Armand's Legion was formed on June 25, 1778, at

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

under the command of Colonel Charles Armand Tuffin of France, for service with the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

From French Army to American

Armand had previously served in the French Army, serving with the '' Garde de Corps'' or household guard to the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

; however, he was forced to leave after injuring the King's cousin in a duel, heading on to America.

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

had given permission to Armand to raise a legion in 1776, but Armand did not fare so well and the Frenchman is reputed to have purchased the legion of a Swiss major.

Swelling numbers

The legion was recruited primarily from foreign volunteers 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 ...

. After hard fighting with Washington in the north Armand's Legion had taken heavy losses, however, permission was given for its numbers to be renewed from Hessen

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. In 1780 the remnants of

Pulaski's Legion Pulaski's Legion was a cavalry and infantry regiment raised on March 28, 1778 at Baltimore, Maryland under the command of Polish-born General Casimir Pulaski and Hungarian nobleman Michael Kovats de Fabriczy for their service with the Continen ...

were added to Armand's Legion.

1st Partisan Corps

US Army 52414 Assault on Redoubt 10 at Yorktown

In 1781 the legion was consolidated with Capt. Henry Bedkin's Troop of Light Horse, and was reorganized and renamed the 1st Partisan Corps. The legion would see action at the

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the Kingdom of Great Britain, British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces ...

Battle of Guilford Court House The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Na ...

and the

Siege of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Ma ...

. Armand had left the legion just after the Battle of Camden for France to gain fresh funds and supplies, returning to meet his legion at Yorktown's front lines, participating with them on the successful assault of Redoubt 10.

Disbanding

The legion was disbanded at

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, on December 25, 1783.

References

{{Authority control Military units and formations of the Continental Army Military units and formations established in 1778 Military units and formations disestablished in 1783 Massachusetts in the American Revolution Dragoons United States Army Rangers 1778 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay