Rouergue Infanterie
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised according to a decree of November 20, 1667, from an infantry company belonging to the Comte de Montpeyroux, which was garrisoning Arras.
In 1668, the regiment was reduced to only four companies. In 1669, these companies embarked to relieve the Venetians in Crete where they took part in the defence of Candia (present-day Heraklion) before returning to France in October.
In 1671, the regiment ceased to be a gentleman regiment and took the name of the Province of Rouergue.
In 1672, at the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78), the regiment was increased to 16 companies. In 1673, it campaigned in Germany. In 1674, it was transferred to Flanders under the command of the Prince de Condé and fought in the Battle of Seneffe. It was then sent back to Germany where, under Turenne, it took part in the battles of Sintzheim, Ensheim, Mulhausen and Turckheim. In 1675, it was at the retreat of Altenheim and at the relief of Haguenau and Saverne. In 1676, it fought in the combat of the Kokersberg. In 1677, it took part in the siege and capture of Freiburg which it garrisoned. In 1678, part of the regiment stormed the entrenchments of the Imperialists at Alberspach. Then the entire regiment, along with Touraine Infanterie stormed the post of Saint-Pierre. It then left Freiburg in July and took part in the attack against the bridge of Seckingen, in the storming of Kehl, in the storming of Strasbourg and in the siege of Lichtemberg, where its colonel, Montpeyroux, was mortally wounded. In 1679, the regiment took part in the combat of Minden.
En 1683, the regiment was at the training camp of Bouquenom on the Sarre. In 1684, it took part in the siege of Luxembourg.
In 1688, at the beginning of the Nine Years' War (1688–97), the regiment was attached to the Dauphin's Army and took part in the capture of Philisbourg, Mannheim and Franckenthal. In 1689, the regiment worked at the fortification of Landau and took part in the capture of Brücksaal. In 1690, it campaigned once more in Germany. In 1691, it was transferred to the Alps where it took part in the conquest of Savoy and of the County of Nice, distinguishing itself at the siege of Montmélian. In 1693, it took part in the defence of Pinerolo and in the Battle of Marsaglia. It continued to serve in the Alps until 1696. In 1697, the regiment was sent to the Moselle.
In 1698, the regiment was at the training camp of Compiègne.
In February 1701, just before the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13), the regiment was increased to two battalions. The first battalion initially served on the Rhine but was sent to Italy in July. In 1702, the first battalion took part in the defence of Cremona and in the capture of Luzzara and Borgoforte. In 1703, the first battalion was transferred to the Cévennes to quench the Camisards Uprising and took part in a combat between Le Vigan and Anduze. It then joined the French army operating in Savoy. The first battalion then remained in Languedoc until 1706 when the whole regiment was recalled to Italy for the siege of Turin. On 8 September, it was virtually annihilated in the Battle of Turin, only 320 men managing to retire to Provence. In 1707, the remnants of the regiment took part in the defence of Toulon. It was then sent to the Army of the Rhine where it served until 1712 on the Sarre and in the Lines of Wissembourg. In 1713, the regiment took part in the sieges of Landau and Freiburg. At the end of the war, it was reduced to a single battalion.
On April 10, 1715, the regiment was reduced to one battalion.
In 1727, the regiment took part in the training camp on the Meuse. In 1730, it formed part of the Army of the Rhine and contributed to the capture of Kehl
In 1733, during the War of the Polish Succession (1733-35), the regiment served on the Rhine and the Moselle. In 1734, it took part in the attack on the Lines of Ettlingen and in the siege of Philisbourg; and in 1745, in the Battle of Klausen.
In 1741, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), the regiment was sent to Juliers. In 1742, it was sent to Westphalia and contributed to the capture of Elnbogen and Kaaden and to the relief of Braunau. In 1743, it resupplied Egra and later returned to France where it was stationed at Fort-Louis on the Rhine. In 1744, it took part in the recapture of Wissembourg and in the affairs of Reichewaux and Augenheim. In 1745, it served in Alsace. In 1746, the regiment was transferred to Flanders where it contributed to the siege of the the Citadel of Antwerp, Mons, Saint-Ghislain and Charleroi, and fought in the Battle of Rocoux. On October 24, 1746, the regiment was increased to two battalions. In 1747, the first battalion took part in the sieges of Sluys, Sas-van-Ghent, Hulst and Axel. The whole regiment fought in the Battle of Lauffeld. In 1748, it was at the siege of Maastricht.
