Grenadiers Royaux de Prugues
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Origin and History
A decree, dated September 15 1744, created a grenadier company within each French militia battalion. On April 10 1745, another decree ordered to detach all militia grenadier companies from their parent battalion and to group them in 11 regiments of Grenadiers Royaux. Each regiment consisted of a single battalion wearing its colonel's name. The 7th Regiment was placed under the command of colonel de Valfons.
To create a new recruitment source for these new regiments, a decree of January 28 1746 created a new company of grenadiers in each militia battalion. These new grenadiers were designated as Grenadiers postiches.
At the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756, militia battalions were assembled. The decree of December 5 1756 stipulated that the Grenadiers postiches had to be detached from their parent militia battalion (there were 107 such battalions) and incorporated into the 11 existing Grenadiers Royaux battalions, thus increasing the effective strength of each of these regiments from 1 to 2 battalions.
The 7th regiment now consisted of:
- staff
- 1 colonel
- 1 lieutenant-colonel
- 1 major
- 2 aides-major
- 2 battalions each consisting of 10 companies of Grenadiers Royaux or Grenadiers postiches
- each company of Grenadiers Royaux consisted of:
- 1 captain
- 1 lieutenant
- 2 sergeants
- 3 corporals
- 3 ansepessades
- 1 drummer
- 41 grenadiers
- each company of Grenadiers postiches consisted of:
- 1 captain
- 1 lieutenant
- 3 sergeants
- 3 corporals
- 3 ansepessades
- 1 drummer
- 51 grenadiers
- each company of Grenadiers Royaux consisted of:
N.B.: we have not found any information indicating whether the companies of Grenadiers postiches were intermingled with companies of Grenadiers Royaux within each battalion or if they rather formed two distinct battalions.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was under the command of:
- since May 1747: de Prugues
- from 1757: Gayon
- from May 1757: d'Ally
All Grenadiers Royaux regiments were disbanded on December 10 1762.
Service during the War
From 1756 to 1760, the regiment was cantoned on the coasts of France.
On February 4 1760, the regiment contributed 308 men to the French artillery.
In 1761, the regiment was part of the Grenadier Corps serving under the command of the duc de Broglie. On July 16, these grenadiers took part in the battle of Vellinghausen where they were attached to the left column and captured the castle of Nadel.
During the campaign of 1762, the regiment was integrated into the Army of the Lower Rhine under the command of the prince de Condé. On August 30, Condé gave battle at Nauheim and was supported by Stainville, who arrived at the head of the 4 battalions of Grenadiers de France, 6 battalions of the Grenadiers Royaux, and 3 regiments of dragoons.
Uniform
All Grenadiers Royaux regiments had the same uniform, the sole distinction being the colour of the epaulette on the right shoulder which varied from one regiment to the other.
Privates
| Headgear |
| ||||||||||||
| Neckstock | black | ||||||||||||
| Coat | grey-white with pewter buttons of the right side and 1 pewter button on each side at the small of the back
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | grey-white with pewter buttons | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | grey-white | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | white for campaigning (black for parade) | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
|
Armaments consisted of a musket with a bayonet and a double edged sabre.
All grenadiers wore a moustache.
Officers
The uniforms of officers were laced silver and they wore silver gorgets.
NCOs
NCOs wore uniforms similar to those of the privates with the following distinctions:
- sergeants: cuffs edged in silver or ornamented with 3 agréments
- corporals:cuffs edged in white and ornamented with 3 white frogs
- ansepessades: cuffs edged in white
Sergeants were armed with a spontoon.
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
The regiment, probably because it consisted of converged companies of grenadiers, carried only ordonnance colours.
Ordonnance colours: blue field and blue border; white cross sown with golden fleurs de lys.
N.B.: Some sources illustrate the arms of France in the centre of the white cross or a white border around the colour. However, the illustration in "Troupes du Roi, Infanterie française et étrangère, année 1757, tome I" simply depicts a blue border and a white cross sown with golden fleurs de lys.
References
This article contains text translated from the following book which is now in the public domain:
- Pajol, Charles P. V.: Les Guerres sous Louis XV, vol. VII, Paris, 1891, pp. 68-69, 151-153
Other sources
Cookman, David: In Search Of The French Grenadiers During the Seven Years War, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. IX No. 1
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 1
Mouillard, Lucien: Les Régiments sous Louis XV, Paris 1882
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.
"Troupes du Roi, Infanterie française et étrangère, année 1757, tome I", Musée de l'Armée, Paris
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
