List of French Royal Army units (1776)

Below is the List of French Army regiments (1776). Also included are the changes from the supplemental 1778 ordnance. Flags next to each unit represents what the majority of its members come from.

Cavalry

In 1776 the Royal French Army consisted of five 'groups' of cavalry ranging from light to heavy cavalry: Cavalerie (equivalent of Heavy Line Cavalry), Hussars, Chasseurs à Cheval, Chevaulégers, and Dragons (Dragoons).^[1]^[2]

Line Cavalry

Hussars

Dragoons

Infantry

In 1776 the Royal French Army consisted of six 'groups' of infantry ranging from infantry to Guards: Guards, French Infantry, Chasseurs, Infantry of the Colonies, and the Foreign Regiments.^[1]^[2]

Guards

Gardes Françaises (6 Battalions)
Gardes Suisses (4 Battalions)

French Infantry

Princes' Regiments

The Princes Regiments or Régiments du Princes were those regiments which were either raised or funded almost entirely by a Prince or member of the aristocracy. The only difference between these regiments and the French infantry were, as stated above their funding, and their exclusion from the regimental uniform grouping.

German Infantry

Régiment de Alsace (Alsace is a French region, but predominantly German speaking and therefore considered a German unit)
Régiment de Salm Salm (from the Palatine Zweibrücken)
Régiment de La Mark (from County of Mark)
Régiment Royal Suèdois (termed German, but soldiers came from the Kingdom of Sweden)
Régiment Royal Bavière (from Electorate of Bavaria)
Régiment de Nassau (from the County of Nassau-Usingen)
Régiment de Bouillon (from Duchy of Bouillon)
Régiment de Royal Deux Ponts (from the Palatine Zweibrücken)
Régiment Royal Liégeois (termed German, but in fact came from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège)

Swiss Infantry

Irish Infantry

Italian Infantry

Régiment Royal Italien
Régiment de Savoie (formed in 1775)

Legions

Under the 1776 ordinance, all legions were disbanded and contributed a new mounted chasseurs company into each regiment of the cavalry, while the infantry components were absorbed into the new infantry garrison battalions.^[3] Before 1776 these legions composed of a company of grenadiers, eight companies of fusiliers, and eight companies of dragoons, after the Peace of Versailles the volunteers were reduced to:^[3]

Legions (mixed infantry and cavalry)

Légion de Conflans – Disbanded, then reformed in 1778 as the Régiment de Conflans Hussards
Légion Royale – Disbanded, then reformed in 1778 as the 1er Chasseurs à Cheval
Légion de Flanders
Légion de Lorraine
Légion de Condé
Légion de Soubise
Légion de Dauphiné

Following the 1776 ordinance, all of the legions' infantry companies converted to infantry chasseurs and were incorporated into every regiment of the army, thereby providing every infantry regiment with a left–wing chasseur company. The cavalry of the legions were themselves also converted to chasseurs, but mounted and dispersed throughout the cavalry, thereby providing every cavalry regiment with a mounted (scouts) squadron.^[3]

After the former legions were disbanded, three more were raised (8 were originally planned) from foreign volunteers for service during the Anglo–French War (American Revolutionary War), these included:^[4]

1er Legion Voluntaires Étrangers de la Marine (la Royal Marine) – Raised for service in the Caribbean, also sent a detachment with the 2nd Legion to Yorktown
2éme Legion Voluntaires Étrangers de la Marine (Lauzun's) – Raised for service in the Americas, also served in the West Indies
3éme Legion Voluntaires Étrangers de la Marine – Raised for service in India and the Second Anglo–Mysore War (most personnel transferred from the Légion Royale)

Provincial Troops

Under the 1776 ordinance, the provincial volunteers were due to be disbanded, but by order of the King this was reduced. The provincial troops were divided into 4 categories: Royal Grenadiers, Infantry, État Major Regiments, and provincial artillery.^[5]