On the eve of the Seven Years' War, the regiment counted two battalions.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment ranked 42nd and was under the command of:
- from January 1, 1748: Charles-Théodat, Comte d'Estaing
- from May 27, 1757: Jean-Baptiste -Martin Hérault, Marquis de Séchelles
- from September 21, 1759: Charles-François-Ferdinand, Comte de Champagne-Chapton
- from February 20, 1761 to June 5, 1763: Charles-Louis Texier, Comte d'Hautefeuille
Service during the War
En 1755, the regiment was at the camp of Richemont on the Moselle.
In 1756, the regiment was assigned to the defence of the Island of Oléron where he remained in 1757.
En 1759, the regiment was sent to Germany. In June, during the French offensive in western Germany, the regiment was part of the main army under the command of the Marquis de Contades and was deployed in the first line of the infantry centre. On August 1, the regiment took part in the Battle of Minden where it was deployed in the first line of the infantry right wing under the command of the Chevalier de Nicolaï. It was sent forward to support Touraine Brigade but was soon driven out of its defensive positions by a charge of an Allied cavalry brigade. In this battle, the regiment suffered heavy losses: Colonel Héraut de Séchelles, mortally wounded; Major de Vauconcourt, Captains du Petit-Thouars, Tellier and Florin, and Lieutenant de Bragelonne, killed; Captains Gérard, Perrin de La Beyssière and Darbois, and 10 lieutenants, wounded.
On July 31, 1760, the regiment took part in the Battle of Warburg where it was initially kept in reserve behind the centre. It vainly tried to rescue Bourbonnais Infanterie, losing about 800 men. Out of the 49 officers present, 33 were killed or wounded. The regiment then retired to Warburg. By October 1, the regiment was part of d'Auvet's Division which was instructed to march towards Hachenburg. On October 10, the regiment reached the Erft and Neuss. On October 16, the regiment was at the Battle of Clostercamp where it formed part of the far right reserve posted south of Rheinberg. At the end of October, the regiment was sent to the Meuse.
By February 1761, the regiment was attached to the Army of the Lower Rhine and was posted at Roermond. The regiment contributed 800 men to the force assembled under M. de Muy to reinforce the Maréchal de Broglie. By June, these troops had rejoined the Army of the Lower Rhine. On July 16, the regiment took part in the Battle of Vellinghausen where it was brigaded with Aquitaine Infanterie.
In 1762, the regiment returned to France and was assigned to the service of the colonies and sent to Saint-Domingue.
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
| Headgear |
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| Neck stock | black | ||||||||||||
| Coat | grey-white lined white with copper buttons down to the waist on the right side
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| Waistcoat | red with a single row of small copper buttons; horizontal pockets with small copper buttons | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | grey-white | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | white | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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Armaments consisted of a musket and a bayonet. Fusiliers carried a sword (brass hilt) while the grenadiers had a sabre.
Officers
Musicians
The drummers of the regiment wore the Royal Livery: blue coat lined red; red cuffs, waistcoat and breeches; laced with the braid of the small Royal Livery.
Colours
Colonel Colour: white field with a white cross.
Ordonnance Colours: a white cross with four green cantons, each charged with a red rhombus. These ordonnance colours remained unchanged from 1671 to 1791.
References
This article incorporates texts from the following books which are now in the public domain:
- Susane, Louis: Histoire de l'ancienne infanterie française, J. Corréard, Paris, 1849-1856, Tome 6, pp. 61-72, 75
Other sources
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 which 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
Taccoli, Alfonso: Teatro Militare dell' Europa, Part 1, vol. 2; Madrid, March 1760
Vial, J. L.: Nec Pluribus Impar
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
