GENERAL LAFAYETTE

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GENERAL LAFAYETTE
ARRIVED AT ROBINSON HOUSE
WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON ON
SEPT. 25, 1780. HE WAS AMONG
THE FIRST OFFICERS NOTIFIED
OF BENEDICT ARNOLD'S TREASON.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2026

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), was a French nobleman and captain in the French Dragoons. In April 1777, Lafayette sailed on the Victoire, a ship built with his personal funds, for North America to serve as a military leader in the American Revolution, despite a royal decree prohibiting French officers from serving. Shortly after his arrival, the Continental Congress commissioned him as a major general serving under George Washington. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, Lafayette managed to organize a successful Patriot retreat. Early in 1779, he returned to France to negotiate an increase in support from the French government, securing thousands of French troops to fight for the American cause. As one of three division commanders, Lafayette played a pivotal role in the 1781 Battle of Yorktown. He succeeded in containing Lord Cornwallis’s men, allowing time for additional French and American forces to arrive and lay siege to the British troops, forcing Cornwallis to surrender and ensuring American victory.

The Discovery of Benedict Arnold’s Treason (1780)

On September 25, 1780, Generals George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette traveled toward the Beverly Robinson House, located across the Hudson River from West Point, New York. The house, formerly owned by a British Loyalist, served as the headquarters for the American commander of West Point, Benedict Arnold. Although Major John André had been captured days earlier, exposing Arnold’s treason, Washington and Lafayette remained unaware of the plot.

Arnold’s Escape

According to a letter written by Lafayette the following day, the generals had sent aides ahead to the house. While the aides were present, Arnold received two letters, one of which informed him that André had been captured.

Arnold immediately prepared to flee. He instructed the aides to inform Washington that he had gone to West Point and would return within the hour. Instead, Arnold boarded the British frigate Vulture.

Evidence and Reaction

Upon their arrival, Washington and Lafayette crossed the river to inspect the West Point fortifications. When they returned to the Robinson House, they were informed of Major André’s arrest. Found on André’s person were documents in Arnold’s handwriting, including:

Council of war notes
Reports on the state of the garrison and works
Details about attack and defense plans

These documents confirmed a plot to surrender West Point to the British.

Immediate Aftermath

Washington ordered the immediate arrest of Arnold, but the effort, led by Colonel Alexander Hamilton, failed to capture him. Washington and Lafayette established their headquarters at the Robinson House, where Washington began refortifying West Point. He discovered that Arnold had intentionally weakened the garrison by dispatching troops elsewhere under various pretenses. Orders from this period were formally issued from “Headquarters at Robinson’s House.”