The Revolutionary James Fayette

James Fayette was born into slavery around 1748 in New Kent County. Although his first owner was likely Col. John Armistead (1725-1779), by 1781, William Armistead, Jr. (1754-1793) owned James.

Both Armistead and James served the Patriot cause during the Revolutionary War. Armistead was a paymaster and commissary, while James served as a spy to the Marquis de Lafayette at Yorktown. James infiltrated the camp of Lord Cornwallis and smuggled out information about the British forces. Lafayette wrote to George Washington on July 31, 1781, with information provided by “a correspondent of mine, a servant of Lord Cornwallis.”  

Although the Americans won their freedom from the British, James remained enslaved by Armistead. After the war, Lafayette returned to America in the summer of 1784 and came to Richmond in the fall. A few days after speaking to the General Assembly, James and Lafayette reunited with enough time for the Marquis to pen a testimonial of James’ service to the American cause:  

“This is to Certify that the Bearer By the Name of James Has done Essential Services to Me While I Had the Honour to Command in this State. His Intelligence from the Ennemy’s Camp were Industriously Collected and Most faithfully deliver’d. He perfectly Acquitted Himself With Some Important Commissions I Gave Him and Appears to me Entitled to Every Reward his Situation Can Admit of.” 

A few days later, on December 4, 1784, James first petitioned the General Assembly for his freedom. The assembly did not grant him his freedom, likely because at that time, enslaved veterans were only granted their freedom if they had actively taken up arms against the enemy. Because James served as a spy, he did not qualify.  

Two years later, in November of 1786, James applied a second time. This time he was successful. On January 9, 1787, the Speaker of the House of Delegates signed the enrolled bill, officially granting James his freedom. Later in March, the Commonwealth of Virginia paid £250 to William Armistead for the value of James and his labor.  

After acquiring his freedom, James did not use the surname Armistead, instead adopting the last name “Fayette,” likely honoring his relationship to the Marquis de Lafayette. Although government officials labeled him as “James Lafayette,” James never signed his name with the “La,” choosing to remain “Fayette.”  

James remained in New Kent County, eventually owning 40 acres of land. He is listed on property tax records with various numbers of free and enslaved Black men living within his household. Although it is not certain, it is likely that James Fayette’s children or other family members remained enslaved and could have been counted among those household members. In 1813 “James and wife” are listed in the tax records, and in the 1818 property tax records “Silvia Lafayette” is listed as the head of household. How long James and Silvia were married and how many children they had together is still unknown. 

In 1818, James successfully petitioned the General Assembly for a pension, at that point stating that he was “Three score years & ten,” or 70 years old. Between 1818 and 1830, James returned to Richmond once or twice a year to receive his pension payments, always signing them as “James Fayette.” 

In 1824, the country again celebrated the return of the Marquis de Lafayette, who toured the United States. In October 1824, the Richmond Compiler wrote a story about a “venerable and respectable free black man named James La Fayette” and his “great desire to see the Marquis at the approaching festival at Yorktown.” Later that month, the Richmond Enquirer published a story about Lafayette in Richmond and praising the Frenchmen’s memory. “A black man even, who had rendered him services by way of information as a spy, for which he was liberated by the State, was recognized by him in the crowd, called to him by name, and taken in his embrace.” 

James Fayette likely gained a relative degree of notoriety around 1824. It is perhaps around this time that a Virginia artist painted a portrait of him that is now in the collection of the Valentine Museum. 

The next year, the book was adapted into a play by Richmond’s R.A. Farrell, and a second Richmond company performed it again in 1831.    

In March 1830, James Fayette collected his last pension check. Although his death date and burial location are still a mystery, two recently discovered newspaper articles shed some light on his final months.  

On April 15, 1830, the Fayetteville Weekly Observer reprinted a Norfolk Beacon article that: “James Fayette, (a man of colour) the venerable and respected servant of our nation’s benefactor, the great and good Lafayette, has arrived here from his residence in New Kent County, and proposes to remain 8 or 10 days, previous to his departure for Baltimore, Philadelphia, &c. He bears an original certificate given him by the Gen. La Fayette.” The article goes on: “Many by whom he is held in high estimation, having expressed a desire to possess a copy of this honorable testimonial of character and valuable service, from the old General to his faithful Revolutionary attendant, he is about to have engravings struck for the purpose – and, to make it tributary to the comfort of his declining years, is collecting subscribers to it, in which we wish him every success.” 

James was evidently successful in securing funding for the engravings because numerous institutions, including the Valentine, own copies of this print that also includes an image of a Black man that are similar to the portrait in the museum’s collection.  

James then made his way to Washington, DC, where in June 1830, he advertised the “facsimiles of the certificate” for sale for fifty cents each. Two years later, a Peter Coleman applied to be the administrator of James Fayette’s estate, attesting that he had died in Baltimore in August of 1830.  

Future research may reveal more about James Fayette’s final days and his family. Even with gaps in our knowledge, nearly 250 years after serving the Marquis de Lafayette, James Fayette remains a celebrated revolutionary from the Richmond region. 

Key Dates 

• 1748: James is born enslaved in New Kent County  

• 1779: Col. John Armistead, likely James’ first owner, passes away.  

• 1781: James, enslaved by William Armistead, Jr., serves the Patriot cause as a spy for the Marquis de Lafayette at Yorktown 

• 1784 November 21: While in Richmond after the war, the Marquis de Lafayette pens a testimonial about James’ service as a spy during the American Revolution 

• 1784 December 4: James presented a petition to the House of Delegates for his freedom 

• 1786 November 30: James petitioned the General Assembly for his freedom a second time 

• 1786 December 25: House of Delegates passed James’ petition 

• 1787 January 1: Virginia Senate passed James’ petition 

• 1787 January 9: Joseph Prentis, Speaker of the House of Delegates signed the enrolled bill, officially granting James his freedom.  

