Known in France as "Le Quatorze Juillet", Bastille Day is the celebration of the overtaking of the Bastille fortress in Paris and symbolizes the French Revolution. Celebrated on the 14th of July, the original event took place in 1789. The Bastille had been an undefeated monument of King Louis XVI's power and was used as a prison for political prisoners. Shortly after the castle was invaded, it was set to be destroyed by the order of Major General Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. In a bit of a twist, Marquis de Lafayette would send the now-defunct key and sketch of the castle to his former general, one George Washington.