ABSTRACT
A man in tattered clothes wandered through the British army camp. Scruffy and dirty, he looked like one of the many escaped slaves who were searching for work and food. The camp commander definitely needed workers to help care for the horses, cook the food, and wash the clothing. Armistead became so trusted by the British soldiers that General Arnold even asked him to act as a guide and lead the soldiers through unfamiliar territory. The battle that came next was fierce, but the rebels forced Cornwallis and his men to retreat to a peninsula where they were trapped. The British commander surrendered. Armistead had played a major role in helping the colonial reb-els win the war. As a free man, he took the last name of Lafayette in honor of his army commander. James Armistead Lafayette purchased a farm in Kent County, VA, and was eventually awarded a pension for his service in the Revolutionary War.
