One of the dopest things about the Hamilton musical is it reimagined the American Revolution with a cast of Black folks and other people of color! One of the most memorable portrayals is Daveed Diggs in the role of French aristocrat and military officer Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gibert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette. (Just a quick side note, at least a dozen of you just instinctively heard the “La-Fay-ette!” section of “Gun and Ships” from the album, I see y'all!) It was really awesome to watch this champion of the revolution portrayed as a heroic Black figure…
Anyway, today we’re gonna be talking about Revolutionary spy James Armistead Lafayette!
James was born in Virginia in 1748, at least that’s what we think, but because of how careless or reckless white folks were with the genealogy of enslaved Black people other estimates have him being born closer to 1760. Either way, he was born into slavery in the mid-1700s. In 1781 James asks for permission to join the Revolutionary army, and ends up serving under the real Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette is like, “Alright, James we need you to get some information on this traitor named Benedict Arnold. Do you got this?” And James was like, “Well, I convinced my former white, slave owning, slave owner to let me fight for you, a fervent abolitionist, so yeah, I think I’m pretty funking adept at persuasion!”
So James gets in good with Benedict Arnold at his camp. Arnold’s like, “You seem to know this area pretty well, tell us when and where to make our movements.” James is like, “Okay Benedict…sure I’ll help you.” While like, looking at the camera and winking. After learning everything he could from Benedict Arnold he would frequently move from British camp to British camp like straight up being told all types of information that he would relay to the Americans. Every time the British would try to launch a surprise attack they’d be foiled and James would just be sitting there tryna look inconspicuous, possibly whistling innocently. Intelligence reports imply that information James gathered was INSTRUMENTAL in turning the tide at the Battle of Yorktown! (That same dozen just heard the intro to track 20, The Battle of Yorktown….I’m a theater nerd, I know what y’all are doing!)
So okay, yay, the British are defeated! James was celebrated as a war hero and lived his life free and successful and…wait, what?…Okay, sorry I’ve just been informed that after he valiantly served the nation he was IMMEDIATELY remanded back to his former owner. The Manumission Act of 1782 was meant to free enslaved Black folk who fought in the Revolutionary War, but since James was a spy and not a soldier this didn’t apply to him. Even his owner was like, “That’s messed up.” So in 1786 with his owner's blessing and a PERSONAL plea from the Marquis de Lafayette himself, James petitions the government for his freedom, gains it, and adopts the surname Lafayette as an homage to his commanding officer and friend.
In 1824 at the request of then-President James Monroe, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to America for a sort of victory tour. James wanted to see his commanding officer, and advocate so he joined the crowd to watch the Marquis parade. When Lafayette spotted James, he had his carriage stopped and exited the vehicle to embrace James! I just like the idea of these two war heroes dropping everything to have a little cuddle! It’s truly my favorite part of this story!
James lived the rest of his life in Virginia. He married a beautiful woman, had several children, and oh yeah…got rich AF! Besides being a farmer, James was awarded a $40 pension for his service in the war. James passed away in 1830…or maybe 1832, who’s to say? (see above complaint about dates and genealogy) But what we can say is while Hamilton the musical is great because it reimagined the contributions people of color made to the Revolutionary War, the truth is we were already actually there and involved, and continue to be here and involved to this day!
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