Expédition Particulière
The Special Expedition was an expeditionary force deployed by France to North America to support the United States against Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Arriving at Newport, Rhode Island on 11 July 1780 under the leadership of the Comte de Rochambeau, it numbered up to 5,500 troops and played a decisive role in the final battles of the war. Another 2,500 troops were intended to join the force but could not escape the British blockade of Brest, France.
After remaining inactive for almost a year, Rochambeau marched his troops south to rendezvous with George Washington's Continental Army for a planned attack on New York City. At Rochambeau's urging, Washington abandoned the operation and both forces were marched to Virginia to join the French fleet of Admiral François de Grasse in trapping British Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis's army at Yorktown; the subsequent Franco-American siege ended in Cornwallis surrendering in October 1781, which hastened negotiations towards a peace treaty ending the war.
Background
France had been in contact with American Patriots as early as 1774 and by 1776 was sending large amounts of covert financial aid and military supplies to their cause. Following the loss of a British army during the Saratoga campaign of 1777, France signed a Treaty of Alliance in February 1778 recognising American independence. The subsequent Franco-American alliance legitimised the American cause while securing direct French aid in the war. Shortly thereafter, a French fleet under Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing sailed out to coordinate with American allies against the British, with the aim of helping bring a swift end to the war.The initial attempts to seek victory were beset by problems. An operation against Newport miscarried in 1778; the following year, the Franco-American siege of Savannah ended in defeat. D'Estaing and his ships then sailed for home, with relations between the allies severely strained.
Expeditionary force
On 2 May 1780 Admiral Ternay d'Arsac departed Brest with a seven-ship and three-frigate squadron, escorting 36 transports carrying troops to support the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. The squadron comprised the 80-gun Duc de Bourgogne, under Ternay d'Arsac and Médine ; the 74-gun Neptune, under Sochet Des Touches, and Conquérant, under La Grandière; and the 64-gun Provence under Lombard, Ardent under Bernard de Marigny, Jason under La Clocheterie and Éveillé under Le Gardeur de Tilly, and the frigates Surveillante under Villeneuve Cillart, Amazone under La Pérouse, and Bellone. Amazone, which constituted the vanguard of the fleet, arrived at Boston on 11 June 1780. Perhaps the most famous ship of all was the French frigate Hermione (1779), which ferried both the Marquis de Lafayette and his cousin the Marquis de Chastellux from Rochefort to Boston to support the war of independence.Organization
The Special Expedition contained four regiments of foot:- Régiment de Bourbonnais
- Régiment de Soissonnais
- Régiment de Saintonge
- Régiment de Royal–Deux–Ponts
- Second Battalion, Régiment d'Auxonne