Sharing A Cloak and Talking About Lee: Depictions of Washington and Lafayette after Monmouth

A couple of people expressed interest in the variations of this story, so here’s a collection of descriptions of the post-Monmouth tree sleepover:

Lafayette’s Memoirs: “The general and he passed the night lying on the same mantle, talking over the conduct of Lee.” (x)

Washington Irving: “Washington lay on his cloak at the foot of a tree, with Lafayette beside him, talking over the strange conduct of Lee.” (x)

David R. Wade: “Washington walked alone amid the ruins of the battlefield. Beneath an old oak tree he saw Lafayette, in fitful repose without a blanket. Tenderly, Washington knelt beside the young marquis and, drawing his dusty cloak around them both, fell fast asleep.” (x)

Harlow G. Unger: “The exhausted commander in chief spread a mantle on the ground beneath a tree, where, according to Lafayette’s memoirs, Washington and his adoptive French son lay side by side to rest for the night, “talking about the conduct of Lee.” (x) David A. Clary: “Greene found the commander in chief as dusk was turning into dark. General George Washington was asleep on a cloak spread on the ground. The boy, Major General Lafayette, lay curled up beside him, also asleep on the general’s cloak.” (x) Ron Chernow: “That night Washington draped his cloak on the ground beneath a sheltering tree, and he and Lafayette sat up chatting about Charles Lee’s insubordination before falling asleep side by side.” (x)

Sarah Vowell: “Washington spread his cloak under an apple tree, stretching out next to Lafayette. Like boys at a sleepover, they gossiped about Charles Lee until drifting off.” (x)

❝ I can feel you staring at me, why don’t you just come in? ❞

❨ @devotionconjugale ❩

※ obscenely domestic starters ※

※  She was right; he was staring. He couldn’t quite help it. “I fear that your father will want me gone as soon as I set foot over the doorway,” he smiled softly, shoving his hands into his pockets. “But… if you’d like… you – you are free to join me on a walk… if you’d like, of course.”

interdiit:

※  “What, Madame du Motier…?” Gil jokes, pressing another kiss to her neck. He knew how she liked to be called that. It was unusual to him; the fact that she prided herself on calling herself du Motier not because of the prestige of his family, but because it was his name. He only wishes that he’d taken hers as one of his when they’d married. But his name is too long to begin with, he didn’t need an additional name to signify how much he loves his wife. That much is clear to anyone who sees him interacting with her.

※  Laughing softly, he nods, running his hands through her hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead.  “And I am all yours, Madame. Always.”

he jokes, he laughs, but adrienne knows he understands how serious she is. there are few things she loves more than hearing mrs. du motier or madame du motier. even when their friends back in high school would jokingly call them mr. and mrs., adrienne would smile. unable to help herself.

“if you keep doing that, i don’t think we’ll make it off of this floor any time soon...” adrienne murmurs at the second kiss to her neck, hands winding around his torso to grip his shirt at his back. 

“But if you forget to reblog Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity.”

interdiit:

※  “You continue to flatter me with every word you speak, Madame du Motier,” Gil murmured into her skin, running his fingers through her dark hair. There would never be a moment that he would want anything more than what Adrienne could give him. She was far too good for him. Every day, he reminded himself of how lucky he was when he woke up to her face. She was asleep, most of the times that Gil woke up, but she was gorgeous as always, and he never failed to press a kiss to her lips before he left for work. She is absolutely amazing. “I love you, too. There’s nowhere else I would rather be than by your side…” he smiles, moving closer when she tugs him towards her, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips. “I love you, too.”

“mmm...call me that again.” for so long after they married, adrienne introduced herself to anyone she could by her full name, wasted no time referring to herself as mrs. du motier. she was proud, above all, to be gilbert’s wife. to be at the side of someone who cared so much about those around him, who worked so hard to do so much good. he was a wonderful husband. a phenomenal father. a cherished friend.

he was a GOOD man. and he was all hers. sliding off of the stool, she kneels down to meet her husband where he squats on the floor. “i am all yours. you know that?”

interdiit:

※  At the kiss to his lips, Gil smiles, kissing her back lightly, his hands going to rest on her shoulders. “I do my best… you deserve the best, you deserve the whole world. Unfortunately, you’re my whole world, so I can’t give you much more than what I’ve got,” he replies, kneeling down so he’s on her level, so she doesn’t have to pull him down for any more kisses. He moves her hair back off of her shoulder to kiss her neck, whispering a soft, “I love you, mon cherie,” into her skin, a smile on his face. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

      “well if it helps at all, you are the best.” the best husband, the best father, her best friend...the best man she knew. adrienne couldn’t ask for better, would trade none of her husband’s imperfections for a man who lacked them, not if it meant trading all of his much more prominent, much more abundant strengths as a husband, as a father, as a human being. the kiss to her neck makes her shudder, a soft breath slipping out between her lips as she turns her head, nuzzling her nose against the line of his jaw. “and i hope you know that i LOVE you. that there’s no where else i’d be but by your side.” she can see the goosebumps on her arms as she reaches out, gripping his sides to tug him closer.

