Henriette du Motier de Lafayette was born in France in 1776, the first child of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles. Her parents had married in 1774 while still teenagers. Through her father she belonged to an old Auvergne military family; through her mother she descended from the powerful Noailles house, one of the most prominent aristocratic families at the court of Louis XVI. Henriette therefore entered a world of wealth, titles, servants, and extensive family connections. Her brief childhood coincided with the beginning of the American Revolution and with her father’s decision to support it. Lafayette was young, ambitious, and captivated by the colonial cause. Despite opposition from the French government and concern within both families, he secretly arranged to sail for America in 1777. Adrienne was pregnant again when he departed, and the infant Henriette remained with her mother and the large Noailles household. Because Henriette died very young, almost nothing survives about her personality or daily life. She would have been cared for by her mother, nurses, servants, and female relatives in the manner customary among elite French families. It would be inaccurate to assign her later interests or accomplishments. Her significance lies primarily in the effect of her illness and death upon her absent parents. Henriette died in 1778, probably before reaching her second birthday, while Lafayette was still serving in America. News crossed the Atlantic slowly, and her father learned of the loss through correspondence. Adrienne’s letters combined grief with concern for her husband’s safety and the care of their surviving child, Anastasie. Lafayette’s absence during Henriette’s final illness became one of the painful personal costs of his American commitment.