Lowendahl Infanterie

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Origin and History

The regiment was raised on September 1 1743 by the Maréchal de Löwendahl.

During the War of the Austrian Succession, the regiment first served in Flanders in 1744. On May 11 1745, it was at the Battle of Fontenoy. In 1746, it took part in the siege of Namur. In 1747, it was at the siege of Bergen op Zoom. In 1748, it took part in the siege and capture of Maastricht.

The regiment counted two battalions.

During the Seven Years' War, the regiment ranked 106^th and was under the command of:

• from 1755: Comte de Lowendahl

On January 18, 1760, when the German Infantry was reorganised, the regiment was disbanded, one of his battalions was incorporated into Anhalt Infanterie and the other into La Marck Infanterie.

Service during the War

Private of Lowendahl Infanterie in 1760 - Courtesy of The New York Public Library

In 1757, the regiment joined the French Army of the Lower Rhine. On May 5, the regiment was assigned to the blockade of Gueldre. It finally took its winter-quarters in the first line in the area of Bremen.

At the end of January 1758, the regiment was assigned to the army that Louis XV planned to send to Bohemia for joint operations with the Austrian Army. However, when Ferdinand of Brunswick launched his winter offensive in February, the regiment retired on the Rhine with the rest of the French Army. From March 30 to April 4, it was in the second line of Clermont's Army in the camp of Wesel on the Lower Rhine. By July, it had been transferred to Soubise's Army assembling near Friedberg in Hesse.

In June 1759, during the French offensive in West Germany, the regiment was part of the main army under the command of the Marquis de Contades and was deployed in the second line of the infantry centre. On August 1, during the Battle of Minden, the regiment garrisoned Minden, occupying the ramparts and the 3 bridgeheads.

Uniform

The following description has been verified against the manuscript "Troupes du Roi, Infanterie française et étrangère, année 1757, tome I" and Taccoli's book published in 1760.

Privates

Uniform in 1758 - Source: Kronoskaf

Uniform Details as per
Etrennes Militaires 1756, 1758 and 1760, Etat Militaire 1758, Abrégé du Dictionnaire Militaire 1759
completed when necessary with information from the manuscript of 1757 and Taccoli's work

Headgear	Musketeer black tricorne laced gold (with a white cockade as per Taccoli) Grenadier black tricorne laced gold towards 1759, bearskins became increasingly common among grenadiers of the French Army
Neckstock	black
Coat	blue lined blue with 10 yellow buttons and 10 white laced buttonholes grouped 2 by 2 on both sides (10 yellow buttons on the right side only and no laced buttonhole as per the manuscript of 1757) Collar white Shoulder Straps blue Lapels none Pockets double vertical pockets, each single pocket with 3 yellow buttons and 3 white laced buttonholes Cuffs white narrow cuffs (en botte), each with 3 large yellow buttons (Taccoli illustrates the same cuffs but with 3 additional buttons placed vertically on the outer side of the cuff) Turnbacks blue when the basques of the coat were turned back (Taccoli illustrates white turnbacks)
Waistcoat	blue with 10 yellow buttons on each side and 10 white laced buttonholes; horizontal pockets edged white with 3 yellow buttons and 3 white laced buttonholes
Breeches	blue
Gaiters	white
Leather Equipment	Crossbelt white Waistbelt white Cartridge Box natural leather Bayonet Scabbard black with a white metal tip Scabbard n/a

Armaments consisted of a musket and a bayonet. Fusiliers carried a sword (brass hilt) while the grenadiers had a sabre.

Officers

no information available yet

Musicians

no information available yet

Colours

The colonel flag of the regiment was white with a white cross.

N.B.: the manuscript of 1757 illustrates a white colour decorated with a trophy of arms.

The ordonnance flags had a blue field with a 3 golden fleurs de lys surmounted with a golden crown and surrounded by yellow palm wreath. These flags were bordered by a wide purple band between two narrower white bands.

N.B.: ordonnance flags probably wore the motto "Merebimur".

Colonel Colour - Source: PMPdeL

Ordonnance Colour - Source: PMPdeL

References

Anon.: Manuscript Troupes du Roi, Infanterie française et étrangère, année 1757, tome I, Musée de l'Armée, Paris

Funcken, Liliane and Fred: Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle

Menguy, Patrice: Les Sujets du Bien Aimé (a website who has unfortunately disappeared from the web)

Mouillard, Lucien: Les Régiments sous Louis XV, Paris, 1882

Pajol, Charles P. V.: Les Guerres sous Louis XV, vol. VII, Paris, 1891

Rogge, Christian: The French & Allied Armies in Germany during the Seven Years War, Frankfurt, 2006

Service historique de l'armée de terre, Archives du génie, article 15, section 1, §5, pièce 23

Taccoli, Alfonso: Teatro Militare dell' Europa, Part 1, vol. 2; Madrid, March 1760

N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.