The Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment (; ) was a

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

regiment of the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

raised in the

Palatine Zweibrücken The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (; ) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire with full voting rights to the Reichstag. Its capital was Zweibrücken. The reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of Sweden fr ...

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 Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

and Christian, by which the Duke undertook to provide in the event of war a contingent of 1,000 men to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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.

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 The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. It distinguished itself at Yorktown in October 1781. The regiment returned to France in July 1783.

Uniform

During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the uniform was

sky blue Sky blue refers to a collection of shades comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. Typically it is a shade of cyan or light teal, though some iterations are closer to light Azure (color), azure or light blue. The term (as "sky blew") is atte ...

with distinctive

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

facings.

References

{{Authority control 1757 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1791 disestablishments in France Foreign regiments of the Royal French Army German regiments in French service History of the Palatinate (region) Line infantry regiments of the Ancien Régime Mercenary units and formations of the early modern period Military units and formations disestablished in 1791 Military units and formations established in 1757 Military units and formations of France in the American Revolutionary War