Lafayette in the Somewhat United States Characters

Jean de Noailles was Adrienne’s father and a prominent French noble. Though he initially tried his best to prevent Lafayette from traveling to America, Noailles was eventually proud of his son-in-law’s achievements across the Atlantic.

A playwright best known for works like The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville, Beaumarchais doubled as an important diplomat and spy for the French government. Along with Vergennes, Beaumarchais was one of the first and most passionate advocates for a French alliance with the Patriots.

Another French naval commander, d’Estaing was often indecisive and a poor communicator, especially when it came time to provide French ships to the U.S. forces near Rhode Island. Like Lafayette, d’Estaing was from Auvergne.

As the leader of the British forces for the first half of the Revolutionary War (from 1775–1778), Howe presided over a series of Redcoat victories. However, he also made some crucial missteps, especially when it came to his initial invasion of New York and the Battle at Brandywine.

After William Howe stepped away, Henry Clinton became the Commander in Chief of the British forces during the Revolutionary War. He often sparred with Lord Cornwallis, his second-in-command, and this tension is believed to be one of the major reasons why the British ultimately lost the war.

Richard Howe was William Howe’s older brother and the commander of the British fleet that attacked Rhode Island during the American Revolution. Howe was renowned as one of the most skilled and experienced naval generals in the world.

Benedict Arnold was a Patriot general and a close friend of George Washington who was later discovered to be collaborating with the British. Upon discovery, Arnold switched sides and became a Redcoat, enraging Washington so much that he dispatched an entire regiment to capture and kill the traitorous solider.

Like Lafayette, Hamilton was a young immigrant who rose to prominence fighting in the Revolutionary War. Hamilton was eventually made the new United States’ first Secretary of the Treasury.

John Sullivan was a Patriot general in the Revolutionary War who served directly under Washington. Known for his hot-headedness, Sullivan is perhaps best remembered for his conflict with the French Count D’Estaing over which general would lead the charge on Newport, Rhode Island.

Gansevoort was Lafayette’s friend and fellow soldier in the American Revolution, but he was also the uncle of famed writer Herman Melville. Gansevoort passed on his lifelong admiration of his French friend to his equally adoring nephew.

As a daring general who would later usher in the rise of American populism, Jackson was the first president who made old-school American politicians worry that the military was going to become more powerful than legislators.

Herman Melville, who wrote Moby-Dick, was one the most iconic authors in American history. The fact that Lafayette was such an important figure to Melville suggests the scope of this French teenager’s influence on American thought.

Douglass, who himself escaped from slavery, was a famous orator, author and anti-slavery advocate. He often pointed out the hypocrisies in American rhetoric, especially in his speech “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?”

Wainwright was one of the leaders of the suffragist movement in the 1920s. In a famous speech, she invoked the statue of Lafayette in Lafayette Square as a potent symbol of American democracy.

A decorated general who later became president of the United States, Eisenhower represents the United States’ continual emphasis on its leaders’ military might and endurance. In his presidency, Eisenhower often cited Valley Forge as the ultimate symbol of American strength.

Though he bears the name of an American president, O’Shaughnessy was actually born in Britain. Now, he works as a historian at Monticello, where he helps Vowell understand why, as former colonists, the Americans were uniquely able to put their democratic values into practice.

Mark Schneider is the beloved, charismatic Lafayette impersonator at Colonial Williamsburg.