Green Spring--Cornwallis's Order of Battle

British outposts in Virginia.  Painting by Edward Lamson-Henry

After campaigning in South and North Carolina, Lord Charles Cornwallis advanced into Virginia, where he linked up with a British army under Benedict Arnold which was already in the area.  The Marquis de Lafayette was sent to keep Cornwallis from overrunning the state. But Cornwallis laid a trap for Lafayette at Green Spring.  There, he made it appear that most of his army had crossed the James River.  Major-General "Mad" Anthony Wayne attacked--only to find most of Cornwallis's battle-hardened veterans waiting for him.  To buy time, Wayne organized a counter-attack and Lafayette was able to extricate him from his dangerous situation.  This order of battle for Cornwallis's army at the Battle of Green Spring (July 6, 1781) was taken from http://web.archive.org/web/20060709171639/http://www.battleofgreenspring.org/participants/participanthistory/orderofbattle.html

Advanced Guard, Colonel Bannistre Tarleton

• 17^th Light Dragoons
• British Legion
• Jaegers

Camp Guard

• 71^st Regiment of Foot, 2^nd Battalion
• 82^nd Regiment of Foot, Light Company
• Regiment von Bose

Dundas's Brigade

• Royal Artillery
• 43^rd Regiment of Foot
• 76^th Regiment of Foot
• 80^th Regiment of Foot

Yorke's Brigade

• 1^st Battalion of Light Infantry
• 2^nd Battalion of Light Infantry
• Brigade of Guards
• 23^rd Regiment of Foot
• 33^rd Regiment of Foot

A Rifleman of the Queen's Rangers

Baggage Guard, Lt. Colonel Simcoe
(Simcoe's troops had crossed

the James River and did not participate in the battle)

• Queen's Rangers
• North Carolina Volunteers

Green Spring--Lafayette's Order of Battle

One of my heroes is the Marquis de Lafayette, and one of Lafayette's most important contributions was keeping British General Cornwallis penned up in Yorktown.  While maneuvering in Virginia, Lafayette and Cornwallis battled only once, at Green Spring.  This order of battle was found at http://web.archive.org/web/20060709171639/http://www.battleofgreenspring.org/participants/participanthistory/orderofbattle.html


Lafayette's Forces


Advanced Guard under Lieutenant-Colonel Galvan.  Armand's Legion was commanded by another foreign volunteer, Colonel Charles Armand Tuffin, Marquis de la Rouerie.
Galvan's Battalion of Light Infantry
Virginia Rifle Companies (Smith's and Willis's)
Armand's Legion
1st Continental Light Dragoons


Wayne's Brigade under General Anthony Wayne.  Wayne's Pennsylvanians arrived with Lafayette to bolster his fledgling army as it faced off against Cornwallis.
1st Pennsylvania Battalion
2nd Pennsylvania Battalion
3rd Pennsylvania Battalion
Continental Artillery
(Pennsylvania Battalions composed of detachments of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Pennsylvania Regiments)

Massachusetts Light Infantry.  Figures by BMC, painted by the author

Reserve under Lieutenant-Colonel Gimat.  Gimat's force had originally accompanied Lafayette to Virginia to confront Benedict Arnold.
Gimat's Light Battalion (1 Rhode Island, 2 Massachusetts and 5 Connecticut companies)
Vose's Light Battalion (8 Massachusetts companies)
Barber's Light Battalion (5 New Jersey and 3 New Hampshire companies)


Rear Guard under Baron von Steuben.  Von Steuben was sent to Virginia to train the militia, just as he had trained the Continental Army at Valley Forge.
Virginia Continental Battalion
Stevens' Virginia Militia Brigade
Larson's Virginia Militia Brigade
Campbell's Virginia Rifle Brigade

French Army at Yorktown

Of all the French forces that fought in the American War for Independence, General Rochambeau's French expeditionary corps are probably the most famous in the United States, contributing greatly to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Rochambeau had over 6,000 troops with him from these infantry regiments (listed in order of precedence):

• Bourbonnois




• Royal-Deux-Ponts (German)




• Soissonois




• Saintonge




• Agenois




• Gatinois




• Touraine




• Metz Artillery Regiment

Rochambeau also had the exotic 2nd Legion of Volontaires-Etrangers de la Marine, better known as Lauzun's Legion. The Duc de Lauzen had 600 men, of whom half were hussars armed with lances, and the other half were infantry.

So why did the French fare so poorly in the Seven Years War, yet were able to pound the British twenty years later? Lord willing, I hope to answer this question next time I write.

Soldiers (above) from Gatinois Regiment, picture from www.wbritain.com. Note the red plumes on the hats: these point out that the wearers are grenadiers, the elite of the regiment.