James A. Lafayette was a spy for the Patri ots in Virginia during the fight for American Independence. Working closel y with Marquise de Lafayette\, this enslaved man undertook &ldquo\;importa nt commissions&rdquo\; and gathered &ldquo\;intelligences from the enemy&r squo\;s camp.&rdquo\; This talk will explore how we know about James and h is work as a spy for the Patriots&mdash\;from speculation to documentation .
\n"In 1781 James Armistead\, an enslaved African American\, advant ageously deployed his humble status to spy on behalf of George Washington' s Continental Army during a crucial point in the American Revolutionary Wa r. As a volunteer serving under the Marquis de Lafayette--one of General W ashington's most trusted adjutants and an important figure in the war agai nst the British Empire--the man known only as James during the period of h is life he spent in bondage managed to infiltrate a British military encam pment near Yorktown\, Virginia\, where he served food and beverages to top -ranking officers. The intelligence he gleaned about British troop strengt h and the Redcoats' plan to invade the Southern colonies enabled Washingto n and the Marquis de Lafayette to strategize a winning defense that routed the British in the pivotal Battle of Yorktown in October of 1781."
\n< p>-"James Armistead." Contemporary Black Biography Online\, Gale\, 2020. G ale In Context: Biography\nhttps://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/9851607 URL;VALUE=URI:https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/9851607 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/dclibrary/SPY_LOGO_BLK_NOD C.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR