Military Service
L'Enfant was recruited by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais to join in the American Revolutionary War in the American colonies. He arrived in 1777 at the age of 23, serving as a military engineer in the Continental Army with Major General Lafayette. Despite his aristocratic origins, L'Enfant closely identified with the United States, adopting the name Peter. He was wounded at the Siege of Savannah in 1779, but recovered and served in General George Washington's staff as a Captain of Engineers for the remainder of the Revolutionary War. During the war, L'Enfant was with George Washington at Valley Forge. While there, Marquis de Lafayette commissioned L'Enfant to paint a portrait of Washington. L'Enfant was promoted by brevet to Major of Engineers on May 2, 1783, in recognition of his service to American liberty. After the war, L'Enfant designed the badge of the Society of the Cincinnati, shaped as an eagle, at the request of Washington, and was sent to France to give the badges to French officers who fought in the war.
Read more about this topic: Pierre Charles L'Enfant
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