I read the first half of Unger's Lafayette, which covered his involvement in the American Revolution, quite interesting. Yesterday I picked it up to finish the book, I didn't put it down until I finished it, what a life. As a reward for his service Congress awarded Lafayette 36 square miles of Florida in 1824, all of what became the entire eastside of Tallahassee, including where my home is now. The property was then known as "Lafayette Plantation". In 1831, he sent men to Tallahassee to grow limes, olives, and mulberry trees without the use of slaves. Lafayette was an abolitionist. This free community failed and most of the people moved back to France but those that stayed lived in the area of town that is still called Frenchtown. In America more than 600 cities, towns, villages, counties, lakes, rivers, and other landmarks, including Lafayette College, were named after the much revered hero and his home, Lagrange.
Thank you EngineerShooting for this pointer! I will look up this gentleman!
A case could be made that the AWI could have gone on for many more years or even lost by the Americans if not for Lafayette.
Another great book about Lafayette is Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship that Saved the Revolution