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Stairwell Room:
The Treaty of Paris at Annapolis Wall

Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834)

Artist: Joseph Desire Court (1797-1865), 1834
Medium: Oil on canvas
© RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

Marquis de Lafayette 

A Friend and Ally: The Marquis de Lafayette

France strongly supported America in the Revolutionary War.its War of Independence. A French nobleman by the name of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette served as a major-general in the Continental Army under George Washington and became his close friend. Though he was not present for Washington's resignation, Lafayette made several trips to Annapolis during and after the war and was described by one Annapolis lady as "quite the thing." In 1784, in gratitude for his service, Maryland named Lafayette and his male heirs as natural-born citizens of the state.

Lafayette is buried in Paris under soil from Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Many cities throughout the United States are named in honor of him and his contribution to American independence.


 
 

 
 



KEy Images on the
Wall

James Madison
Marquis de Lafayette
Thomas Jefferson
Sketch of the Maryland State House
The United States of America, Confirmed by Treaty 1783
Peace Commissioners

Key Documents on the Wall

Willianm Paca Proclamation
Announcing the Peace
Treaty of Paris

Exhibits in the Stairwell Room

John Shaw # 1 Des