From the Archives: Letters from the Marquis de Lafayette to Gen. George Washington

By Kristen Vincent ’26

During the Bicentennial, we will highlight the College’s history each month by sharing a photo or object from College Archives. Want to learn more about a specific piece? Reach out to archives@lafayette.edu for more historical information.

Photo of Letter from the Marquis of Lafayette to George Washington, dated August 25, 1781

Lafayette Special Collections and College Archives has a collection of letters from the Marquis de Lafayette to Gen. George Washington, exchanged during the Revolutionary War. In this letter, Lafayette references James Armistead Lafayette, a double agent Black spy: “I Have Got Some Intelligences By the Way of this Servant I Have once Mentioned.” James Armistead Lafayette conveyed critical information regarding British forces at Yorktown, leading Lafayette to encircle Lord Cornwallis and request Washington’s army join him. Yorktown effectively ended the war, and this letter illustrates the contributions of African Americans in the American Revolution that have long been under-recorded. The closing of the letter is signed: “My dear General your most obedient humble servant Lafayette.”

This collection has been digitized in honor of the Bicentennial and is now available to view in the Lafayette Digital Repository.