Louis Antoine Cambray-Digny

Who was Louis Antoine Cambray-Digny?

Louis Antoine Jean Baptiste de Cambray-Digny was a French officer during the American Revolution.

He was born in Italy to French parents. Not much is known of his early life until he joined the French artillery in 1770 and was discharged in 1774.

In early 1778, he sailed to the revolting American Colonies and was made a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army by Continental Congress in York, Pennsylvania on June 13. He fought at the Battle of Monmouth soon after. He was sent to Charleston, South Carolina and later Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he directed construction of Fort McIntosh as a chief engineer.

On February 2, 1779, he was sent to Baltimore, Maryland and then Edenton, North Carolina, where he would lead troops in the Southern Campaign. He gave regular reports to General Benjamin Lincoln and was eventually sent to take part in the Savannah Campaign and the defense of Charleston. He was taken prisoner on May 12, 1780, with the rest of Lincoln's army and exchanged on November 26, 1782.

On June 11, 1783, he returned to France for a short leave, was made a colonel, and was honorably discharged on November 15.

He took a small part in the French elections of 1789 and the French Revolution. He died at the age of 71 in 1822 in his chateau in the Somme.