Louis-Philippe Rigaud de Vaudreuil was born into a family with a rich political and military tradition.

This had the effect of cutting the army of Cornwallis off from resupply and relief, leading to the Siege of Yorktown and his surrender.

Vaudreuil's contribution to this effort was to provide the cavalry of Duke of Lauzun, a foreign legion that was a mix of Russian, Slavic, Polish and German mercenaries in the service of France.

In the 1782 Battle of the Saintes, Vaudreuil was credited with saving most of the French Navy's ships in the disastrous defeat.

He commanded the squadron intended to attack the British-ruled island of Jamaica, and for that purpose welcomed Capt.

John Paul Jones as an American naval officer volunteer, when word came that the war had ended by treaty in early 1783.

Vaudreuil, with other Naval officers, forced his way into the Palace of Versailles on the night of October 5–6, 1789 to protect the royal family.