Lafayette and the American Revolution

by Russell Freedman

Overview

When the Marquis de Lafayette ran off to join the American Revolution against the explicit orders of the king of France, he was a strong-willed nineteen-year-old who had never set foot on a battlefield. Although the U.S. Congress granted him an honorary commission only out of respect for his title and wealth, Lafayette quickly earned the respect of his fellow officers with his bravery, devotion to the cause of liberty, and incredible drive.Playing a pivotal role in the Revolution, Lafayette convinced the French government to send troops, made crucial pacts with Native Americans, and lead his men to victory at Yorktown. This thrilling account of a daring soldier will fascinate young historians. Source notes, bibliography, time line, index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823449460
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	271,747
Product dimensions:	10.53(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Russell Freedman is well known for his riveting biographies and masterful accounts of the history of the United States. One of the most honored writers for children, Russell Freedman has been honored with the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award, and a National Humanities Medal. He travels widely but makes his home in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Newbery Medalist Freedman, biographer and historian to the young, employs his easy-to-read style in chronicling the life of Gen. Gilbert de Lafayette, an unlikely but key player in the American Revolution. Opening with Lafayette's dramatic, secretive departure from France, the author seizes readers' attention up front and holds it with a straightforward narrative that relies on quotations and anecdotes from Lafayette's unconventional life. The book's 10 chapters recount how the aristocratic Frenchman, who disdained court life and craved battlefield glory, came to the aid of the Continental Army and ended up one of George Washington's closest associates and friends. Reprints of drawings and colorful portraits break up the text and put faces to some of the myriad names. From Lafayette's mostly fatherless childhood and military career to his exile for his part in the French Revolution and his final, vindicated days, audiences receive a multidimensional view of the general, who once referred to himself as "an American, after all--just returned from a long visit to Europe." A time line, source notes, bibliography, and index complete this thorough account. Ages 10–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Against the wishes of father, family and nation, 19-year-old Gilbert de Lafayette bought a ship, escaped France and became the youngest general in the Continental Army, a teenager leaving a young wife and a huge personal fortune to pursue military glory. Freedman knows how to distill a lively and focused story from a swamp of information on a much-studied subject, writing with an acute eye for fascinating detail and significant facts. The volume opens with a mysterious stranger, a fearsome beast, musketeers and a humiliating episode with Marie Antoinette, and later the spotlight remains expertly trained on Lafayette as he fights at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, winters at Valley Forge, meets with the Iroquois Confederacy and corners Cornwallis at Yorktown. Lafayette's subsequent involvement in the French Revolution and his call for freeing American slaves demonstrate how he outgrew the "teenager in pursuit of military glory" to become a passionate spokesman for human rights. An interesting and useful commentary on selected sources rounds out another superb volume by a master of his craft. (timeline, source notes, index) (Biography. 10 & up)

Kirkus Reviews