Lauzun's Legion, created on March 5, 1780, for the Duc de Lauzun and numbering around 600 men during the American campaign, was considered part of the French Navy and included light infantry, fusiliers, grenadiers, artillery, and two squadrons of 150 hussars each. In late September 1781, allied American and French forces joined Brigadier General George Weedon's militia near Gloucester Courthouse, where Lauzun was assigned to help reduce British foraging. Eager for combat, Lauzun wrote on September 30, 1781, that he hoped to face Tarleton and Simco, and on October 3 his wish was fulfilled in the Battle of the Hook, which research published in 2021 confirmed took place near this site and was the largest cavalry conflict of the American Revolution. Around 10:00 a.m., Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton engaged with 325 cavalrymen, and Lauzun advanced with about 50 hussars after hearing gunfire. He charged a force he recalled as three times more numerous than his own, and in the clash Tarleton rode at him with pistol raised before Tarleton's horse was thrown down and both sides pulled back under pressure from supporting troops and infantry fire. By midday, 150 more hussars under Lieutenant Colonel Robert Dillon brought allied mounted strength to 330, and although they initially pushed Tarleton back, they retreated when he deployed dismounted reinforcements. The arrival of Lieutenant Colonel John Mercer's 160-man Select Battalion of Grenadiers turned the fight, as their volleys forced Tarleton to retreat and ended the battle at about 2:00 p.m. The allied victory ended British forays into Gloucester County and left British troops at Gloucester Point surrounded; the next day George Washington congratulated the army on the success near Gloucester. The battle also cost lives: two hussars of Lauzun's Legion, Jacob Colin and Pierre Dietienne, were killed and buried where they fell, eleven hussars were wounded, and a third hussar, Jean Scherrer, died on October 22, 1781. After Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, Lauzun's Legion remained in the United States until May 1783, and Lauzun himself was guillotined on December 31, 1793, during the French Revolution.

Photo: Brandon D Cross

Photo: Brandon D Cross

Gloucester Point, Virginia · USA