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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1781-1785

Conclusion de la campagne de 1781 en Virginie (Lafayette and Attendant)

Noël Le Mire, after Jean-Baptiste Le Paon · c. 1781-1785

A French engraving of the Marquis de Lafayette at Yorktown with a Black attendant sometimes identified as James Armistead Lafayette.

The Black attendant in this print is sometimes identified, though debatably, as James Armistead Lafayette.

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Engraved print of the Marquis de Lafayette standing in military uniform, pointing left toward distant troops in battle, with a horse and a Black soldier in a plumed hat at his right. Caption text is below the image.
Noël Le Mire, after Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, Conclusion de la campagne de 1781 en Virginie, c. 1781-1785.

About this source

What it is

This engraving by Noël Le Mire, after a painting by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, shows the Marquis de Lafayette directing troops during the 1781 Virginia campaign. Behind him stands a Black soldier holding his horse. Verses praising Lafayette's role in freeing America appear below the image.

Why it matters

This print was widely circulated in France and is one of the only images from Lafayette's lifetime that may depict James Armistead Lafayette, though the identification is debated among historians. It shows how enslaved and free Black men who served the Revolution were often included in art only as background figures beside white officers.

Look closer

  • Why is the Black figure unnamed in the title and verses, while Lafayette is named prominently?
  • What role does the attendant appear to be performing in the scene?
  • Why might historians disagree about whether this figure is James?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James Armistead Lafayette on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Manuscript pen-and-ink and watercolor map titled 'Siege d'York 1781, Plan d'York en Virginie avec les attaques et les campemens de l'Armée combinée de France et d'Amérique.' Shows York, Virginia, with hachured relief, siege trenches and batteries, encampments, and a small inset map at upper right. A scale bar and a handwritten Nota key appear at lower left.Document

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Siege of York, 1781: Plan of Franco-American Siege Works

Querenet De La Combe · 1781

Engraving of a man's head and shoulders in a high-collared coat and cravat, above a handwritten manuscript certificate signed by Lafayette dated November 21, 1784, attesting to James's service as a spy.Document

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Certificate for James Armistead Lafayette

Marquis de Lafayette · 21 November 1784

Hand-drawn manuscript map in pen-and-ink and watercolor titled 'York en Virginie 1781' showing the York River, the town of Yorktown and siege lines, with an inset of Gloucester, French title panel and key on the right.Document

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York en Virginie, 1781: Map of Franco-American Positions at York

1781

Stippled engraving of a middle-aged man with short gray hair, wearing a dark high-collared coat with buttons and a white cravat, against a speckled beige background. A small dark spot appears at lower left.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of James Armistead Lafayette

John B. Martin · c. 1824

Hand-drawn 1781 manuscript map titled Campagne en Virginie, showing rivers, roads, county names and military camp routes across Virginia from Orange County south to Isle of Wight County, with a Chesapeake-area coastline at right.Document

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Campaign of the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia, 1781

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