a French-born American architect and civil engineer best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C., the L'Enfant Plan. Despite his aristocratic origins, L'Enfant closely identified with the United States, changing his first name from Pierre to Peter. L'Enfant served on General George Washington's staff at Valley Forge. While there, Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, commissioned L'Enfant to paint a portrait of Washington.
