Books: Memoirs of General Lafayette

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Lafayette still retained his great popularity and influence. The Court
party had perfect confidence in his integrity and honor, though they did
not approve of his revolutionary principles. And the friends of the
constitution found in him one of their most zealous and able supporters.
These, however, soon become divided into clubs and parties; some of whom
were aiming at more power for the representatives of the people, and for
divesting Louis of every thing but the name of King. To this description of
politicians, Lafayette, and others who constituted the majority of the
National Assembly at this time, were opposed. They considered the King as
still the fountain of all executive authority, and were willing that he
should also have a _veto_ upon their legislative proceedings--His
person, they declared, was inviolable, and his crown hereditary. Put the
more violent revolutionists, who soon became known by the distinctive
appellation of _Jacobins_, formed themselves into a club; where
extravagant measures were proposed and then presented to the assembly; and
frequently were adopted, through intrigue and threats, when a majority of
the members were dissatisfied with them.

Attached to the constitution, a friend to justice and order, and an
advocate for the dignity and authority of the monarch, as limited and
defined by the constitution, Lafayette was among the most open and decided
in counteracting the views of the Duc de Orleans, Mirabeau, Petion,
Brissot, Robespeirre, and others of the jacobin faction, who aimed at
further changes to fulfill their own selfish and ambitious designs. Orleans
was an unprincipled and dangerous nobleman; of royal blood and cousin to
Louis: But his object was to bring about an entire revolution, and place
himself on the throne of France. He, therefore, hated and feared Lafayette;
who, he knew, was too honest to further his plans, and too powerful to
allow him to succeed: Orleans became obnoxious and was persuaded to leave
the kingdom. But he soon returned; and promoted or approved the shocking
excesses which were afterwards committed.

During the years 1790 and 1791 great agitations existed in Paris, on
various occasions, through the changing opinions of political leaders, and
the collisions of individuals, who were rivals for power. The grand
confederation took place in July 1790, when the constitution received the
sanction of all classes; and when Lafayette, at the head of the national
guards, attracted as much notice and possessed as great influence as the
king himself. His popularity seemed unbounded; nor did he commit any act of
cruelty or injustice to injure his high reputation. He could not, in all
instances, command the military or restrain the mob; but he had the merit
of using his greatest efforts to preserve order, and to maintain the
authority of the laws. When the King proposed to visit St. Cloud, he was
opposed by the populace and the Jacobin clubs, under the pretence that he
intended to leave the kingdom. Lafayette attempted to disperse them and to
remove all obstructions to the intended visit of Louis. The troops were
disobedient to his orders, and refused to favor the King's journey.
Mortified by their insubordination, Lafayette resigned his command, but
afterwards resumed it, through the solicitations of the National Assembly,
and of the guards themselves, who regretted their disobedience of his
orders.

On the attempt of the King, soon after, to depart from France, who had
become disgusted with the conduct of the revolutionists, and was in fear of
his personal safety, Lafayette was charged with being privy to the plan,
and subjected himself to the popular displeasure on this suspicion. That he
promoted the plan, was never proved, and is not probable. That he had
intimations of it, is possible; but that he gave strict orders to the
officers about the king's palace to guard against such an event is most
certain. He discharged his duty as a public agent; and it is not improbable
he might have supposed the king in immediate danger, and that by a
temporary absence from the capital, the ferment would subside, and he might
return in safety. No one, for a moment, believed that he wished, with the
emigrants and other enemies of the revolution, to have Louis surrender
himself to the hostile powers of the coalition, for the purpose of bringing
a foreign army to enslave France. He was, indeed, anxious for the safety of
his Prince; but he would never have compromitted the liberties of his
country, even for such an object.

