafayette is presented to George Washington at a dinner
party in Philadelphia.
1777, Sept. 9-11. Both Lafayette and Washington fight at the Battle of
Brandywine. Lafayette, who was not supposed be in combat, fought on the front
lines and was shot in the leg.
1777, Dec. 1. Congress grants Lafayette a command in the United States
Army.
1777-1778, winter. Both Lafayette and Washington survive the hard
winter at Valley Forge with their troops.
1778, June 28. Lafayette and Washington both serve at the Battle of
Monmouth, New Jersey.
1779, Dec. Lafayette names his newborn son George Washington
Lafayette.
1781, Sept. 28-Oct. 19. Lafayette and Washington both fight at
Yorktown where Cornwallis surrenders to Washington.
1783, Spring. Henry Knox creates Society of the Cincinnati, a
hereditary organization open to all French and American officers above the rank
of colonel. Both Lafayette and Washington were members of this organization, as
well as the Fraternity of Masons.
1784, Aug. 19. Lafayette visits Washington at his home, Mount
Vernon.
1784, Nov 18. Washington meets Lafayette in Richmond, Virginia, to
escort him to Mount Vernon.
1784, Nov./Dec. Lafayette visits Washington at Mount Vernon. It was to
be Lafayette’s last meeting with Washington before the latter’s death in
December 1799.
1824, Oct. 17. Lafayette visits Mount Vernon and George Washington’s
tomb.
1825, Aug. 29-30. Lafayette visits Mount Vernon.
Gifts From Lafayette to George Washington
Chair & Hunting Horn
1784 – Masonic apron embroidered for Washington by Madame
Lafayette
1785 – Two hounds
1787 – Mules
c1787 – Two golden pheasants
1790 – Key to the Bastille and sketch of the prison by Cathala
Gifts from George Washington to Lafayette
1786 – Barrel of Virginia hams
1787 – Two red birds and two wood ducks
1790 – Shoe Buckles
Sources Used:
Bjelajac, David. Washington Allston, Secret Societies, and the Alchemy of
Anglo-American Pai nting. Cambridge U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
ISBN 0521431530
Fitzpatrick, John C., editor. The Writings of George Washington from the
Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 ... of Congress [39 volumes].
Headley, P.C. Life of General Lafayette, Marquis of France, General in the
United States Army, etc. New York: Leavitt & Allen Bros., 1856.
Idzerda, Stanley J., Anne C. Loveland, and Marc H. Miller. Lafayette, Hero
of Two Worlds: The Art and Pageantry of His Farewell Tour of America,
1824-1825. Hanover, NH : The Queens Museum, 1989. ISBN 0874514894
Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union Mount Vernon, Virginia, The.
"Souvenir of the French Revolution." Mount Vernon Annual Report 1987,
(1988): 26-36.
Rhodehamel, John. "Of horse, mules and jacks." Fairfax Chronicles 6,
no. 1 (1982):1-2.
Richardson, Edgar P., Brooke Hindle, and Lillian B. Miller. Charles
Willson Peal and His World. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1983.
