GENERAL LAFAYETTE

Inscription

GENERAL LAFAYETTE
LED A DETACHMENT OF THE ARMY
TO SAYBROOK ON JULY 28, 1778,
WHERE THEY USED THE FERRY
TO CROSS THE CONNECTICUT
RIVER ON THEIR WAY TO R.I.
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.

In July 1778, Lafayette was sent with a detachment of soldiers from White Plains, NY to Providence, Rhode Island, to aid General Sullivan. Washington sent Lafayette and General Greene to command forces under Sullivan, and also to coordinate with Admiral D’Estaing leading the French fleet off the coast of Rhode Island. The alliance with the French was very new, and the Battle of Rhode Island in August to try to re-take Newport would prove to be the first joint engagement between the American and French forces.

On July 28, 1778, Lafayette and his detachment marched from East Gillford to Killingworth, about 5 miles, and then to Saybrook, another 9 miles. They then halted for an hour before crossing the river at the ferry. Once across the river in Lime, they marched one more mile before making camp for the evening in an orchard.