During the Rhine Campaign of 1796, the 4th Hussars were in François Joseph Lefebvre's division of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's Army of the Sambre-et-Meuse. On 31 May the campaign started when the divisions of Lefebvre and Claude-Sylvestre Colaud advanced from Düsseldorf. The cavalry screen included Merlin who the source incorrectly identified as a "sous-lieutenant". In fact, Merlin was appointed commander of the 4th Hussars on 25 June. The army's last action of the campaign was the Battle of Limburg on 16 September 1796. In 1797, the army's hussars were formed into a division under Michel Ney. The Hussar Division distinguished itself at the Battle of Neuwied on 18 April 1797.