MY DEAR GENERAL - The Extraordinary Relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette is the third story in the “I knew George Washington” series on the life of the most important of our Founding Fathers, George Washington. Who better to tell the story than his adoptive son, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert de Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette? Lafayette was intrigued by the revolution simmering in Britain’s North American colonies and desired nothing more than to cross the Atlantic and fight alongside the commander of the Continental Army. A commission granted by American agents in Paris, France was all he needed to light the fire within him. Defying the orders of King Louis XVI of France, he crossed the ocean and began an odyssey that is one of the truly great stories in history. This vibrant young soldier of fortune was, at least in personality, the complete opposite of the man he would come to love and revere. Washington was quiet and reserved and, at the time of Lafayette’s arrival, awash in struggles of every imaginable kind. When given the chance, the Marquis proved himself in his dedication to General Washington. He served as a proficient field commander and his connection to the French court played a vital role in eventual victory! Join the Marquis and General Washington on the battlefields of the American Revolution all the way to victory at Yorktown, the peace treaty that ended the war, and the creation a new nation. Both joyous and tearful is Lafayette’s final visit in 1784 with his adoptive father and the man he loved above all others. Now an older man and nearly fifty years after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Lafayette returns to America in triumph for a year long, much celebrated tour. His participation in the war and close relationship to George Washington are validated when he witnesses first hand the state of the nation and its people.