Lafayette (1757-1834)
Though born to the French aristocracy, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de LaFayette, was destined to play a key role in both the American and French revolutions. Arriving in America in 1777 at the age of 19, he met and was befriended by George Washington, who placed him in command of Patriot forces. Lafayette proved a resourceful field commander and came to represent the newly-formed Franco-American alliance. He would perform his greatest feat of arms in southern Virginia, where he isolated Cornwallis at Yorktown long enough to allow combined French and American forces to arrive for a final siege.