From this period, the Jacobin clubs became more popular, and had the chief
direction of all political affairs. In their desire to lesson the authority
of the King, and to secure power, they hesitated at no measures, however
unjust; and the new constitution, even which they had sworn to support, was
grossly violated in the prosecution of their selfish views. The influence
of Lafayette was rapidly undermined by these artful demagogues. He was
sincerely attached to the constitution; and was desirous of maintaining
inviolate; the power of the, monarch which it guaranteed. He was the friend
to law, and opposed all his influence to riots and excesses. He became an
object of dread to the Jacobins, and they resolved to destroy him. But for
a long time, the majority of the National Assembly supported him. In
attempting to suppress a dangerous riot, by which many of the citizens were
alarmed and threatened, when he commanded the military in 1791, he was shot
at by one of the mob. The man was taken, and he forgave him--But the
National Assembly decreed the death of the culprit, who had attempted the
life of "the hero of the day." And the municipality of Paris, also had a
gold medal struck off, in honor of Lafayette, and presented him with a bust
of Washington in approbation of his conduct.

He was repeatedly denounced by individuals of the violent party, before
they succeeded in rendering him obnoxious to popular displeasure. And this
was finally effected, through misrepresentations and false reports.

Letter of Lafayette, Feb. 1791, to M. de Bonille, one of the court, but not
then at Paris.

"Paris is divided by factions, and the kingdom oppressed by anarchy. The
violent aristocrats dream of a counter revolution--the clergy concur with
them. The impartial monarchists are looking for a part to play, without the
means of doing it. Among the friends of the revolution, you have many
honest men, some lose themselves in speculations--and some Jacobins, whose
leaders spread trouble everywhere. As to the ministers, they are merged in
the revolution; and have no rule, but to yield to the popular voice. The
Queen is resigned to the revolution,--hoping that opinions will soon
change. The King wishes the happiness of the people, and the general
tranquility, to begin his own. As to myself, I am attacked by all the party
leaders, who consider me an obstacle not to be overcome or intimidated. Add
to this, the hatred of the aristocrats and of the Orleans party; of the
Lameths, with whom I was formerly connected; of Mirabeau, who says I
despise him; the money distributed, the libels, the dissatisfaction I give
those whom I prevent from pillaging Paris-and you will have the sum of all
which is going on against me. But except a few ardent heads who are
mislead, the well meaning, from the highest to the lowest, are for me.

"I stand well with the National Assembly, except a few disreputable
Jacobins. I have little connexion with the court, for I can derive no use
from it to my country; and yet I am aware advantage is taken of my neglect
to intrigue. Some friends are at work with me, upon a plan of conduct, by
which the revolution will be consolidated, the good basis of the
constitution established, and public order restored. The chief talents of
the assembly, Mirabeau himself, cannot but support this plan. Here then are
courts established, and juries are decreed; this is the moment to let our
voice be heard with force, propriety and utility.

"You have accepted the coalition which my heart and my patriotism have
offered you. You lately said to one of my friends, "If Lafayette and I
understand each other well, we shall establish a constitution."

"My first wish is to finish the revolution speedily and well, to secure the
constitution on solid foundations, to employ for that purpose, all I
possess of national confidense and personal means; and then to be nothing
more in France, than an active citizen. Adieu,

"LAFAYETTE."

But after he was persecuted by the Petions and Robespieres of the day,
because of his moderation, loyalty and attachment to the constitution, he
was held in high esteem by the friends of rational freedom, and still
enjoyed the confidence both of Louis and of the National Assembly. Toward
the close of the year 1791, by request of the King, he was appointed to
command the army of the centre, to oppose the foreign troops then invading
France. When he accepted the appointment, he assured the National Assembly
of his "determination to support the constitution." The President replied,
"the French nation, who have sworn to conquer and to live free, will
always, with confidence, present to their foes and to tyrants, the
constitution and Lafayette."

As commander in chief of that department of the French army entreated to
him, he was assiduous to maintain proper discipline and order; a matter of
great difficulty, as a revolutionary spirit pervaded all ranks, and the
soldiers were disposed to insubordination, especially under a leader not
belonging to the popular party. He had several engagements with the enemy,
in which he was successful. But his operations and those of the other
generals, who commanded in other departments of the northern armies of
France, were greatly impeded by the injudicious and variable plans of the
assembly, then torn by factions, and disgraced by low intrigues. The evil
spirit extended to the military; and each faction had its partizans among
the soldiers. Lafayette saw and lamented this disastrous state of things;
and he dared to oppose his single efforts to avert the impending ruin. It
was at this time, that he wrote his celebrated letter to the National
Assembly, of June 16, 1792, in which he exposed the violence and the cabals
of the Jacobins, and conjured the moderates to cling to the constitution,
as the only means of safety. This letter is so important, in developing the
views and sentiments of Lafayette, and in detecting the causes of the
excesses, which eventually disgraced the French revolution of that period,
that it will be proper to record it in this connexion. He wrote to the King
at the same time, expressing great anxiety for his safety, and declaring
his wish to maintain the constitution.

