Reinforcements for King Louis (Part 12: More French Cavalry)

As discussed last time, it’s been Wellingtonic Central here this year, so I apologise to my remaining reader, as I know he loves a bit of Tricorning action.  So to keep him happy, here are some more SYW French cavalry regiments.  These are all 18mm figures by Eureka Miniatures.

As discussed before, French cavalry regiments of the period were usually painfully weak, with the overwhelming majority having only two squadrons apiece and those squadrons being invariably understrength due to a combination of corruption and mismanagement.  Consequently, strength-returns from the period repeatedly show squadrons numbering around 120 men, meaning that a brigade of three French regiments was roughly the same strength as a single regiment in many other armies.

Consequently, in my collection, a French brigade is represented as a 12-figure ‘Unit’ (i.e. regiment equivalent), with four-regiment brigades being Large Units of 16 figures.  Of course, this does theoretically cause some issues following the reorganisation and reforms that began in 1761 (where regiments were amalgamated and expanded to four squadrons and 600+ men), but as this was often not carried out until 1763, it doesn’t really cause too much of a problem.

Above:  The Mestre-de-Camp-Général Cavalry Brigade at the Battle of Minden 1759.  This actually consisted of four regiments; Mestre-de-Camp-Général, Poly-St. Thiébault, d’Espinchal and Fumel, but I haven’t yet got around to painting the Fumel Regiment.  French brigades were always known by the name of the senior regiment in the brigade.  These weren’t permanent groupings and regiments were often swapped around, so at Rossbach for example there was a Poly-St Thiébault Brigade, where that regiment was the most-senior in the brigade, but here they were junior to the Mestre-de-Camp-Général Regiment.

Above:  The Mestre-de-Camp-Général Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment may have been raised as early as 1635 and is certainly named in a roll from 1638.  However, it went through several periods of being broken up and then reformed, so didn’t have a continuous lineage.  The regiment fought in the Thirty Years War, but was then broken up, being reformed in 1657 for the Franco-Spanish War.  It then served in the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of Reunions, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession.

During the Seven Years War the regiment fought at the Battles of Hastenbeck, Krefeld and Minden.

Following the general reorganisation of the French cavalry arm in 1761, the regiment was expanded to four squadrons, absorbing the former Seyssel Cavalry Regiment.  However, this amalgamation probably didn’t take place until 1763.

Above:  The Mestre-de-Camp-Général Cavalry Regiment.  While ‘everybody knows’ that the overwhelming majority of French regiments during this period wore ‘grey’ coats, the shade of grey (which could also be various shades of cream, buff, beige, etc) was actually simply that of unbleached wool.  However, the Mestre-de-Camp-Général Regiment was most unusual in that it actually wore coats that had been dyed ‘iron grey’.  These coats had black cuffs and ‘full’ black lapels that extended the whole length of the coat, from neck to hem.  Tail-turnbacks were the same shade of grey as the coat and there was no collar.  Buttons were of yellow metal and were arranged in pairs on the lapels and in fours on the cuffs and pockets.  A ‘golden’ aiguillette was worn on the right shoulder, while the left shoulder had a strap of the regimental lace (parallel stripes of red, black, blue and aurore), ending in a ‘golden’ fringe.

Smallclothes were yellow-buff and the waistcoat was edged with the regimental lace.  Hats were edged with ‘false gold’ lace and were decorated with a black cockade and yellow metal button.  Belts and gloves were buff and cartridge pouches were red leather.  Horse furniture was red (some sources say green), edged in the regimental lace of red, black, blue and aurore stripes and further decorated with the Mestre-de-Camp-Général’s insignia of crossed red, white and blue flags.  Until April 1759 the regiment’s trumpeters wore the livery of the House of Béthune, which was green, heavily decorated with regimental lace.  After that date they wore the livery of the House of Castries, but nobody seems to know what that looked like.

Remember that French cavalry regiments were meant to wear a cuirass under the coat when on campaign (officers were meant to wear a full back-and-breast cuirass over the coat), as well as an iron ‘secret’ (skull-cap) under the hat.  However, there was apparently a wide interpretation of this order, with some regiments ignoring it altogether, while others discarded their coats when wearing the cuirass, wearing just their buff waistcoats.

