Christian de Deux-Ponts was the first son born from the morganatic union of Christian IV, Duke of Deux-Ponts and Marianne Camasse, a commoner from Strasbourg whom he met while she was a dancer in Mannheim and who would later be given the title of Countess of Forbach by Louis XV.1 With his father’s death on November 5, 1775, and for lack of another legitimate heir, the duchy was handed down to Charles II, Christian’s cousin and the father of future king Maximilian of Bavaria. Even though the marriage, which was considered illegitimate at the time, was revealed by the widow’s brother, after the death of Christian IV his illegitimate children had to leave Deux-Ponts to go and live with their mother in Forbach. Having this fiefdom in their possession ensured them freedom from want, but the Deux-Ponts’ Parisian residence had to be sold.

Christian joined the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment on April 20, 1768 with the status of second lieutenant;2 he became a captain in 1772. Three years later, the regiment became the property of the new Duke of Deux-Ponts, but Christian de Forbach retained the command of it and became lieutenant colonel in 1777. That same year, the Countess of Forbach and the reigning duke reached a compromise concerning the previous duke’s estate. The 1757 union was recognized as legitimate, the widow received the movable and immovable property, the fiefdoms and an annual revenue of £57,000 as well as a £28,000 dowry for her daughter. In the treaty that was signed on April 10, 1777, Christian appears by the name “de Deux-Ponts, Count of Forbach, Colonel of the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment”. In 1780, he took part in the Rochambeau’s expeditionary force that was involved in the United States War of Independence. In addition to doing his duty while he was there, he was made aware of the American cause by the writer Beaumarchais, whom he met when the latter was acting as an arms supplier to the insurgents. In America, he and General La Fayette are some of the figures whom George Washington consulted (they met at Westpoint on January 13, 1781).3 Christian stayed in America after the battle of Yorktown, whereas his brother received orders to bring the copy of the English surrender and the enemy flags back to Versailles.

The companies of the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment headed by Christian established Williamsburg as their headquarters. There he built a relationship with Miss Lucy Randolph who wished to return at his side to France, but in Versailles his mother was forging a more ambitious marriage alliance with Queen Marie-Antoinette: Christian de Deux-Ponts and his mother exchanged numerous letters through which she kept him informed about what was happening at court. Thanks to her influence, she obtained authorization from the minister of war for his return to France as soon as the campaign ended. On December 7, 1782 in Boston, he boarded the Brave which headed for the Caribbean under the protection of the Spanish flotilla.

To repay him for his service, Louis XVI gave him the title “Marquis de Deux-Ponts” and the position of field marshal of the Chabot-Jarnac Dragoons regiment, which changed its name and was henceforth known as “Deux-Ponts Dragoons”. From 1781 on, Christian nonetheless appeared in the Royal Almanac under the title “Count of Deux-Ponts.”4 While his mother and the Queen were waiting for him to marry Adélaïde (1761-1823), the daughter of the Marquise of Béthune-Pologne, in Versailles, Christian was taken prisoner in March 1783 while boating near Caracas. He took advantage of the peace treaty to undertake an expedition with two friends but was attacked by an English ship commanded by Horatio Nelson, the future admiral who would be victorious at the Battle of Trafalgar. Unaware of the end of the fighting, Nelson was convinced that he had taken Duke Maximilian Joseph of Deux-Ponts, the reigning duke and future king of Bavaria, prisoner, which created a diplomatic incident. Released the next day, Christian de Deux-Ponts left Puerto Cabello on April 3, 1783.

He arrived in Brest on June 20, 1783 and reached Versailles where, on the 29th of July and in the presence of the royal couple, he married the Duchess of Polignac, the bride chosen for him by his mother and the Queen. Adéläide and Christian de Deux-Ponts had three daughters who grew up at the Château of Forbach. Once the country gained its independence, George Washington made Christian de Deux-Ponts a member of the Cincinnati Group that brought together all the officers who had fought for liberty.