• 1787 March 23: Auditor of Public Accounts paid William Armistead £250 in warrants (like a check) for the value of James 

• 1813: “James and Wife” are listed in the New Kent County personal property tax records as “Free Negros” 

• 1816: James is listed as owning 40 acres of land in New Kent County, noted as “light broken and much worn land” 

• 1818: “Siliva Lafayette” is listed as the head of the house in New Kent County personal property tax records 

• 1818: James Fayette asks the General Assembly for a pension  

• 1824: Richmond Compiler writes story about a “venerable and respectable free black man named James La Fayette” and his “great desire to see the Marquis at the approaching festival at Yorktown.” 

• 1824 October 29: Richmond Enquirer publishes a story about Lafayette in Richmond that “A black man even, who had rendered him services by way of information as a spy, for which he was liberated by the State, was recognized by him in the crowd, called to him by name, and taken in his embrace.” 

• 1828: James Heath, author and auditor of public accounts, published Edge-Hill, or, The family of the Fitzroyals: a novel that borrowed extensively from James’ story. 

• 1829: Edge-Hill is performed as a play in Richmond 

• 1830 March 19: This is the last date for a pension record for James Fayette.  

• 1830 April: Now living in Norfolk and is taking subscriptions for an engraving 

• 1830 June 26: Fayette advertises that he has a short stay in Washington and is selling facsimile copies of his statement from Lafayette, 50 cents each 

• 1831: A second theater company in Richmond produced Edge-Hill as a play 

• 1832 April 27: A “Peter Coleman” files an administration qualification on the estate of James Fayette of Richmond and Baltimore, MD.  

Sources

• “To George Washington from Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, 25 August 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-06792   

• Charlemagne Tower, The Marquis de La Fayette in the American Revolution: With Some Account of the Attitude of France Toward the War of Independence, Volume 2 (Philadelphia: J.B. Lipincott Company, 1895), pgs. 411-412. Accessed via Google Books.  

• Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia…begun 1784. (Richmond: T.W. White, 1828), pg. 57. Accessed via Google Books.  

• “James Lafayette Petition for Freedom, 1786,” Document Bank of Virginia, accessed October 17, 2024, https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/277.  

• Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia 1786-90. (Richmond : Commonwealth of Virginia, 1828), pgs. 120, 121, 131, 151. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112110155196&seq=127&q1=%22james,+a+negro%22  

• Enrolled Bills of the General Assembly, vol. 11, pg. 12, Library of Virginia 

• Auditor of Public Accounts Records, APA 45, Miscellaneous Microfilm reel 6258, frame #16, Library of Virginia.  

• New Kent County Personal Property Tax Records, microfilm reels 246a, 246, 248, Library of Virginia.  

• Katherine Gruber, Slave and Revolutionary War Spy James Lafayette, Lecture September 28, 2016, accessed October 17, 2024, https://www.c-span.org/video/?415962-1/slave-revolutionary-war-spy-james-lafayette 

• “James (alias James Lafayette): Petition,” Legislative Petitions of the General Assembly, 1776-1865, Accession Number 36121, Box 179, Folder 50, accessed October 17, 2024, http://digitool1.lva.lib.va.us:8881/R/9CRTI6QRVUVKJVS57BB566UMKNXAYP39IFLRS6VLS3HX1PSV3E-02212?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=3131385&_ga=2%2E50080672%2E706194036%2E1721909214-563016330%2E1580415160&pds_handle=GUEST  

• Delaware Advertiser and Farmer’s Journal (Wilmington, Delaware). Thu, Oct 21, 1824, pg. 2, accessed October 17, 2024, https://www.newspapers.com/article/delaware-advertiser-and-farmers-journal/156947997/ 

• Richmond Enquirer, October 29, 1824, pg. 3, accessed October 17, 2024, https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=RE18241029.1.3&srpos=40&e=——182-en-20-RE-21-byDA-txt-txIN-procession+fayette+—-1824—Richmond%2C+VA  

• Edge-Hill, or, The family of the Fitzroyals: a novel. (Richmond: T.W. White, 1828), accessed October 17, 2024, https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=ha102291967 

• Political Arena (Richmond, VA), April 21, 1829, pg. 3, ), accessed October 17, 2024, https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=PLTAR18290421.1.3&srpos=4&e=——182-en-20–1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22melo%252Ddrama%22——- 

• James Fayette Revolutionary War Pension Records, Library of Virginia, accessed October 17, 2024,  https://image.lva.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/drawer?retrieve_image=Revolution&type=rp&reel=8&start=387&end=423  

• Fayetteville Weekly Observer (Fayetteville, North Carolina), April 15, 1830, pg. 2, accessed October 17, 2024, https://www.newspapers.com/image/64170055/?match=1   

• United States’ Telegraph (Washington, District of Columbia), June 26, 1830, pg. 1, accessed October 17, 2024, https://www.newspapers.com/article/united-states-telegraph/156951857/   

• Martin Staples Shockley, “The Richmond Theater, 1780-1790,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 60, no. 3 (July 1952), 421-436.  

• Fiduciary Records, 1818-1848, Richmond (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1800-1864, Virginia. Hustings Court (Richmond).; Richmond (Va.). Circuit Court. 1800 – 1864, Library of Virginia, accessed October 17, 2024, https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01LVA_INST:01LVA&search_scope=MyInstitution_noAER&tab=LibraryCatalog&docid=alma990016991980205756