AMERICA'S FIRST ALLIES

THE FRENCH ARMY AT YORKTOWN, 1781

The French Army at the Battle of Yorktown, under the command of Lieutenant-General Comte de Rochambeau, consisted of the seven infantry regiments whose colors are shown below, an artillery brigade, and the light infantry and hussars of Lauzun's Legion. This last was a foreign corps, raised in 1778 by the Duc du Lauzun, consisting mostly of Germans, Poles and Irishmen. Régiment Royal-Deux-Ponts was also a foreign corps, being one of several German regiments on the French establishment. The French force, which numbered about 7,000 men, played an important part in the siege operations that led to the surrender of 7,247 British, Loyalist and German troops under Lieutenant-General Earl Cornwallis on 19 October 1781. The colors of the French contingent at Yorktown were typical of those used by the French Army throughout the eighteenth century. In common with most foreign corps of the French Army, the colors of Regiment Royal-Deux-Ponts were quite different from those carried by regular line regiments. The Corps of Royal Artillery was listed with the line infantry regiments and had its own colors. Note on the Illustrations: For each regiment, the Colonel's Color is shown on the left and the drapeau d'ordonnance is shown on the right.