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interdiit:

※  “Well, I may’ve eaten a couple’a those cookies you made for the bake sale tomorrow, but, otherwise, I’ve been good, I promise,” he jokes, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head. “I mean, yeah, I know they love me, too. I’m their dad, they’re kind of obligated to love me. But you’re amazing. And wonderful. And their mother. And I love you.” Gil smiles, leaning down to kiss her lips quickly. “Sorry for eatin’ those cookies.”

     of course, she already knew that he’d eaten some of the cookies. in fact, of the four bakers dozen she’d made, only two and a half had been committed to the bake sale. the rest was all poised to stay here...until gilbert ate them, anyway. or figured out that they were for him and the kids when a few of them showed up in his lunch tomorrow. her eyes flutter closed at the kiss to the top of her head, and she finally swivels around on her stool to pull him down, pressing a real kiss to his lips. “i love you. you certainly know how to get a girl ready for bed in the best mood, huh?”

interdiit:

※  He laughs at the feeling of her hands around his wrists, the extra lotion rubbing off onto his skin. She’s the light of his life, the mother of his children, his wife, his favorite person in the world, his soulmate. She’s all Gil could’ve ever asked for and more. Sometimes, he still thinks back to the moment they met and what a fool of himself he’d made, but she took him anyways, and he’s eternally grateful. “They adore you, too, though, babe… you’re always around for them, you’re an amazing mother and you deserve every award in the world. I’ve influenced them, sure, but, half the time, it’s my influence that’s getting them in trouble at school. You’re the one who gives them all of the great traits they have. Thank you for being so wonderful.”

      “i feel like i should ask you what you’ve done.” adrienne giggles, twisting around to press a kiss to her husband’s jaw. she couldn’t say that had never been the case in their marriage, but it also was never quite anything too bad. so she’s not too worried. “i know that they adore me, that they love us both. but that doesn’t mean you have any less of a hand in how wonderful our children are.” rubbing her hands against his forearms, she shifts again, turning to face him with a smile. “because you do. you have SO much to do with who they are.” a beat, then. “not that i’m not also taking credit and saying thank you.”

interdiit:

※  Getting up from his spot on the bed to wrap his arms around her shoulders, Gil presses a gentle kiss to the top of her head, looking at the two of them in the mirror. “It isn’t that any of our darling children have done anything wrong, but that none of them have done anything wrong recently – it’s you. You’re amazing. You’re such a good influence on them, you’re too good for me, you’re amazing.”

        the thing is, adrienne isn’t a stranger to gil’s nearly constant, sometimes over the top stream of commenting. it had gone on since they were teenagers (and she remembers having been told that it would wear off, that he would stop when he got settled and bored with their relationship). she’s not even surprised that it feels like it’s coming out of nowhere. but it doesn’t really make her any less confused. still, “darling,” she wraps her hands around his wrists, smiling at their reflection.

    “our children adore you. they look UP to you, daddy’s girls and mini-mes, the whole bunch of them. if anyone has influenced them, it’s you.”

interdiit:

❨ @devotionconjugale ❩

※  “You know, you’re far better at this parenting thing than I am – have I ever thanked you?”

       “what are you talking about?” adrienne just barely glances back at her husband from where she sits at her vanity, hands winding together as she massaged lotion into her hands.

@hamiltonmusical: In anticipation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s The Academy Award nomination and performance,#HamiltonBway cast members created this video to wish him well! #TheOscars

i still ask “you promise?” like a little kid.

“ You don’t care about me. “

❨ @devotionconjugale ❩

※ if this was a meme i cant find it #imtheworst ※

※  “Adrienne, that is the furthest thing from true…!” he raised his voice in an outburst of anger, his dark eyes narrowing a bit. Upon realizing his outburst, though, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Adrienne. That is not true at all,” he murmured, looking down at her after a moment. “It is not that I do not care about you – you are the closest thing to my heart, the most dear person in the world to me. I could not care about anyone or anything more than I care about you and our children. But I have to go. I must. This war…” he sighed, running a hand over his face, “needs me. Washington needs me. And I will be back soon – there will only be a few more battles, I swear to it. I will return as soon as I can. You will remain in my mind and in my heart the entire time, the same as our children. I care immensely about you, my love. Please, just – believe that. If there is nothing else from my lips that you will believe, believe that.”

“did you think i forgot?”

some meme i lost

      “not forgot…” but she hadn’t been expecting this. his gift on valentine’s had been just that - a gift. not something she wanted him to pay her back for, something he’d have to take a passing mention of having spent enough time together and turn it into a weekend away. “babe, you really didn’t have to.”

“time passes slower without you.”

some meme i don’t remember

         “tell me about it.” the semester seemed to drag on, just endless cycles of work and sleep and studying and human rights society meetings…she was tired.

      but it was worth it, now, to be home. and she knew that the next week would pass in a blink, but she’d take it. a blink was worth more than all of the time she’d spent away and without him. “have i told you yet that i missed you? because i really did.”

“rise and shine, sweet thing.”

some meme i don’t remember

           “mm…make me.”

      she presses her smile into the pillow, shifting to wiggle back into her boyfriend’s chest. “but if you keep calling me names like that and i can promise you neither one of us is getting out of this bed.”