September 8, 1824

La Fayette

At the request of a friend and Subscriber, we publish the following account of the sufferings of La Fayette and his family, during his imprisonment in several fortresses in Europe – extracted from a volume of the French Wars:

M.P.J.R.Y.G. Motier, Marquis La Fayette, was born in Auvergne , and is descended from an ancient family. He was educated at the College of Lewis Le Grand , at Paris , and received a commission in Mosquetaires; soon after which he married a lady of the family of Noailles. When only 19 years of age, this nobleman repaired to America, where he acquired considerable reputation by his military achievements, and rendered himself still more celebrated by his disinterestedness; he having refused, during the winter of 1777, to accept of the command of the American army, in prejudice to his friend, Gen. Washington, whose talents and virtues had not, at that time, been sufficiently appreciated. *

* (This is notoriously without foundation. There never existed, at any period of the American war, an idea of transferring the command of the army from Washington to La Fayette. The remark is not, however, made to derogate from the merits of the Marquis, who certainly rendered very important services to the American cause, as well with his fortune as his person. – American Epit.)

When the French Revolution occurred, La Fayette prepared to act a distinguished part. In 1789 he became a member of the States General, as a deputy from the nobility of Riom, in Auvergne . He had already been a member of the Notables, in 1789, and his attack on the administration of Colonna is said to have contributed to the downfall of that Minister. He was the first to propose to the National Assembly a plan for a Declaration of Rights; and, after the recall of Necker, was unanimously elected Commander-in- Chief of the National Guards. In this capacity he presided at the Grand Confederation, on the 14th of July, as the Generalissimo of a greater body of troops than has ever been commanded by any other man since the days of Xerxes. No sooner was the Constitution organized than he resigned his power and retired to one of his family estates, whence he did not return until a war with Austria was resolved upon. He was at that period a major General, but soon obtained the rank of Lieut. General, and finally that of Marshal of France, with a red ribband.

Having been invested with the command of the armies of the Meuse and Moselle, he left his Head Quarters soon after the 20th of June, 1782, on purpose to complain of the indignities to which the King had been exposed in the course of the day; but a Decree of Accusation was at length voted against him, he was forsaken by his troops, and deemed it prudent to fly, along with a few of his friends. Being seized on neutral ground, in contravention of the laws of Nations, they were considered, as will be seen hereafter, in the light of prisoners of war after they had ceased to be soldiers, and experienced a degree of severity in respect to their treatment, reserved, in general, for degree of severity in respect to their treatment, reserved, in general, for malchetors alone.

Latour Maubourg had been Colonel of the regiment of Soisonois, and deputy from the nobility of the Puyen Valley to the Sates General. Attached to the principles of the Revolution, he was among the first of his order who joined the third estate, and became one of the most ardent defenders of popular rights. When Louis XVI was arrested at Varrenes, Latour Maubourg was nominated, along with Petion and Barneve, to reconduct the Monarch to Paris , and when his friend La Fayette was placed at the head of one of the French armies, he accompanied him thither with the rank of Major General, and afterwards shared his captivity in the Prussian and Austrian dungeons.

Bureau De Pusy, was originally an officer of Engineers, and a deputy from the nobility of the Baileage of Amont to the States General. Like Latour Maubourg, he joined the third estate. And, after the formation of the National Assembly, presided several times over its debates. He was also a member of the Military Committee, and on the 10th of June, 1791, in consequence of the defection of the Officers of the army, he proposed a decree requiring a new oath of fidelity, by which each person was to declare himself forever infamous incase he violated it.

At the conclusion of the labors of the first Assembly he served under La Fayette, and was denounced by Gaudet, for having proposed to Marshall Luckner to unite both armies and march straight to Paris , in order to punish the outrages committed against the King, on the 20th of June. On this the assembly desired that he should appear at the bar, in order to justify himself. He accordingly repaired thither, and produced a letter from Marshal Luckner, testifying the information to be false; on which he was immediately declared innocent. He accompanied his General in his flight, and participated in all his subsequent misfortunes.

