Lauzun's Legion

Lauzun's Legion was a French regiment in the American War for Independence. Lauzun's Legion's principal engagements were at White Plains in 1781, and at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781.

Unit history
Lauzun's Legion was a specially constructed unit that was formed in March 1780 from various detachments of French and many foreign volunteers in the French army and navy. Much of the Legion was composed of units from the Volontaires étrangers de la Marine created in September 1778 by the naval minister Gabriel de Sartine, and 'propriétaire' status had been granted to Armand Louis de Gontaut, duc de Lauzun. When in early 1781 the Expédition Particulière was being organized, most of the 1778 organization had been deployed to overseas posts. What remained in France, along with the duc de Lauzun, was reconstituted as the Volontaires-étrangers de Lauzun, and was part of Rochambeau's expedition.

Lauzun's Legion in America
When the Legion arrived in America, they recruited from foreigners, mainly Hessian deserters. There were complaints about their conduct. The troops wintered in Lebanon, Connecticut. Rochambeau sent Brigadier General Marquis de Choisy with Lauzun's Legion, as they marched from Rhode Island to Head of Elk, Maryland, traveled by water to Alexandria, Virginia, and marched to Glouster Courthouse.

Lauzun's Legion in Connecticut
In December 1780, two dozen Hussar horsemen deserted and discharged themselves from their winter quarters in Lebanon and fled into the woods to the south. They may have wintered in Trumbull, Connecticut, according to Huldah Hawley, who said she cooked for the French for fear they would kill her because her husband was a known Tory. Lauzun's Legion or "Hussars" encamped in present-day Abraham Nichols Park in Trumbull from June 28 to June 30, 1781. The Legion, an advance party, was ordered to protect the exposed flank of the main army and stayed 10 to 15 mi ahead of and to the south flank of the main French army while encamped in Newtown. The army was marching in the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route south to reinforce American troops under the command of General George Washington at the Siege of Yorktown. French coins have since been found near the site of their camp in Abraham Nichols Park.

At Yorktown
The legion was at Gloucester, Virginia, during the Siege of Yorktown. On October 4, 1781, French and British cavalry skirmished at Gloucester. The British cavalry commander, Banastre Tarleton, was unhorsed, and the Lauzun's Legion drove the British within their lines, before being ordered to withdraw by the Marquis de Choisy. The Legion suffered three Hussars killed, and two officers and eleven Hussars wounded. Fifty British were killed or wounded, including Tarleton.

After the battle
In December 1782, the Legion moved to Wilmington, Delaware. On 18 March 1783, in Delaware, their cash payroll was stolen but recovered. On 9–11 May 1783 the Legion embarked from Wilmington on five vessels, la Goire, la Danaë, l"Astree, l'Active, and Le St. James, arriving at Brest, France, about 11 June. On 5 October 1783, the Legion's two artillery companies left Baltimore on the Duc de Lauzun, and the Pintade. The ships, guarded by two French frigates, arrived in Brest on 10 November. However, many soldiers mustered out in America, or deserted.

After Lauzun returned to France, the unit became a regular hussar regiment. He remained its proprietor until the French Revolution started, and the army was reformed in the summer of 1791. When the revolutionary government declared war on Austria, the regiment fell completely apart as the majority of its officers deserted, and handed the regiment's funds, supplies, and records over to the enemy.

External references

 * Lauzun’s Legion Reenactors
 * Lauzun's Legion's Encampment in Wilmington DE in 1782-1783
 * Commemoration of the 1780 French Encampment of Lauzun's Legion at Lebanon, Connecticut, 30 September - 2 October 2005
 * Robert A. Selig, The Duc de Lauzun and his Legion