Mr. de Lafayette, Commander of the Paris National Guard, Receives the City’s 'Sword for the Defense of Liberty'

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/6374cb3fb744dd4c552f92ad7126a983.jpg

Title

Mr. de Lafayette, Commander of the Paris National Guard, Receives the City’s 'Sword for the Defense of Liberty'

Description

During the Revolution the most visible connection between America and France was Lafayette, who had volunteered for service in the American Revolution and had been mentored by Washington and Jefferson. This special status vaulted him to prominence in 1789 as he became a delegate in the Estates–General, head of the National Guard, and a general in the military. In a way, his background undid him as his attachment to relatively moderate forms of American liberty isolated him as the Revolution became radicalized. Increasingly alienated, he was forced out of his general’s command, and he fled to avoid arrest. After Napoleon came to power, Lafayette returned to France, where he defended his ideals of moderate revolution until his death in 1832, at the age of sixty–five. This print commemorates the gift of a sword presented by the Parisian guard after Lafayette resigned this post in October, 1791.

Creator

None Identified

Source

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Date

1789-1792

Rights

Public Domain

Relation

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/206/|Collection de Vinck. <em>Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870</em>. Vol. 11 (pièces 1763-1933), Ancien Régime et Révolution

Format

JPEG

Language

French

Identifier

206

Original Format

Print

Physical Dimensions

27 x 18.5cm

Title (French)

La Nation française assistée de Mr de la Fayette terrasse le despotisme et les abus du regne feodal qui terrassaient le peuple

Citation

None Identified, “Mr. de Lafayette, Commander of the Paris National Guard, Receives the City’s 'Sword for the Defense of Liberty',” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed March 29, 2024, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/206.