Alexander Lamett – The family of Lamett received a distinguished protection at Court, anterior to the Revolution. And Alexander, at an early period of his life, attained the rank of Colonel in second, and became a Knight of Malta. After serving for some time in America , as aid-de-camp to M. de Rochambeau, he returned home, and in 1789, was elected a deputy by the nobles of Peronne to the States General. Like several others of his own order, the Count at first distinguished himself by his attachment to the popular cause, but he, at length, became a violent member of the feuillant Club, and excited the rage and the revenge of the Jacobins, who asserted that he and his family had changed their principles, merely because they had large estates in the West Indies. Certain it is, that, after having been for a long time the implacable enemy of La Fayette, a reconciliation ensued, and he accompanied the General to the army, and actually served under him. He also followed his fortunes, and for some time shared his fate; but his mother, Madam Lamett, by means of her own influence and that of her brother, marshal Broglio, obtained first a melioration of his captivity, and then his liberty.

La Fayette, perceiving himself abandoned by his army and proscribed by the National Assembly, as has been already mentioned, determined on flight. It was the intention of the General and his companions to repair to Holland , as that was a neutral country, and in the neighborhood of their own. They accordingly set out on horseback, dressed in their Regimentals, and freely declared to all they met, that they had quitted the French army, and were retiring to a place of refuge. They had not, however, traveled more than a few leagues beyond the frontiers, when they happened to be arrested by an Austrian patrol, and conducted to Luxemburg. Being at length permitted to address a letter to the Duke of Saxe Teschen, Governor General of the Low Countries , that prince not only signified his refusal in the most peremptory manner, but added, with a degree of bitterness wholly unsuitable to the occasion, that they should be reserved for the scaffold.

Immediately after this a correspondence took place between the Courts of Vienna and Berlin , relative to these prisoners. And as it was at length determined that the monarch who commanded the combined army should be entrusted with the custody of La Fayette and his companions, they were immediately conducted under an escort, andn imprisoned at Wesel, where they were confined separately, and constantly superintended by non-commissioned officers, who received strict orders never to permit them to remain for a single moment out of sight, or to answer any questions that were put by them. La Fayette, overwhelmed with chagrin and mortification, fell sick, and became so dangerously ill that his life was despaired of. While in this condition, Maubourg was refused permission to visit his friend,now supposed to be on his death bed.

But a salutary crisis having occurred, and the King of Prussia thinking that he might be able to profit by his convalescence, caused it to be intimated that his situation would be meliorated, provided he would draw up place against France : But La Fayette exhibited, by means of an energetic answer, his scorn of such a proposition. On this the rigors of his confinement were increased. He and his companion were soon after thrown into a wagon and conveyed to Magdeburg; care being taken that they sould learn nothing respecting their families, concerning whose fate they experienced the most lively emotions, in consequence of the proscriptions that prevailed in France.

By removing them in this manner, it seems to have been the intention of their persecutors to aggravate their miseries, and excite the public indignation; but is such were their motives, they were greatly disappointed, as they every where experienced that interest and compassion, produced alike by the injustice of their detention and the constancy of their courage. They remained says Segur, Tab. Pol., t.3, page 277, during a whole year at Magdeburg, in a dark and humid vault, surrounded by high palisades, shut up by means of four successive doors fortified by iron bars and fastened with padlocks. Their fate, however, appeared to be now some milder, as they were permitted to see each other, and allowed to walk for an hour each day on one of the bastions. At length the king of Prussia, all of a sudden, ordered La Fayeete to be removed to Neiss. Maubourg in vain solicitated to be shut up along with him; but this favor was denied, and he was conducted to Glatz, whither Bureau de Pusy was also carried soon after.

Alexander Lamett, who was dangerously ill, could not be transported along with his companions. His mother after many solicitations, prevailed on the King to permit him to remain within his own dominions – and soon after the peace had been concluded between that monarch and the French Republic , he was fortunate enough to obtain his liberty. The other prisoners were now confined in Neiss, for the purpose of being delivered up to Austria . And, although the dungeon inhabited by them was still more dismal and unhealthy than any of the others, yet they still deemed themselves fortunate; for the three companions were permitted to enjoy the society of Madam Masoncuve; who had courageously repaired thither to participate in the lot of her brother, Latour Maubourg.

