The young Alexander Hamilton,
barely twenty-one years of age, and widely known already for his
political writings, had the rank of lieutenant colonel gained for
his services in the fighting about New York. He was now
Washington's confidential secretary, a position in which he soon
grew restless. His ambition was to be one of the great military
leaders of the Revolution. Before the end of the war he had gone
back to fighting and he distinguished himself in the last battle
of the war at Yorktown. The other youthful figure was the Marquis
de La Fayette. It is not without significance that a noble square
bears his name in the capital named after Washington. The two men
loved each other. The young French aristocrat, with both a great
name and great possessions, was fired in 1776, when only
nineteen, with zeal for the American cause. "With the welfare of
America," he wrote to his wife, "is closely linked the welfare of
mankind." Idealists in France believed that America was leading
in the remaking of the world. When it was known that La Fayette
intended to go to fight in America, the King of France forbade
it, since France had as yet no quarrel with England. The youth,
however, chartered a ship, landed in South Carolina, hurried to
Philadelphia, and was a major general in the American army when
he was twenty years of age.
Pages:
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175