For this research paper, I will talk about a lesser known founding father, the name of the Marquis de Lafayette. He is a French nobleman who came to help the colonies during the Revolutionary War. He made many sacrifices for the colonies and this article will tell you what he did. He was born on September 6, 1757 in Chavaniac, France, to a prestigious military family. At the age of twelve he was a very wealthy orphan. Life moved at a very fast pace in the 1700s, and the Marquis de Lafayette found himself enlisting in the royal army at the age of fourteen. Then, at the age of sixteen, he allied himself with one of the richest families in France by marrying fourteen-year-old Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles. His family was also closely related to the king. The fact that his father had been killed by the British at the Battle of Minden, his grandmother's influence, and the fact that being in the Militia was in his DNA may have changed his life. en route to America. He was nineteen when he decided to leave and join the American Revolution. Many French were willing to join the fighting because of lingering resentment towards the English and their noble pursuit of freedom. Lafayette knew that his king would never approve of this voyage to America, so his friend Count de Broglie introduced him to Baron Johan de Kalb and the two men purchased a ship and gathered men and supplies to aid in the war effort. During the fifty-four days it took to sail from France to the newly declared United States, he began to learn English so he could communicate upon his arrival. He finally reached Charleston, South Carolina on June 13, 1777. He headed to Philadelphia to speak to the Continental Congress. They were not real... middle of paper... all appointments in the government after his return to focus his attention on rebuilding his estate. He was invited back to the United States in 1824 and visited the country; people flocked to see him. Lafayette would continue his government work while holding firm to his belief in a represented form of government for his country. His last assignment was in the French National Guard, which he held until his death from pneumonia on May 20, 1834. Works Cited "The Marquis De Lafayette." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 26 February 2014. "History.org: Official History and Citizenship Website of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation." The Marquis De Lafayette: Williamsburg's Official Colonial History and Citizenship Site. Np, nd Web. 27 February 2014. "Biography of the Marquis De Lafayette." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television and Web. February 27. 2014.