Soon after this they were conducted to Oimutz, and on their arrival there were so completely stripped of everything, that only their buckles and their watches remained. Some books were also taken from them, in which the word liberty happened to be inserted; particularly L’Esprit, by Helvetius, and Paine’s Common Sense, both belonging to La Fayette. It was, also, declared to each, while shutting them up separately in their respective cells, that henceforth they would never see anything but the four walls of their dungeon; that they might expect no manner of intelligence respecting persons or things; that the mention of their very names, even by the Jailers or in the dispatches sent to Court was prohibited; and, that thenceforth they would only be designated by particular numbers, and that they could never receive any information concerning the fate of their families or their own reciprocal existence; and that, as men in this situation would be naturally inclined to destroy themselves, they must be interdicted the use of a knife, fork and every other instrument which might product suicide.

After three different attestations on the part of Physicians, pointing out the indispensable necessity of fresh air for La Fayette, he was permitted to walk in the fortress. It was this circumstance which afforded him an opportunity to escape, on the 8th of January, 1794. Two Americans, Doctor Bollman and Mr. Heger, being affected with gratitude for the distinguished part he had acted, during that war which rendered their country independent, and inspired, at the same time, with indignation and pity at his cruel and forlorn situation, conceived the generous resolution of becoming his deliverers. This was accordingly effected, and he was actually carried off. But he happened to be retaken at Sternberg, eight leagues distant, and reconducted to prison. During the struggle between La Fayette and the Corporal to whose care he was entrusted, and whom he had disarmed, the latter, who had fallen in the contest, bit his hand to the bone. Bollman was delivered up to the Austrians.*

*(The persons who assisted the Marquis in his escape, were Dr. Bollman, a German, who had never, at that time, been in America, and who was employed for the purpose, by several Americans then in Europe, and Mr. Kuger, of South Carolina, who as accidentally traveling in Germany, and voluntarily engaged to accompany Dr. Bollman in the hazardous attempt. – Amer. Edit. )

Subsequent to that period, the captivity of La Fayette was more rigorous, and his malady more violent than before. He was left without any assistance, exposed to a continuous fever during a severe winter, and deprived of light, and even of the linen that his malady rendered necessary. Maubourg and de Pusy, who had never attempted to escape, were also deprived of the liberty of breathing the air of heaven; and, in order to augment the horrors experienced by the General himself, he was made to believe that the two gentlemen who has so nobly interested themselves in his favor, had perished on the scaffold.

While La Fayette was thus tortured in his dungeon at Olmutz, and apprehended daily to be delivered up to the axe of the executioner, his unhappy wife, who was confined in a prison at Paris, also expected every hour to suffer the same punishment that had been inflicted on the greater part of her family. The fall of Robespierre at length saved her life; but it was long afterwards before she regained her liberty, and the necessary strength to execute the design she has for some time meditated.

This unhappy lady, having at length found means to leave France , landed at Altona, September 9, 1795, set out immediately for Vienna , under the name of Motier, with an American passport, and arrived there with her two daughters, before her design had been divulged. The Prince de Rosenberg, affected by her virtues and her misfortunes, obtained an audience from the Emperor, and leave to participate in the captivity of a husband and a father. But his Imperial Majesty absolutely refused to make any promise relative to the liberty of La Fayette. While the wives of Maubourg an de Pudy, inspired by the same sentiments, were denied permission to share the misfortune of their husbands, and could not even procure his assent to enter into the Austrian States. On the arrival of Madam La Fayette at Olmutz, she and her two lovely daughters were accordingly admitted into the fortress; but they were treated with the greatest inhumanity, and appear to have been refused to hear Mass on Sundays or to have a servant attend upon them.

At length the health of this lady became so precarious, that she was prevailed upon to request permission from his Imperial Majesty, to spend a week at Vienna , for the purpose of breathing fresh air and consulting a Physician. Two months after this, the Commandant made his appearance for the first time, and after giving orders that the two young ladies should be confined to a particular chamber, signified to Madam La Fayette, that she was expressly prohibited from ever gain appearing in the capital; but was allowed to leave the Jail, on condition, however, that she should never enter it again. She was at the same time desired to intimate her option; but the courageous female, taking up a pen, wrote as follows:

“I deemed it proper, for the sake of my family, to demand the succor necessary for the re-establishment of my health; but they must know, that the price attached to this object, is not acceptable to me. I can never forget when my husband and myself were ready to perish – I by the tyranny of Robespierre, and he by the physical and moral evils sustained by him during his captivity – that we were both reciprocally bereft of the knowledge of each other’s existence, as well as that of our family; and I am fully determined never to expose myself again to the horrors of another separation. Whatever, then, may be the state of my own health, and the inconveniences attending the stay of my daughters in this place, will will most gratefully take advantage of the goodness of his Imperial majesty expressed towards us, by the permission to share in all the miseries of his captivity.