État Major

1er Régiment d'État Major (from battalions of Troyes and Chaumont)
2éme Régiment d'État Major (from battalions of Moulins and Montluçon)
3éme Régiment d'État Major (from battalions of Lille and Valenciennes)
4éme Régiment d'État Major (from battalions of Montbrison and Tarare)
5éme Régiment d'État Major (from battalions of Privas and Anduze)

Grenadiers

By ordinance of 30 January 1778, the Corps des Grenaiders Royaux was re–constituted, but were formed as a result of the 1776 ordinance, therefore are presented on this page for convenience. These new regiments were formed by grouped the old garrison battalions' grenadiers companies from regiments of a certain area.^[5] The regiments consisted of:^[5]

Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Picardie in Lille, companies from the Régiments de Picardie, Cambrésis, Hainaut, Vermandois, Flandre, Artois, and two companies of the 3éme Régiment de État Major
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Champagne in Valenciennes, companies from the Régiments de Brie, Orléans, Neustrie, and La Marine, two companies of the Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de La Fère, and two companies of the 1er Régiment d'État Major
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Normandie in Rouen, companies from the Régiments de Perche, Beauce, Vexin, Normandie, Boulonnais, Dauphin, La Couronne, and Penthièvre
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Guyenne in Blaye, companies from the Régiments de Guyenne, Aquitaine, Médoc, Forèz, Bresse, Armagnac, Agénois, and Aunis
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux du Lyonnais in Vienne, companies from the Régiments de Auvergne and La Sarre, one company from the Provincial Artillery Regiment of Auxonne and from Artillery Regiment of Grenoble, and 2nd and 4th État Major regiments
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Touraine in Saumur, companies from the Régiments de Bourbonnais, Limousin, Touraine, La Reine, Conti, Maine, Anjou, and Rohan
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de l'Île de France in Mantes la Jolie, companies from the Régiments d'Isle de France, Beauvoisis, Royal, Bourgogne, Chartres, and Soissonnais
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de l'Orléanais in Orléans, companies from the Régiments de Blésois, Maréchal de Turrene, Auxerrois, Gâtinais, Bassigny, Bassigny, Berry, Poitou, and Angoumois
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Bretagne in Rennes, companies from the Régiments de Bretagne, Monsieur, Royal Vaisseaux, Royal Marine, Savoie Carignan, La Fère, Saintonge, and Foix
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux de la Lorrainen in Nancy, companies from the Régiments d'Austrasie, Lorraine, Champagne, and Barrois, and the provincial artillery regiments of Strasbourg and Metz
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux du Languedoc in Montpellier, companies from the Régiments de Piémont, Royal Roussillon, Languedoc, Provence, and Dauphiné, and the 5th État Major Regiment and Provincial Artillery Regiment of Grenoble
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux du Comte de Bourgogne in Besançon, companies from the Régiments de Condé, Royal Comtois, and Enghien, also the Provincial Artillery Regiments of Besançon and Toul, and a company of the Provincial Artillery Regiment of Auxonne
Régiment des Grenadiers Royaux du Quercy in Montauban, companies from the Régiments de Viennois, Vivarais, Rouergue, Beaujolais, Lyonnais, Bourbon, Navarre, and Béarn

Infantry

With the exception of the Régiment de la Ville de Paris, all provincial battalions were assigned to an infantry regiment, becoming their "3rd or Garrison Battalion", except for the Régiment du Roi which had their provincial unit as the 5th and 6th battalions respectively.^[5]

