William Ludwig von Sonntag

William Ludwig von Sonntag (18 July 1745 - 15 August 1818). He is notable for being a French Officer present with his regiment at the siege of York-Town in Virginia where Lord Cornwallis surrendered which virtually closed the American War of Independence. The Independence of the States being acknowledged by Great Britain soon after. William Ludwig von Sonntag was the father of Admiral and General of the Russian service - Sir George von Sonntag - and the maternal grandfather of John von Sonntag de Havilland.
Personal life
Captain William Ludwig von Sonntag was born at Pforzheim in modern day Germany. The family 'von Sonntag' or rather 'Sonntag von Sonnenberg' is from Switzerland but had for centuries been living in what is now modern Southern Germany. The castle of Sonnenberg was their cradle.
After resigning from the French Army stationed in America, he settled in Philadelphia. He married Hannah Wright on 11 August 1782. They had two children, Admiral and General Sir George von Sonntag and Mary Wright who married John Haviland the English architect. It should be noted that Admiral and General Sir George von Sonntag - in 1815 he was in the Russian service - met with John Haviland in Russia and was instrumental in persuading John Haviland to go to America.
Military career
William Ludwig von Sonntag entered the military service of the Prince of Zweibrucken, or Deux-Ponts, whose troops were in the army of Louis XVI of France. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, and the French King became an ally of America, the regiment of Deux-Ponts formed part of the contingent of ten thousand men sent, under the Count de Rochambeau, to aid the American colonists in their struggle against the military might of Great Britain. Captain von Sonntag was present with his regiment at the siege of York-Town in Virginia where Lord Cornwallis surrendered which virtually closed the American War of Independence. Captain von Sonntag then resigned from the army and settled in Philadelphia.

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