<Li> Chamber of Deputies </Li> <Tr> <Th> Signature </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Marie - Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (French: (maʁki də la fajɛt); 6 September 1757--20 May 1834), in the United States often known simply as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War . A close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830 . </P> <P> Born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France, Lafayette came from a wealthy landowning family . He followed its martial tradition, and was commissioned an officer at age 13 . He became convinced that the American cause in its revolutionary war was noble, and traveled to the New World seeking glory in it . There, he was made a major general; however, the 19 - year - old was initially not given troops to command . Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he still managed to organize an orderly retreat . He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island . In the middle of the war, he returned home to lobby for an increase in French support . He again sailed to America in 1780, and was given senior positions in the Continental Army . In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked forces led by Cornwallis until other American and French forces could position themselves for the decisive Siege of Yorktown . </P>

Who was the french nobleman who fought on the american side