Régiment de la Ville de Paris (from the two battalions of Paris)
Bataillon d'Amiens (attached to Régiment de Picardie)
1er Bataillon d'Aix (attached to Régiment de Provence)
Bataillon de Blois (attached to Régiment de Provence)
Bataillon d'Auch (attached to Régiment de Navarre)
Bataillon de Marmande (attached to Régiment d'Armagnac)
Bataillon de Bar le Duc (attached to Régiment de Champagne)
Bataillon de Nancy (attached to Régiment d'Austrasie)
Bataillon de Rouen (attached to Régiment de Normandie)
Bataillon de Pont Audemer (attached to Régiment de Neustrie)
Bataillon de Neuchâtel (attached to Régiment de La Marine)
Bataillon de Chartres (attached to Régiment d'Auxerrois)
Bataillon de Limoges (attached to Régiment de Bourbonnais)
Bataillon de Périgueux (attached to Régiment de Forèz)
Bataillon de Saint Gaudens (attached to Régiment de Béarn)
Bataillon de Libourne (attached to Régiment d'Agenois)
Bataillon de Clermont (attached to Régiment d'Auvergne)
Bataillon de Montargis (attached to Régiment de Gâtinais)
1er Bataillon d'Arras (attached to Régiment de Flandre)
Bataillon de Péronne (attached to Régiment de Cambrésis)
Bataillon de Nérac (attached to Régiment de Guyenne)
Bataillon d'Albi (attached to Régiment de Viennois)
Bataillon de Senlis (attached to Régiment du Roi)
Bataillon de Mantes (attached to Régiment du Roi)
Bataillon de Joigny (attached to Régiment Royal)
Bataillon de Laon (attached to Régiment de Brie)
Bataillon de Poitiers (attached to Régiment de Poitou)
Bataillon de Bergerac (attached to Régiment de Bresse)
Bataillon de Rodèz (attached to Régiment de Lyonnais)
Bataillon du Mans (attached to Régiment de Maine)
Bataillon de Caen (attached to Régiment du Dauphin)
Bataillon d'Alençon (attached to Régiment de Perche)
Bataillon de Saint Jean d'Angély (attached to Régiment d'Aunis)
Bataillon de Bourges (attached to Régiment de Bassigny)
Bataillon de Tours (attached to Régiment de Touraine)
Bataillon de Vannes (attached to Régiment de Savoie Carignan)
Bataillon de Villeneuve d'Agen (attached to Régiment de Aquitaine)
Bataillon de Mayenne (attached to Régiment d'Anjou)
Bataillon d'Orléans (attached to Régiment de Maréchal de Turenne)
2éme Bataillon d'Aix (attached to Régiment de Dauphiné)
Bataillon de Saint Denis (attached to Régiment de Isle de France)
Bataillon de Soissons (attached to Régiment de Soissons)
Bataillon de Saumur (attached to Régiment de La Reine)
Bataillon d'Angoulême (attached to Régiment de Lomousin)
Bataillon de Nantes (attached to Régiment Royal Vaisseaux)
Bataillon de Noyon (attached to Régiment de Orléans)
Bataillon de Saint Lô (attached to Régiment de La Couronne)
Bataillon de Rennes (attached to Régiment de Bretagne)
Bataillon de Sarreguemines (attached to Régiment de Lorraine)
2éme Bataillon d'Arras (attached to Régiment d'Artois)
Bataillon de Châteauroux (attached to Régiment de Berry)
Bataillon d'Abbeville (attached to Régiment de Hainaut)
Bataillon de Brioude (attached to Régiment Royal Roussillon)
Bataillon de Salins (attached to Régiment de Condé)
Bataillon de Millau (attached to Régiment de Bourbon)
Bataillon de Beauvais (attached to Régiment de Beauvoisi)
Bataillon de Figeac (attached to Régiment de Rouergue)
Bataillon de Provins (attached to Régiment de Bourgogne)
Bataillon de Redon (attached to Régiment Royal Marine)
Bataillon de Gisors (attached to Régiment de Vermandois)
Bataillon de Carcassonne (attached to Régiment de Languedoc)
Bataillon de Mortagne (attached to Régiment de Beauce)
Bataillon de Saint Sever (attached to Régiment de Médoc)
Bataillon de Castelnaudary (attached to Régiment de Vivarais)
Bataillon d'Argentan (attached to Régiment de Vexin)
Bataillon de Dôle (attached to Régiment Royal Comtois)
Bataillon de Cahors (attached to Régiment de Beaujolais)
Bataillon de Dinan (attached to Régiment de Monsieur)
Bataillon de Vire (attached to Régiment de Penthièvre)
Bataillon de Vernoy (attached to Régiment de Boulonnais)
Bataillon de Saint Maixent (attached to Régiment d'Angoumois)
Bataillon d'Angers (attached to Régiment de Conti)
Bataillon de Fontenay (attached to Régiment de Saintonge)
Bataillon de Parthenay (attached to Régiment de Foix)
Bataillon de Falaise (attached to Régiment de Rohan)
Bataillon de Corbeil (attached to Régiment de Chartres)
Bataillon d'Étain (attached to Régiment de Barrois)
Bataillon de Lons le Saunier (attached to Régiment d'Enghien)

