The Regiment de Meuron was a regiment of infantry originally raised in Switzerland in 1781 for service with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). At the time the French, Spanish, Dutch and other armies employed units of Swiss mercenaries. The regiment was named for its commander, Colonel Charles-Daniel de Meuron, who was born in Neuchâtel in 1738. Dutch service The regiment served the VOC in Dutch Ceylon and Cape Town. In 1795, while the regiment was stationed in Ceylon, revolutionary French forces invaded the Netherlands, overthrew the Dutch Republic and replaced it with the Batavian Republic. As a result, the regiment's pay by the VOC fell into abeyance. Later that year the Kew Letters were issued by the deposed stadtholder, William V, Prince of Orange, ordering the surviving Dutch colonies to surrender themselves to the British for safe keeping. The governor of Ceylon did not immediately do so, instead seeking clarification of the situation in the Netherlands. A delegation of Swiss soldiers and officers approached Count de Meuron, who retained the status of regimental proprietor, to discuss their overdue pay and the uncertain political situation. Transition As the governor was awaiting clarification, the British Secretary of State for War, Henry Dundas, acting on intelligence, convinced Prof. Hugh Cleghorn, of the University of Aberdeen, to travel to Neuchâtel to negotiate with Charles Daniel. Cleghorn persuaded Charles Daniel to come with him to Madras to facilitate negotiations with Pierre Frédéric de Meuron, Charles Daniel's brother and the commander of the regiment in Ceylon. Charles Daniel was able to smuggle a letter to his brother Pierre Frederick via a ball of Edam cheese. Subsequently, the Swiss agreed to hand over control of the regiment to the British, on the condition that they would not be required to serve against their former Dutch employers. The defection of the Swiss greatly reduced the strength of the Dutch forces in Ceylon and the Swiss provided fortification details to the British. The Dutch put up a pro-forma resistance using their own troops, and then surrendered Columbo to the British on 15 February 1796. The regiment formally entered British service, with the understanding that the British would enroll them at the same rate as regular British soldiers and give them the back pay owed by the VOC. The British subsequently took over control of the colony as British Ceylon. Professor Cleghorn received £5000 as a reward for his