Lafayette's letter to the Legislative body.

"_At the entrenched camp of Maubeuge_, 16_th June_, 1792.

"GENTLEMEN,

"At the moment, perhaps too long deferred, in which I am about to call your
attention to the highest public interests, and to point out among our
dangers, the _conduct of a ministry_, whom I have for a long time censured
in my correspondence, I learn that, unmasked in consequence of its own
divisions, it has fallen a sacrifice to its own intrigues. [This was the
Brissotin ministry.] It is not enough however, that _this branch_ of the
government has been delivered from its disastrous influence. The public
welfare is in peril--The fate of France depends principally on its
representatives--The nation expects from them its security. But in giving
them a _constitution_, France has prescribed to them the _only_ means by
which she can be saved.

"Persuaded, gentlemen, that as the rights of man are the law of every
constituent assembly, a constitution ought to be the law of the
legislators, which that constitution shall have established. It is to you
that I ought to denounce the too powerful efforts which are making, to
induce you to depart from that course which you have promised to pursue.

"_Nothing shall deter me from the exercise of this right of a free man, to
fulfill this duty of a citizen_; neither the momentary errors of opinion;
for what are opinions when they depart from principles: nor my respect for
the _representatives_ of the people; for I respect still more the _people_,
whose sovereign will it is to have a constitution: nor the benevolence and
kindness which you have constantly evinced for myself; for I would
_preserve_ that as I _obtained_ it, by an inflexible love of liberty.

"Your situation is difficult--France is menaced from without, and agitated
within. Whilst foreign powers announce the intolerable (inadmissible)
project of attacking our national sovereignty, and avow it as a principle!
at the same time the enemies of France, its interior enemies, intoxicated
with fanaticism and pride, entertain chimerical hopes, and annoy us with
their insolent malevolence. You ought, gentlemen, to repress them; and you
will have the power so to do, _only when_ you shall become _constitutional_
and _just_. You wish it, _no doubt_; but cast your eyes upon all that
passes within your own body and around you. Can you dissemble even to
yourselves, that a _faction_, (and to avoid all vague denunciations) the
_jacobin faction_, have caused all these disorders? It _is that which I
boldly accuse_--organized like a separate empire in the metropolis, and in
its affiliated societies, blindly directed by some ambitious leaders, this
sect forms a _corporation entirely distinct_ in the midst of the French
people, whose powers it usurps, by tyrannizing over its representatives and
constituted authorities.

"It is in that body, in its public meaning, the _love_ of the laws is
denounced as aristocracy, and their _breach_ as patriotism. _There_ the
assassins of Dessilles receive their triumphs, the crimes of Jourdan find
panegyrists. There, the recital of the massacre which has stained the city
of Metz, has also been received with _infernal_ acclamations! Have they
become sacred because the emperor Leopold has pronounced their name? And
because it is our highest duty to combat the _foreigners_, who mingle in
our domestic quarrels, are we at liberty to refrain from _delivering_ our
country from domestic tyranny?

"Of what importance is it, as to the fulfillment of this duty, that
strangers have their projects; and their connivance and concert with our
internal foes? It is I, who denounce to you this sect [the jacobins]; I,
who, without speaking of my past life, _can reply_ to those who suspect my
motives--"Approach, in this moment of awful crisis, when the character of
each man must be known, and see which of us, more inflexible in his
principles, more obstinate in his resistance, will more courageously
overcome, those obstacles, and those dangers, which traitors to their
country conceal, and which true citizens know how to appreciate, and to
brave for her."

"And how could I delay longer to fulfill this duty, whilst every successive
day weakens still more the constituted authorities, substitutes the spirit
of party for the will of the people; whilst the audacity of the agitators,
[the disorganizers] imposes silence on peaceable citizens, throws into
retirement useful men, and whilst _devotion_ to the _sect_ or _party_
stands in the place of _public_ and _private_ virtues, which, in a free
country, ought to be the austere [severe, or strict] and only means of
attaining to public office.

