who was a french aristocrat and military officer who served as a general in the continental army
Marquis de Lafayette
title: Continental Army text: Washington always viewed the Army as a temporary measure and strove to maintain civilian control of the military, as did the Continental Congress, though there were minor disagreements about how this was carried out. Near the end of the war, the Continental Army was augmented by a French expeditionary force (under General Rochambeau) and a squadron of the French navy (under the Comte de Barras), and in the late summer of 1781 the main body of the army travelled south to Virginia to rendezvous with the French West Indies fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse. This resulted in the Siege title: Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau text: Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (; 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807) was a French nobleman and general who played a major role in helping the Thirteen Colonies win independence during the American Revolution. During this time, he served as commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force that embarked from France in order to help the American Continental Army fight against British forces. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur was born in Vendôme, in the province of Orléanais, and he was schooled at the Jesuit college in Blois. After the death of title: Continental Army text: George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, who accepted and served throughout the war without any compensation except for reimbursement of expenses. On July 18, 1775, the Congress requested all colonies form militia companies from "all able bodied effective men, between sixteen and fifty years of age." It was not uncommon for men younger than sixteen to enlist as most colonies had no requirement of parental consent for those under twenty-one (adulthood). Four major-generals (Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam) and eight brigadier-generals (Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathanael Greene) title: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette text: became fluent within a year of his arrival), and his Masonic membership opened many doors in Philadelphia. After Lafayette offered to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him a major general on 31 July 1777. Lafayette's advocates included the recently arrived American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, who by letter urged Congress to accommodate the young Frenchman. General George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, came to Philadelphia to brief Congress on military affairs. Lafayette met him at a dinner on 5 August 1777; according to Leepson, "the two men bonded almost immediately." Washington was impressed by the young title: Continental Army text: Continental Army The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the ex-British colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their revolt against the rule of Great Britain. The Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and volunteer troops that remained under control of the individual states or were otherwise independent. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war. Most of