Le certificat original du marquis de Lafayette félicitant James Armistead Lafayette pour son service de guerre révolutionnaire avec portrait

"Marquis de Lafayette's Original Certificate Commending James Armistead Lafayette for his Revolutionary War Service with Portrait" is a unique piece of American Revolutionary War history. This is a reproduction displaying a portrait of James Armistead Lafayette, an enslaved African American who served as a spy during the American Revolutionary War, positioned above a handwritten commendation from the Marquis de Lafayette. The document below the portrait, dated November 21, 1784, in Richmond, Virginia, attests to James's "essential services" to the American cause, including industriously collecting intelligence from the enemy camp and faithfully delivering it. This certificate was presented to the Virginia legislature in 1786 and was instrumental in James being granted his freedom in 1787, at which point he adopted the surname Lafayette. The portrait itself was painted by artist John B. Martin in 1824 when the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States.