Contact the Germany Society at: GermanySocietySAR@gmail.com
Copyright 2018 - 2019 © Germany Society, Sons of the American Revolution. All rights Reserved.
Primary Contacts:
Chapter President Chris McLarren
Chapter Vice President Ashley Null
Chapter Secretary Eugene Butler
Sons of the American Revolution
The Von Steuben Chapter NSSAR is currently looking for new members who are descendants of Revolutionary War Patriots. These might include US Military or other US Citizens currently stationed in Germany with patriot roots. Membership is also open to European Nationals who are descendants of the patriots who fought in the American Revolution under the command of General Rochambeau. These would include members of the German Zweibrücken Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment.
Recent news from the Von Steuben Chapter.
The Dispatch Dec 1, 2022
Vivre le Régiment Royale Deux-Ponts!
In most SAR State Societies, the members live within that state. Even SAR France are the SAR Members who live in France (and Belgium). Our Stateside Germany Society of the SAR, however, is unusual in that most of our members actually live in America, but they have some important connection with Germany and therefore are also part of the Germany Society. But then there are those of us SAR members who actually live in Germany.
Our Baron von Steuben Chapter is being established to support our members who actually live here.
One would think there would not be very many of us, i.e., people who live in Germany but who have ancestors who fought for American freedom long ago and on the other side of the Atlantic.
But we are not alone in showing the 13-star flag. The Daughters of the American Revolution are also very much present here. Based largely in the far western part of Germany, their Palatinate Chapter cares for DAR members throughout Germany. Our ‘sisters’ have been in Germany for longer, reminding Americans (and others) of our heritage of the 18th Century and doing positive good for people living here.
Therefore, it was a pleasure to be invited to participate in their dedication of a plaque in honour of 18th century German-speakers who joined with the royal forces of France to fight on the American side - and who were there at Yorktown.
The background
Many people today have two countries: their own and America. Think nowadays of omnipresent American food, American cars, American fashion, American films, American music , etc.
In the time of our ancestors, Thomas Jefferson observed that most traveled people would want to live in their own country. But their second choice? France!1 Think 18th Century and then think French wine, French fashion, French music, French literature, French science, French philosophy, even French weapons.
So it is no surprise that in the area of Germany bordering France, some of the local aristocrats were then almost as much at home in Paris as they were in Germany.
Case in point: the local aristocratic family of the Franco-German border town of Zweibrücken (in French: Deux Ponts) had a house in Paris and an apartment in the city of Versailles. Christian and Wilhelm von Forbach-Zweibrücken spent much of their time in the center of their world – Paris
So, when King Louis XIV committed French troops to the struggle in North America, the lords of German-speaking Zweibrücken, raised troops in the Saarland, Palatinate, Alsace and Lorraine for the King’s service. That is how the German-speaking Régiment Royale de Deux Ponts went to America and was part of the allied army at the Battle of Yorktown. On October 14th, 1781, the Regiment charged and took Redoubt 9, a prelude to the succeeding general assault on Yorktown.
In October 2022, the ladies of the DAR Palatine Chapter dedicated a plaque in memory of the Régiment Royale in the regiment’s home city of Zweibrücken.
I had the honour of representing SAR Germany, as our Germany Society Vice President John Bredenfoerder, who had booked his flight to attend the ceremony, was hindered by a last-minute accident which made it impossible for him to fly across the Atlantic. And President Patrick Mesnard of the SAR France (over 300 members) was also invited, but couldn’t get away.
Yours in patriotism, Christopher McLarren
President, Von Steuben Chapter, SAR