The Lauzun Legion

Duke de Lauzun (1747-1793), commander of the Legion of Foreign Volunteers in America

Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duke de Lauzun then Duke de Biron, French soldier and politician, commanded the Legion of Foreign Volunteers of Lauzun during the American War of Independence. A founding member of the Order of the Cincinnati, he was guillotined during the Terror in 1793.

  • Born: 13 April 1747, Paris
  • Died: 31 December 1793, Paris (guillotined)
  • Rank: Maréchal de Camp

Composition of the Lauzun Legion in the United States

Among the 56 officers of the Legion (source: Colonel Bodinier’s dictionary):

41 French (73%), including 4 Alsatians (one from a Slovak family), 8 Lorrainers (3 from Moselle). 15 foreigners (27%), including 5 Belgians, 5 Poles, 3 Irish, 2 born in England to Irish families.

Among the 576 soldiers and non-commissioned officers (source: troop records, ANSOM D2c32):

504 French (87%), including 101 Alsatians, 156 Lorrainers (11 from “German Lorraine”), 247 from 50 different French departments. 72 foreigners (13%), including 51 from German principalities, 8 from Belgium and Luxembourg, 4 from Switzerland, 9 from various countries.

Campaign in America (July 1780 – May 1783)

Directly descended, in early 1780, from the Foreign Volunteers of the Navy created in 1778 for the American War, the Legion of Foreign Volunteers of Lauzun existed for the exact duration of its participation in the Particular Expedition entrusted to Count de Rochambeau. It was composed of seven companies, five of which departed with Rochambeau: grenadiers, chasseurs, artillerymen and two squadrons of hussars. The two fusilier companies departed later and participated, under Kersaint, in the recapture of Dutch trading posts in Central America.

It primarily carried out flank-guard and liaison missions for this army and distinguished itself notably at White Plains and especially in driving Tarleton’s cavalry back inside Fort Gloucester during the siege of Yorktown.

This action, chronologically the first of the siege, earned its commander the honor of being chosen by Rochambeau to bring the King news of the victory. The last French unit present in America, the Legion left the Delaware in May 1783 and was dissolved shortly after its return, giving birth to the Lauzun Hussars.

Sixty-nine men, including two officers, had lost their lives on American soil. Four officers were among the wounded.

Embarking from Saint-Malo

The infantry of the Foreign Volunteers of the Navy (led by the Duke de Lauzun), then camped between Saint-Briac and Saint-Enogat (Dinard), embarked with a strength of 27 officers, 523 soldiers and 35 servants, on 6 vessels equipped with 9 longboats with a total capacity of 159 men. They carried 1,138 cartridge packets for initial distribution and 946 packets in reserve.

The cavalry of the Foreign Volunteers of the Navy, then camped at Saint-Lunaire, embarked with 20 officers, 110 hussars, 23 servants and 148 horses, on 6 vessels equipped with 5 longboats with a total capacity of 130 men. They also carried as fodder: 369 buckets of oats, 548 quintals and 355 pounds of hay.

Lauzun Commemoration at Ridgefield (CT), 225th Anniversary, July 1, 2006

The town of Ridgefield (Connecticut) celebrated on July 1 the 225th anniversary of the arrival of the Lauzun Legion, marching toward the siege of New York and then Yorktown.

On this occasion, the “Hussards de Lauzun,” an association of veterans of the 5th Hussars (and more recently descendants of former members of the 5th Hussars or the Lauzun Legion in America) had organized a delegation that was warmly welcomed by the mayor of Ridgefield, the W3R Association of Connecticut, and local patriotic associations. The French travelers were received and housed by American families, the descendant of a Legion captain during the American War was made an honorary citizen of the town during an 18th-century costume ball, which followed a day where Washington, Rochambeau, Barras, the Hussars, etc., represented by American patriots in period uniforms, presided over a military review and inspected a reconstructed encampment.

Comte Thierry de Seguins-Cohorn, Historian of the Society in France of the SAR

References