The regiment carried standards with a red field, scattered with golden flames and fringed with gold.  The obverse had the golden Sun of France with a white scroll above, carrying the motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR.  I’ve used the version on David Morfitt’s ‘Not By Appointment‘ blog, which has the same device on both sides.  Kronoskaf however, suggests that the sun device was only shown on the obverse.

Above:  The Poly-Saint-Thiébault Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment was raised in 1667 and fought in the Franco-Dutch War, the War of Reunions, the Nine Years War, the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession.

The regiment had since 1749 been in the ownership of the Comte de Poly-St Thiébault.  In 1761 the regiment was to be amalgamated into the new Royal-Normandie Cavalry Regiment, though this amalgamation did not take place until 1763.

During the Seven Years War the regiment fought at the Battles of Rossbach, Bergen, Minden, Clostercamp and Vellinghausen.

Above:  The Poly-Saint-Thiébault Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment wore much the same uniform as that worn by the overwhelming majority of French heavy cavalry regiments; namely a coat of ‘grey-white’ (unbleached) wool with red lapels, cuffs and coat-linings, with white metal buttons.  Buttons were grouped in pairs on the lapels and in fours on the cuffs and tail-pockets.  On the left shoulder was a strap of regimental lace (which was yellow with a black central stripe), ending in a yellow fringe.  Hats were edged in ‘false silver’ lace and decorated with a black cockade and button.  Smallclothes, gloves and belts were buff and the waistcoat was edged with regimental lace.  The cartridge pouch was red leather.  Horse furniture was blue, edged in regimental lace.

The regiment’s standards had a yellow field, decorated on the obverse with the golden Sun of France, golden scrambled egg in the corners and a white scroll, bearing the motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR.  The reverse was decorated with a octagonal silver panel, bearing a flying eagle surrounded by gold lightning bolts, with a white scroll bearing the motto NEC TERRENT, NEC MORRANTUR.  The fringed edge was silver.  I’ve used the old Kronoskaf version of the standard, which has since been improved.

Above:  The Dampierre or d’Espinchal Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment was raised in 1673 and fought in the Franco-Dutch War, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession.

At the start of the Seven Years War the regiment was owned by Henri du Val, Comte de Dampierre.  In 1759 the title was transferred to the Marquis d’Espinchal.  In 1761 the regiment was amalgamated into the Bourgogne Cavalry Regiment (this amalgamation took place immediately).  During the Seven Years War the regiment fought in the Battles of Krefeld, Minden, Warburg and Vellinghausen.

This regiment’s uniforms were almost identical to those described for the Poly-St-Thiébault Regiment described above, though the regimental lace used for the shoulder-strap and for edging the waistcoat and horse-furniture was dark green with a central white stripe.  The fringe on the shoulder-strap was white.  Trumpeters’ livery is not known.

Although I haven’t given these lads a standard (I generally only give a standard to one or two regiments in each brigade), the Dampierre Regiment’s standard was ponceau red (a.k.a. cochineal or light red), with the very common Sun of France design, with a white scroll bearing the motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR and surrounded by gold scrambled egg.  There was also a very narrow black border around the edge, which was further bordered by a gold fringe.  This standard may have changed when it became the d’Espinchal Regiment.

Above:  The Royal-Cravate Cavalry Brigade at the Battle of Minden 1759.  This brigade consisted of three regiments; Royal-Cravate, La Rochefoucault-de-Surgère and Talleyrand.

Above:  The Royal-Cravate Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment was raised in 1743, during the Thirty Years War, from the remnants of a number of depleted foreign cavalry regiments in French service.  These included three Croat regiments, which gave rise in 1667 to the regiment’s title of ‘Royal-Cravates’ (‘Cravates’ meaning ‘Croats’).  After the Thirty Years War, the regiment fought again in the Franco-Spanish War, the Austro-Turkish War, the 2nd Anglo-Dutch War, the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of Reunions, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession.

During the Seven Years War the regiment fought in the Battles of Hastenbeck, Krefeld, Minden, Corbach, Vellinghausen and Wilhelmsthal.  However they were disgraced outside Krefeld in 1758, when they lost a standard to the Prussian Reusch (‘Death’) Hussars.  The Reusch Hussars were then given the right by King Frederick to carry the standard of the Royal-Cravate Cavalry, along with a captured standard of the French Polleresky Hussars, as their own standard for the rest of the war (Fred also gave the the Prussian Malachowsky Hussars the right to carry two more captured standards of the Polleresky Hussars).