Signed, Noailles La Fayette.

Subsequently to this period, no complaints whatever were heard on the part of the unhappy sufferers, who inhabited those chambers, or rather dungeons, an also thoroughly impregnated and infected by a common sewer, and the privies which were close to La Fayette’s window, that the soldiers were accustomed to stop their noses on opening the door. Maubourg, Pusy and La Fayette had already been imprisoned during three years and five months, in the same gallery, without seeing or being acquainted with the fate of each other, and entertained no prospect whatever of their liberty, when the French Directory, by means of their ambassador, Barthelimi, interfered in their behalf, but this was at first attended with no beneficial effect whatever, and it was not until the conqueror of Italy had sent Louis Romoeuf, formerly one of La Fayette’s aids-de-camp, to solicit the favor, that the court of Vienna would consent to their deliverance. The Austrian minister endeavored, on this occasion, to obtain conditions from the prisoners, which they were determined not to accede to, and it was even required by a nobleman employed for that purpose, that La Fayette should quit Europe immediately. Here follows the spirited reply from the latter:

“The Commission with which the Marquis De Chasteleer is charged, appears to me to be reducible to three points. –

“1st. His Imperial Majesty is desirous that our situation should be verified, but I am not disposed to make the least complaint on that subject. A number of particulars may be discovered in the letters to my wife; and, if it be not sufficient for his imperial majesty to read, once more, the instructions sent from Vienna , in his name, I will willingly afford any information to the Marquis De Chasteleer, he may be desirous of.

“2dly. His majesty, the emperor and king, wishes to be assured, that immediately after my deliverance, I will set out for America . This intention has often been manifested on my part; but, as my consent, at the present moment, would seem to recognize the right of imposing the condition, I do not deem it proper for me to accede to it.

“3dly. His majesty, the emperor and king, had done me the honor to signify to me, that the principles which I profess, being incompatible with the safety of the Austrian government, he does not wish that I should ever enter his states without receiving his own special permission. There are certain duties which I can never abandon; by these I am connected with the United States, and more especially with France; and I cannot enter into an engagement with any one in contravention to the claims which my country possesses in respect to my person. These exceptions being admitted, I can assure the General de Chasteleer that it is my invariable determination, never to place my foot on any of the territories belonging to his majesty the king of Bohemia and Hungary.”

The two other persons made similar declarations; and they, at length, agreed that they should all subscribe the following engagements, and no other:

“We, the undersigned, engage to his majesty, the emperor and king, never to enter his hereditary states, without having obtained his special permission, with an exception, however, to the right which our country possesses in respect to our persons.”

Signed,

La Fayette,

Maubourg, Pusy

This unexpected resistance greatly irritated the Austrian cabinet, and the doors of their dungeons were once more shut upon them, while Bonaparte was given to understand, that they had been restored to their liberty. But, having at length received intelligence of what had occurred, he sent Romoeuf to Vienna – and they were finally liberated, in the month of September, 1797.

Immediately after this event had taken place, they repaired to Hamburg; and Madam La Fayette having obtained leave to return to France, her husband was permitted, by Bonaparte, to repair thither also, soon after the revolution that occurred in 1799.

Latour Maubourg , as well as his son and brother, were recalled by Bonaparte, in 1800, and their friendship with the family of La Fayette has been still further cemented by a marriage between young Maubourg and a daughter of the General.

Alexander Lamett, after having obtained his liberty by the influence of his mother, repaired to England, in 1796, but he immediately received notice from the Government to quit the Kingdom, on which he retired to Hamburg. In 1797 he returned to France, with a view of having his name erased from the list of Emigrants, but he was soon once more obliged to withdraw. At length, however, the resolution effected by Bonaparte, operated in a manner favorable to his wishes, and in 1800, he was permitted to reside in his native county.