"It is, after having opposed to all the obstacles, and to all the snares,
which were laid for me, the courageous and persevering patriotism of an
army, sacrificed perhaps to conspiracies against its commander, (Lafayette
was the commander) that I now oppose to this faction the _correspondence_
of a _ministry, worthy_ representative of its _club_--a correspondence, the
calculations of which are false, its promises vain and illusory--its
information deceitful or frivolous--its advice perfidious or
contradictory--correspondence, in which _after_ pressing me to advance
without precaution--to attack _without means_--they finally began to tell
me that _resistance_ was _impossible_, when I indignantly repelled the
cowardly and base assertion. What a remarkable conformity of language,
gentlemen, between the factions whom the _aristocracy_ avow, and those who
_usurp_ the _name_ of _patriots_! They both wish to overthrow our laws,
rejoice in our disorders, array themselves against the constituted
authorities, detest the national guards (the militia)--preach
insubordination to the army--sow, at one moment, distrust, at another,
discouragement.

"As to myself, gentlemen, _who embraced the American cause at the moment
when its ambassadors declared to me that it was perilous or desperate_--
who from that moment have devoted my life to a persevering defence of
liberty and of the sovereignty of the people--who, on the 14th of July,
1789 after the taking of the Bastille, in presenting to my country a
declaration of rights dared to say "that in order that a nation should be
free, it is only necessary that it should _will_ so to be." I come, this
day, full of confidence in the justice of our cause--of contempt, for the
cowards who desert it, and of indignation against the traitors who would
sully or stain it with crimes; I am ready to declare that the French
nation, if it is not the vilest in the universe, can and ought to resist
the conspiracy of kings who have coalesced against it!

"It is not in the midst of my brave army that timid counsels should be
permitted.--Patriotism, discipline, patience, mutual confidence, all the
military and civil virtues I find here. Here the principles of liberty and
equality are cherished, the laws respected, property held sacred. Here
calumnies and factions are unknown. And when I reflect that France has many
millions who can become _such_ soldiers, I ask myself, to what a degree of
_debasement_ must such an immense people be reduced, stronger in its
natural resources than in its artificial defences, opposing to a monstrous
and discordant confederation, simple and united counsels and combinations,
that the cowardly, degrading idea of sacrificing its soverignty, of
permitting any discussion as to its liberties, of committing to negotiation
its rights, could be considered among the _possibilities_ of a rapidly
advancing futurity!

"But, in order that we, soldiers of liberty, should combat for her with
efficacy, or _die_ for her with any _fruit_ or advantage, it is necessary
that the number of the defenders of the country should be promptly made in
some degree proportionate to that of our opponents; that the supplies of
all descriptions should be increased so as to facilitate our movements;
that the comfort and conveniences of the troops, their clothes and arms,
their pay, the accommodations for the sick, should no longer be subject to
fatal delays, or to a miserable and misplaced economy, which defeats its
very end.

"It is _above all, necessary_ that the citizens rallied round their
constitution, should be assured that the rights which that constitution
guarantees shall be respected with a _religious_ fidelity; which will of
itself cause more despair to our enemies than any other measure.

"Do not repel this desire--this ardent wish. It is that of all the sincere
friends of your legitimate authority; assured that no _unjust_ consequence
or effect can flow from a _pure_ principle--that no tyrannical measure can
save a cause, which owes its _force_, aye, and its glory, to the sacred
principles of liberty and equality. Let criminal jurisprudence resume its
_constitutional_ power. Let civil equality--let religious freedom enjoy the
application of their true principles. In fine, let the reign of the _clubs_
be _annihilated_ by you; let them give place to the laws--_their_
usurpations to the firm and independent exercise of the powers of the
constituted authorities--their disorganizing maxims to the true principles
of liberty--their delirious fury to the calm and constant courage of a
nation which knows its rights, and is ready to defend them--in fine, their
sectarian combinations to the true interests of the country, of the nation,
which in a moment of danger ought to unite _all_, except those, to whom its
subjection and ruin are the objects of atrocious pleasure and infamous
speculation.

