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.The siege of Yorktownwas, in many ways, Rochambeau's masterpiece.He had seen many sieges before and this one,which he knew to be vital for the war's outcome,was flawlessly carried out thanks to the excellenttechnical resources of the French army and the additional troops underV.Adm.Charles Hector Theodat,comte d'Estaing (1729-94),Maj.Gen.Saint-Simon brought from the West Indies.The Americanserved for many years in theand French light corps first surrounded Cornwallis' troops, thenland forces in Flanders and inYorktown was invested: the artillery did an excellent pounding job, theIndia during the Seven Yearsouter redoubts were stormed by French and American troops and, onWar.He eventually joined theOctober 7, Yorktown surrendered turning over 22 colors and 180 gunsnavy and rose to vice-admiralin 1777.Possessing a difficultin the process.After this triumph, the fighting all but ended in Northpersonality, he was resentedAmerica.Rochambeau with most of his army left Boston in Decemberby many navy officers as an1782.Back in France, he received many decorations and honors.In"intruder", but he could discern1790 he was promoted to marshal and retired two years later as heseaworthy talent as provenwas rather elderly and wished to avoid the politics of the Frenchby his decision to promoteSuffren.In 1778, he led a fleetRevolution.He quietly passed away in 1807.of 13 ships to Newport, RhodeIt should be mentioned that Rochambeau is occasionally confusedIsland, then sailed for the Westwith his son, Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, Vicomte deIndies where he was namedRochambeau, who went to North America as Colonel of the Saintongecommander-in-chief.However,Regiment and was sent back to Versailles in the summer of 1781 with he failed to prevent the fall of StLucia to the British in December.secret dispatches calling for a second corps to be sent to North America.In July 1779, he attacked andThis was deemed unnecessary after the fall of Yorktown.Youngcaptured Grenada but failed toRochambeau became a major-general during the 1792 campaign intake Savannah in September.Flanders, then served in the West Indies, most notably in Haiti in 1802After a number of indecisivesucceeding Napoleon's brother-in-law, Gen.Leclerc, in the disastrous engagements, he returned toFrance in early 1781.In 1789,expedition there.In British captivity from 1804 to 1813, he servedhe rallied to the ideas of thebravely in Germany in 1813 and was killed at Leipzig on October 13.French Revolution but he wasarrested in 1794 and guillotined.Col.Armand-Louis de Gontaut-Biron,He is shown in this c.1783 printwearing the full dress uniform ofDuc de Lauzun (1747-93)a vice-admiral according to theThe flamboyant young duke was a scion of France's wealthy, high-1764 regulations, but with blacknobility.He was colonel by the age of 20 and saw his first action invelvet breeches.1768 campaigning with light troops in the hills of Corsica.He was also47 a handsome, quick-witted and noted courtier,and, in 1778 he was made colonel-in-chief of theVolontaires étrangers de la Marine (ForeignVolunteers of the Navy).This brigade-like newunit was to have up to eight legions of mostlyGerman soldiers, comprising infantry, hussarsand artillery, and was intended for serviceoverseas.The Volontaires étrangers de la Marineraised only three legions, the 1st going to theWest Indies, and the 3rd to Mauritius and laterIndia.Lauzun was more interested in managing acorps at home and, in 1780, the 2nd Legion thathad remained as a depot in France was trans-formed into Lauzun's Legion.3Eager for action, Lauzun commanded thetroops sent with Adm.de Vaudreuil's fleet tocapture Senegal from the British: it fell onJanuary 30, 1779.His new corps, the VolontairesStrangers de Lauzun (known to Americans asLauzun's Legion) comprising 300 hussars and300 infantry, sailed for North America withRochambeau's army in June 1780.Once onRhode Island, there was little action and it was not until a night skirmishCharles-Francois-Joseph, Comtede Flechin (1744-1801), came toon July 17/18, 1781, that a detachment saw action against some BritishMartinique at the head of hislight dragoons.The French army was now marching south pastTourraine Regiment in 1780New York and Philadelphia and the hussars of Lauzun's Legion provedand took part in the siege ofto be valuable scouts as it neared and then invested Yorktown.Yorktown in October 1781.Hewas at Basseterre in St KittsThe most famous action of Lauzun's hussars took place during thewhen, on January 28, 1782,siege of Yorktown near Gloucester Point against the light cavalry ofthe British landed a relief force.Tarleton's British Legion.One day, according to the duke's memoirs, anFlechin, with a party of 300American Virginia dragoon galloped into his camp saying that Tarletonmen, charged the head of theand his troopers were approaching.Lauzun went out with a party ofmain British column.Thestunned British re-embarked.hussars to see for himself.On the main road, he saw an AmericanBrimstone Hill surrendered onwoman in front of her small house and asked her if Tarleton was about.February 12 and Nevis alsoShe answered that Tarleton had just been there and had boasted that hecapitulated largely because ofvery much wished to "shake hands with the French duke." A delightedFlechin's outstanding action.Lauzun answered that he had come precisely to give him that satis-Leading 500 men, Flechinaccepted Montserrat's surrenderfaction
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