James Armistead Lafayette

James Armistead was born into slavery in 1748 in New Kent County, Virginia, enslaved by William Armistead, and with his enslaver's permission volunteered in 1781 to serve the Continental Army under the Marquis de Lafayette during the war's decisive final Virginia campaign.

Armistead was assigned to conduct espionage against British forces, successfully infiltrating the camp of British General Charles Cornwallis by posing as a runaway slave seeking work — a role that gave him extensive access to observe British troop movements, positions and strategic planning, all while appearing beneath serious suspicion. He was reportedly even employed by British forces as a guide, allowing him unusually direct access to sensitive military information, which he relayed back to Lafayette's forces ahead of the pivotal 1781 Siege of Yorktown.

The intelligence Armistead provided is widely credited by historians with contributing significantly to the decisive American and French victory at Yorktown, which effectively ended major military operations of the Revolutionary War. Despite his service, Armistead remained legally enslaved after the war until he petitioned the Virginia legislature for his freedom, receiving a formal letter of support from Lafayette himself, and was finally granted his freedom in 1786. He adopted the surname 'Lafayette' in honour of the general he had served, and died in 1830 as a free man, having received a state pension for his wartime service.