Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment

Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment
A chasseur of the Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment (Don Troiani)
Active	1757–1791
Country	France
Branch	France Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Line infantry
Size	Regiment
Facings	Yellow
Engagements	Seven Years' War Battle of Rossbach Battle of Sandershausen Battle of Lutterberg Battle of Bergen Battle of Minden Battle of Corbach Battle of Stangenrod Battle of Villinghausen Battle of Fürstenberg Battle of Sababurg Battle of Wolfenbüttel American Revolutionary War Siege of Yorktown
Commanders
Notable commanders	Comté de Deux-Ponts

The Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment (French: Régiment Royal-Deux-Ponts; German: Infanterieregiment Königlich Zweibrücken) was a line infantry regiment of the French Royal Army raised in the Palatine Zweibrücken which existed from 1757 to 1791. They are an example of the policy of Soldatenhandel.

History

The Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment was raised by Christian IV, Duke of Deux-Ponts, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld, under a treaty made in 1751 between Louis XV and Christian, by which the Duke undertook to provide in the event of war a contingent of 1,000 men to France. In 1775 it was commanded by Colonel Christian, Count of Forbach, nephew of the Duke of Deux-Ponts and future Marquis de Deux-Ponts. The Marquis was colonel-commandant from March 10, 1788 until January 1, 1791, when it was reorganised into the 99th Line Infantry Regiment.[1]

American Revolutionary War

The Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment left Brest on April 4, 1780 as part of a contingent of four regiments sent by France under the orders of Rochambeau to provide support to the American Revolution.[2] It distinguished itself at Yorktown in October 1781.[3] The regiment returned to France in July 1783.[4]

Uniform

During the American Revolutionary War, the uniform was sky blue with distinctive yellow facings.[5]

References

1. Lazer, Stephen A. (2019). State Formation in Early Modern Alsace, 1648-1789. Rochester: University of Rochester Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-58046-953-1.
2. Rattermann, Heinrich Armin (2002). A German Regiment Among the French Auxiliary Troops of the American Revolutionary War: H.A. Rattermann's History. Baltimore: Clearfield. p. ix. ISBN 0-8063-4910-7.
3. Selig, Robert A. (1993). "A German Soldier in America, 1780-1783: The Journal of Georg Daniel Flohr". The William and Mary Quarterly. 50 (3): 575–590. doi:10.2307/2947367. JSTOR 2947367. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
4. The Revolutionary Journal of Baron Ludwig von Closen, 1780-1783. Translated by Acomb, Evelyn A. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1958. pp. xxiv–xxvii. OCLC 66280976.
5. "Royal Deux-Ponts Infantry during the War for Independence". Nec pluribus impar (in French). Retrieved 18 October 2023.