Major General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette statue (Washington, D.C.)

 monument, American Revolutionary War 1775-1783, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places

This memorial was erected in 1891 on the southeast corner of Lafayette Park. Some believe the bronze statue portrays the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) petitioning the French National Assembly for assistance to the Americans in their fight for independence. He stands on a marble pedestal facing south, wearing a military uniform and carrying a sword. On the south pedestal face, a bronze female figure, symbolizing America, turns toward him and imploringly lifts a sword. The statue was sculpted by Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguiere.

Lafayette was a wealthy nineteen-year-old nobleman when he sailed his own vessel, la Victoire, to America in 1777. He sought glory as a soldier and contributed a large sum of his own money to the Americans. He was appointed a major general in the Continental army and served under General George Washington. He was wounded at Brandywine, shared the winter hardships at Valley Forge, and was a key strategist in the Yorktown campaign that led to the British surrender.

Lafayette was the first foreign dignitary to address Congress in 1824, and on his death in 1834, both the House and Senate draped their chambers in black.

Congress bestowed honorary citizenship on Lafayette in 2002.