[1] On September 7, 1792, Julien Raimond, leader of a delegation of free men of color from Saint-Domingue (Haiti), petitioned the National Assembly to authorize the formation of a Legion of volunteers.

The next day, the Parliament established a light cavalry in Lille consisting of volunteers from the French West Indies and Le Midi.

The legion formed up under command of the (biracial) colonel Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was born on the island Guadeloupe as the natural son of a planter and an enslaved woman.

The fact that the chasseurs à cheval regiments should now number 26 against a bare 12, four years previously, is highly indicative of the state of the army as a whole; the role of light cavalry involved reconnaissance and the screening of the main army, leaving the body blows to the more professional heavy cavalry, and they were thus far more easily raised and trained.

The chasseurs, being the indigenous French light horse, can perhaps therefore be equated best with the infantry demi-brigades of this period, a half-trained, unprofessional, makeshift collection, making up with zeal what they lacked in experience.

By the time that the regiment was completely reorganised and its discipline restored, it was commonly known as Saint George's Hussars or (French: Hussards de Saint-Georges).

However, the decree which eliminated corps of troops raised by popular societies in the past and for the future was never fully executed, especially with respect to the effectives.

[2][3][7][8][9] The uniform of the legion was as follows: green coats and breeches with white trim; a hussar dolman was worn; together with the infantry-style crested helmet.