Following the reorganisations of 1761, the regiment was expanded to four squadrons, having absorbed the former Chabrillan Cavalry Regiment.

Above:  The Royal-Cravate Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment wore blue coats with red cuffs, lapels and linings.  Buttons were white metal and were grouped in pairs on the lapels and in fours on the cuffs and pockets.  The left shoulder had a red fringed epaulette, with a strip of the regimental lace, which was aurore, punctuated with pairs of dots in red, white and blue.  Smallclothes and gloves were buff, with the waistcoat being edged in regimental lace.  Belts were white, as was the cartridge pouch (the white pouch was unique in the French army).  Horse furniture was blue, edged in the regimental lace.  As a Royal regiment, trumpeters wore standard Royal Livery.

The regiment originally wore hats with false silver lace and a black cockade, though from 1760 or 1761 they wore bearskins with a red bag, so of course, I HAD to do them in bearskins.  The cuffs, lapels and tail-turnbacks were also edged in regimental lace at this time.

The regiment’s standards were blue with a gold fringe.  The obverse had the gold Sun of France, surrounded by the usual scrambled egg and the reverse was decorated with a field of fleurs-de-lys.  Again, there is a little disagreement in the sources, with Kronoskaf showing it as not having  the usual white scroll and motto, while others (including David Morfitt’s Not By Appointment blog) showing it as having the scroll.  I’d normally go with David’s version of the standard, but I seem to have accidentally used the other version (without scroll), which David has produced for the Royal-Piémont Regiment.

Above:  The Rochefoucault-de-Surgère Cavalry Regiment (also known as the Rochefoucault-Langeac or simply Rochefoucault Cavalry Regiment).  This regiment was raised in 1682 and fought in the War of Reunions, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession.

During the Seven Years War the regiment was owned by Jean-Joseph, Marquis de Rochefoucault-Surgères (or -Langeac) and fought at the Battles of Hastenbeck, Krefeld, Minden and Corbach.  In 1761 it was ordered to be amalgamated into the new Royal-Champagne Cavalry Regiment, though the amalgamation did not actually take place until 1763.

This regiment again wore the same uniform as that described above for the Poly-St Thiébault Regiment, though the regimental lace this time was black with a central stripe in isabelline*.  Trumpeters’ livery is not known.

Although I haven’t given them a standard, the regiment’s standards were isabelline, bordered with a narrow black line and gold fringe.  This was charged on both sides with the usual golden Sun of France, surrounded by gold scrambled egg, with a white scroll above, bearing the motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR.

* The colour isabelline deserves a paragraph in its own right, as it’s a pale coffee-brown shade, being reputedly the colour of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain‘s undercrackers following the end of the Siege of Ostend (1601-1604).  Legend has it that she’d vowed not to change her grundies until her husband, Archduke Albert of Austria had achieved victory.  As this took three years to achieve, they were apparently in something of a state and to be honest, I’m somewhat surprised that they were only a pale shade of coffee brown…  It does have to be said however, that isabelline is also recorded as an animal fur colour far earlier than 1604, but let’s not let the truth get in a way of a good, smutty legend…

Above:  The Talleyrand Cavalry Regiment.  This regiment was raised in 1671 and fought in the War of Reunions, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession.

During the Seven Years War the regiment was owned by the Comte de Talleyrand and fought at the Battles of Hastenbeck, Krefeld, Minden and Vellinghausen.  However, in 1761 the regiment was amalgamated into the new Royal-Piémont Regiment.

This regiment again wore the same uniform as that described above for the Poly-St Thiébault Regiment, though the regimental lace this time consisted of alternating squares of green and isabelline (her again!), sometimes shown with a very narrow blue border.  Trumpeters’ livery is not known.

The regiment’s standards were crimson, edged with a gold fringe.  The obverse had the golden Sun of France, surrounded by the usual scrambled egg with a white scroll above, bearing the motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR.  The reverse featured a silver lion rampant (facing the fly), with a white scroll below, bearing the motto NOLI IRRITARE LEONEM.  This was all surrounded by the usual golden scrambled egg.

Anyway, that’s enough for now.