Gendarmes de la Garde
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Origin and History
This company was created by Henri IV in 1609 for his son Louis who was then Dauphin de France. When Louis acceded to the throne, under the name of Louis XIII, he incorporated the unit into the Maison du Roi on April 29 1611.
During the reign of Louis XV, this company formed a squadron of 210 gendarmes divided up into 4 brigades. One of these brigades always served to guard the king. The company consisted of:
- 1 captain (the king)
- 1 captain-lieutenant
- 3 sub-lieutenants
- 3 ensigns
- 3 guidons
- 1 commissaire à la conduite
- 10 maréchaux des logis
- 2 quartermasters
- 8 brigadiers
- 8 sub-brigadiers
- 4 standard bearers
- 4 aides-majors
- 4 trumpeters
- 1 kettle-drummer
- 178 men
During the Seven Years' War, the company was under the command of:
- since July 1734: Captain-Lieutenant Prince de Soubise de Rohan
The company was disbanded on September 30 1787
Service during the War
By August 1 1757, the company was stationed at Versailles. The unit did not take part in the early campaigns of the Seven Years' War.
In 1761, the company took the field with the army of Soubise. It was present at the battle of Vellinghausen on July 16 but was not engaged.
In 1762, the company formed part of Condé's Lower Rhine army. It was present at the action of Nauheim on August 30 but was not engaged.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear | black tricorne laced gold, with a black cockade and a white plume | ||||||||||||
| Neckstock | n/a | ||||||||||||
| Coat | scarlet with all seams laced gold and with golden brandebourgs
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| Waistcoat | buff laced gold | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | red | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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| Horse Furniture |
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Troopers were armed with a sword, a pair of pistols and a rifle. For combat, they wore a blackened breastplate and an iron skullcap over their tricorne.
The troopers mounted bay horses.
Officers
Officers wore the same uniform as the troopers with the following differences:
- a wide golden braid covered with golden foliage pattern sewn over all seams of their coat, cuffs, pockets, housings and on their waistcoat
- Black waistcoat
Like for all units belonging to the Maison du Roi, the horses of the officers had to be grey.
Musicians
Trumpets and kettle-drummers wore a scarlet coat heavily laced with golden braids.
The saddle cloth, housings as well as the aprons of the kettle-drums and the pennants of the trumpets were blue decorated in gold.
The musicians were mounted on grey horses.
Colours
The satin standards had a white field decorated with golden embroideries and bearing a central scene depicting thunderbolts bursting out of a cloud with the motto “Quo jubet iratus Jupiter”.
Along with those of the Chevaux Légers de la Garde, the standards of the Gendarmes de la Garde were deposited in the King's room.
References
This article incorporates texts from the following books which are now in the public domain:
- Pajol, Charles P. V.: Les Guerres sous Louis XV, vol. VII, Paris, 1891, pp. 2-6
Other sources
Funcken, L. and F.: Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle
Grosser Generalstab Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung II: Die Kriege Friedrichs des Grossen, Part 3 Der siebenjährige Krieg 1756-1763, Vol. 5 Hastenbeck und Roßbach, Berlin, 1903, Appendix 10
Menguy, Patrice: Les Sujets du Bien Aimé (an interesting website which seems to have disappeared from the web)
Mouillard, Lucien: Les Régiments sous Louis XV; Paris 1882
Service Historique de l'armée de terre: Sommaire des forces armées Françaises à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de la France - 1er Août 1757
Vial, J.-L.: Nec Pluribus Impar
