When the British left Philadelphia, Washington wished to follow and force a battle, and, when General Lee laid down his command, put Lafayette in charge. Hardly had the latter started, when Charles Lee asked for the command again. Washington could not recall Lafayette, yet he wished to pacify Lee, so he trusted to Lafayette's affection for himself, and sent Lee ahead with two extra divisions, when, as senior officer, he would take charge of the whole. Lafayette retired, sensibly, and did all he could to rally the battle that Lee was conducting so poorly. Finally he sent for Washington--the only man that could save the day.
The only real opportunity Lafayette had, of showing his generalship, was in the southern campaign of 1781, when he was placed in charge of a thousand light infantry and ordered to check the raids of the British. By a rapid march he forestalled Philips, who was threatening valuable stores at Richmond, and harrassed him all the way to the Chickahominy River. Then, while he was separating the stores, Cornwallis, joined by Philips, took a stand between him and Albermarle where he had placed a large part of the stores. While Cornwallis was preparing to fight, Lafayette, keeping in mind the admonition of Washington not to endanger his troops, escaped to Albermarle by an unused road. After this Cornwallis gave up hopes of trapping "that boy," as he called Lafayette, and fortified himself at Yorktown.
When Lafayette had been given the defense of Virginia, his soldiers, hungry and destitute, were on the point of desertion. With ready tact he had supplied, from his own pocket, the direst necessities, and then had given them an opportunity of going north. Of course, when placed on their honor, they followed him with good will. Having received orders from Washington, not to let Cornwallis escape, he took his stand on Malvern Hill, a good strategic position, to await the coming of Washington and Rochambeau. When the siege was on and the only possible escape for Cornwallis was through North Carolina, this, Lafayette closed and his light infantry also captured one of the redoubts the British had fixed. The Siege of Yorktown ended his services for the independence of this country; the war was over and he was needed no more.