Yeah, it might be a little odd honoring a Frenchman as a hero of the American Revolution, but as our favorite history website Badass of the Week reminds us, if not for Lafayette “we here in the States would all still be speaking with crazy unintelligible British accents and eating a whole lot of spotted dick on our buttered crumpets fish and chips.”
From the blog: “The Marquis de Lafayette is probably one of the only Frenchmen to ever be declared a national hero in the United States—a statistic that is badass in and of itself. Roughly 40 cities in America are named after him, he has numerous statues across the country, and he is fondly remembered as a motherfucker who helped us gain our independence from our oppressive British masters. He was also a goddamned badass who kicked nuts, refused to let anybody stand in the way of his mission to bring freedom to the common man, and bravely fought for liberty and equality—even when it didn't pay dick.”
He was 21.
You gotta love it! Long live the Stars and Stripes, and the memory of the Frenchman who became George Washington’s battle-buddy, paid his own way into the war, and went home to France to fight another war there.
You really should read the whole history at Badass of the Week.
