Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts (Zweibrücken)
1781 Siege of Yorktown
“With troops so good, so brave, and so disciplined as those that I have the honor to lead against the enemy, one can undertake anything, and be sure of succeeding … ”
Colonel en Second Guillaume des Deux-Ponts.
The Zweibrücken Regiment was raised in the German Duchy of Zweibrücken and served in the French army under the designation “Regiment de Royal Deux-Ponts, un Regiment d’Infanterie Allemande.”
The regiment earned distinction at the Siege of Yorktown when its grenadier and chasseur companies from the Gâtinais Regiment, successfully assailed a British outer work, Redoubt 9, on October 14. With German auxiliary troops making up part of the defending forces at Redoubt 9, the Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts was put in the position of attacking fellow Germans. The victorious assaults enabled General Washington to complete his Second Siege Line end ensured the defeat of the British. Recognizing the important role the Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts played in the siege, General Washington awarded them one of the artillery pieces captured at Redoubt 9 “as a testimony of their gallantry in storming the enemy’s redoubt.”
Courtesy hmdb.org
