The Real Story of the American Revolution 

French Military Units

Latest Changes: 07May06 - created / 07Jun04 - add French navy / 07Aug01 - merge Spanish to roster page /

Units in the French Army  List of French Regiments and where they served -- in all theaters of this global war [France Society SAR]. . . . List of French Regiments in the U.S. theater [Lafayette GenWeb] - (in French) includes a database of their soldiers and sailors Régiment Royal Deux Ponts  The "Royal Regiment of Two Bridges", commanded by the Comte Christian de Forbach, was part of the Expédition Particulière (French Expeditionary Force) that was sent the U.S to fight on the side of independence. Many of the soldiers came from the region around the city of Zweibrucken (German for "Two Bridges"), an independent duchy that is now part of Germany. Royal-Deux-Ponts 1757-2003 [France Society SAR] provides a history of nearly 250 years (en française). Deux-Ponts Germans -- Unsung Heroes of the American Revolution, by Dr. Robert A. Selig [americanrevolution.org] describes their contribution to U.S. liberty. Go to Top Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue  In 1779 Saint-Domingue was an island colony of France. It is now divided into the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue was a volunteer regiment made up of ten companies of light infantry (chasseurs) enlisted from "free men of color". With an estimated 545 men it was the largest unit of men of African descent to fight in the American Revolution. In 1779 Sept-Oct these troops made up one-tenth of the allied army in the six-week siege of Savannah GA, including the battle of September 24th and the attack of October 9th. As a new and relatively inexperienced unit, the Chasseurs had high casualties. Twenty-five of their number were recorded as wounded or killed during the failed attempt to dislodge the British from Savannah. In May 1780 over 60 Chasseurs were captured when Charleston SC fell to the British. The British Navy also captured three transports carrying Chasseurs. These soldiers were considered prizes of war and were sold into slavery. A subsequent unit of Haitians took part in the successful allied (French and Spanish) campaign against Pensacola in May 1780 where they faced some of the same British regiments that their comrades had faced in Savannah. Henri Christopher was a 12-year-old drummer in the regiment in 1779. He became a leader in the struggle for Haitian independence from French colonial rule, first as commander of the Haitian army and later as king of Haiti for fourteen years. He was the second head of state in the Western Hemisphere to be of African heritage. A monument to the Haitian soldiers will be placed in Benjamin Franklin Square at Savannah, Georgia. Across the square from the monument is the First African Baptist Church, founded by slaves in 1773. See History of the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue [Haitian-American Historical Society] Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue (Haiti), by James Mastin

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Units in the French Navy  Adm. d'Estaing's Expeditionary Force, 1778-79 Ship Guns Commander Languedoc 80 de Croy Tonnant 80 Comte de Breugnon, chef d'escadre Comte de Bruyeres Cesar 74 Comte de Broves, chef d'escadre de Raimondis Zele 74 Barras de St. Laurent Hector 74 de Mories-Castellet Protecteur 74 d'Apchon Marseillois 74 la Pope-Vertrieux Guerrier 74 de Bougainville Vaillant 64 Chabert Cogolin Provence 64 Desmichels Champorcin Fantasque 64 de Suffren Sagittaire 50 d'Albert de Rions 12 ships 846 cannon on these ships These twelve ships-of-the-line (with a total of 846 cannon) were accompanied by four frigates: Chimere, Alcmene, Aimable, and Dauphin -- each with 28 cannon (112 total). The fleet was manned by 7,500 sailors and carried 2,500 marine riflemen, and 1,500 soldiers. Volontaires Étrangers de Lauzun  "Lauzun's Legion" was a versatile unit with companies of infantry, grenadiers, artillery, and hussars (mounted infantry, light cavalry). It was raised (organized by and reporting through) the Navy for use when attacking a land position where such a versatile land unit would be useful. This has been called "the first French Foreign Legion" because of its multi-national character. For further information see Lauzun's Legion, by Dr. Robert A. Selig [AmericanRevolution.org] Re-enactment unit's Web site [LauzunsLegion.com] History of the Legion, by Leslie Andrich (member of the re-enactment unit) provides statistics of where the soldiers came from and how many stayed in the U.S. after serving here. Comments on Andrich's history, by Ralph Nelson, Florida Society SAR: 1) Data for Alsace and Loraine should not be listed separately from France, since these areas had been part of France since the 1500s. 2) While Lauzun and several officers visited Senegal, the soldiers of the Legion never went there. 3) The Voluntaires Étrangers de la Marine were not with d'Estaing at Savannah; it was the Voluntaires de St. Domingue. 4) Lauzun's Legion was attached to the Navy ministry, not the Hungarian cavalry. Neither the French Army nor the Navy had a Hungarian cavalry unit. 5) Lauzun never took command of the whole expeditionary force. Lauzun returned to America three months before Rochambeau departed with most of the Expeditionary force, leaving only a few small units under Lauzun's command. 6) Lauzun's Legion did not disband its infantry companies upon its return to France in 1783. Instead some 200 more infantry were incorporated. [see Roster D2c-32] 7) Lauzun crossed the York River to join Rochambeau outside of Yorktown several days before the surrender of Yorktown. Trumbull's painting the surrender ceremony includes the figure of Lauzun. Print Reference: Hussars in Lebanon, by Robert Selig

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