"LAFAYETTE."

"_Camp of Maubeuge, June_, 16, 1792.

"SIRE--I have the honor to send your Majesty the copy of a letter to the
National Assembly, in which you will find expressed the sentiments which
have animated me all my life. The King knows with what ardour and
perseverance I have at all times been devoted to the cause of liberty and
to the principles of humanity, equality and justice. He knows, that I have
always been the adversary of _faction_, the enemy of licentiousness, and
that no power which I thought illegal has ever been acknowledged by me. He
is acquainted with my devotion to his constitutional authority, and with my
attachment to his person. Such, Sire, were the grounds of my letter to the
National Assembly; such shall be those of my conduct to the nation and your
Majesty, amidst the storms raised around to by hostile or by factious
combinations.

"It does not belong to me, Sire, to give greater importance to my opinions
and actions, than what is due to the individual conduct of a simple
citizen. But the expression of my thoughts was always a right, and on this
occasion becomes a duty; and though I should have performed it sooner, if,
instead of being in a camp, I had remained in that retirement from which I
was forced by the dangers of my country: yet I do not think that any public
employment or private consideration exempts me from exercising this duty of
a citizen, this right of a freeman.

"Persist, Sire, supported by the authority delegated to you by the national
will, in the noble resolution of defending constitutional principles
against all their enemies. Let this resolution, maintained by all the
actions of your private life, as well as by a firm and complete exercise of
the royal power; become the pledge of the harmony, which, particularly, at
this critical juncture, cannot fail to be established between the _elected_
representatives of the people and their _hereditary_ representative. It is
in this resolution, Sire, that glory and safety will be found for the
country and for yourself. With this you will find the friends of liberty,
all _good_ Frenchmen ranged around your throne, to defend it against the
plots of rebels and the enterprizes of the factious; and I, Sire, who in
their honorable hatred have found the reward of my persevering opposition;
I will always deserve it, by my zeal in the cause to which my whole life
has been devoted, and by my fidelity to the oath I have taken to the
nation, to the law and to the King. Such, Sire, are the unalterable
sentiments I present to your Majesty, with my respect.

"LAFAYETTE"

Letter of Lafayette on leaving Paris to join his army, after having
appeared at the bar of the National Assembly, and protested against their
proceedings, the last of June.

"Gentlemen--In returning to the post where brave soldiers are ready to die
for the constitution, but ought not and will not lavish their blood except
for that, I go with great and deep regret in not being able to inform the
army, that the National Assembly have yet deigned to come to any
determination on my petition. [alluding to the request in his letter to the
assembly a short time before, to suppress the Jacobin clubs.] The voice of
all the good citizens of the kingdom, which some factious clamours strive
to stifle, daily call to the elected representatives of the people, that
while there exists near them a sect who fetter all the authorities, and
menace their independence; and who, after provoking war, are endeavoring,
by changing the nature of our cause, to make it impossible to defend it;
that while there is cause to blush at the impunity of an act of treason
against the nation, which has raised just and great alarms in the minds of
all the French, and universal indignation; our liberty, laws and honor are
in danger. Truths like these, free and generous souls are not afraid of
speaking. Hostile to the factious of every kind, indignant at cowards that
can sink so low as to look for foreign interposition, and impressed with
the principle, which I glory in being the first to declare to France, _that
all illegal power is oppression, against which resistance becomes a duty_,
we are anxious to make known our fears to the legislative body. We hope
that the prudence of the representatives of the people will relieve our
minds of them. As for me, gentlemen, who will never alter my principles,
sentiments or language, I thought that the National Assembly, considering
the urgency and danger of circumstances, would permit me to add my regrets
and wishes to my profound respect."

Noble and generous sentiments, worthy of the disciple of our great
Washington--'worthy of the philanthropic hero and firm friend of civil
liberty'--worthy of the adopted citizen of free and independent America!
Such were the opinions and sentiments of Washington and his friends, in
1794, when our republic was assailed by foreign emissaries, and convulsed
by secret associations at home, who through ignorance or design were
advocates for measures which would have thrown our country into a state of
anarchy and misrule.

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