Artillery

New regiments and their predecessor battalions shown in order of precedence.^[5]

Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de La Fère (from battalions of Châlons and Saint Dizier)
Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de Metz (from battalions of Metz and Verdun)
Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de Besançon (from battalions of Dijon and Semur en Auxois)
Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de Grenoble (from battalions of Velence and Romans)
Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de Strasbourg (from battalions of Strasbourg and Colmar)
Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie d'Auxonne (from battalions of Châlons and Autun)
Régiment Provincial d'Artillerie de Toul (from battalions of Vesoul and Ornans)

Artillery

In 1776 the French artillery consisted of 7 regiments, of which all held the number 64 in regimental precedence.^[6]^[7]

Régiment de La Fère
Régiment de Metz
Régiment de Besançon
Régiment de Grenoble
Régiment de Strasbourg
Régiment d'Auxonne
Régiment de Toul
Battalion d'Ingénieures – forms part of the Royal Corps of Artillery

Admiralty

Until 1890, all colonial affairs were controlled by the Secretary of State of the Navy (known as the Admiralty) (Secrétaire d'État à la Marine), though the below regiments were part of the French Royal Army. They are only shown under the Admiralty as they were under the operational command of the organisation, not the administrative.

Colonial Regiments

Régiment du Cap – Saint Domingue
Régiment de Port au Prince – Saint Domingue
Régiment de Martinique – Antilles
Régiment de Guadeloupe – Antilles
Régiment d'Île de France – Indian Ocean
Régiment d'Île de Bourbon – Indian Ocean
Régiment de Pondichéry – French India

Notes

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b Susane, Volume I, pp. 169–171.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, pp. 48–51.
^ ^a ^b ^c Louis Susane, Volume VII, pp. 378–381.
^ Smith, Uniforms of the American Revolutionary War, pp. 181–183.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Susane, Volume VII, pp. 280, 292, 302–306.
^ Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, pp. 52–53.
^ Smith, Napoleon's Regiments, pp. 294–297.

References

Louis Susane, Historie de l'Ancienne Infanterie Français, Volume I, 1849 Naval and Polytechnical Military Library of Paris, Paris, France.
Louis Susane, Historie de l'Ancienne Infanterie Français, Volume VII, 1853 Naval and Polytechnical Military Library of Paris, Paris, France.
Louis Susane, History of The French Artillery, Second Edition, 1874 Rue Jacob, Paris, France.
Digby Smith, Kevin E. Kiley, and Jeremy Black, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the American War of Independence, 2017 Lorenz Books, London, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-0-7548-1761-1.
Digby Smith & Jeremy Black, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, 2015 Lorenz Books, London, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-0-7548-1571-6.
Digby Smith, Napoleon's Regiments: Battle Histories of the Regiments of the French Army, 1792–1815, 2000 Greenhill Books, London, United Kingdom. ISBN 1-85367-413-3.

[:0-1] Susane, Volume I, pp. 169–171.

[:1-2] Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, pp. 48–51.

[:2-3] Louis Susane, Volume VII, pp. 378–381.

[4] Smith, Uniforms of the American Revolutionary War, pp. 181–183.

[:3-5] Susane, Volume VII, pp. 280, 292, 302–306.

[6] Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, pp. 52–53.

[7] Smith, Napoleon's Regiments, pp. 294–297.

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