Nassau Prince Louis Infanterie
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised on November 1, 1745 by Prince Guillaume Henri of Nassau-Saarbrück. It counted 2 battalions and recruited in Lower Alsace, Wesrgau and Landau as well as in the Counties of Saarwarden and Herbitzheim, and in the estates of the House of Nassau-Saarbruck.
In 1746, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), the regiment served in Flanders where it took part in the sieges of Mons and Charleroi, in the covering of the siege of Namur and in the Battle of Rocoux. In 1747, it fought in the Battle of Lauffeld. Shortly afterwards, in July, it was increased to three battalions. In 1748, it was at the siege of Maastricht together with Alsace Infanterie.
After the war, on February 1, 1749, the regiment was reduced to one battalion.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment ranked 111th and was under the command of:
- from November 1, 1745: Maréchal de Camp Prince Guillaume-Henri de Nassau-Saarbrück (promoted to lieutenant-general on January 1, 1748)
- from March 20, 1758 to October 21, 1791: Prince Louis de Nassau-Saarbrück
On March 20, 1758, while serving at Cologne on the Rhine, the regiment incorporated the single battalion of the disbanded Nassau-Ussingen Infanterie to form the new Nassau Prince Louis Infanterie. The colonel's company and the lieutenant-colonel's company of the Nassau-Saarbrück regiment became the two first companies of the 1st battalion while the company formerly under Sieur of Klingspoort, lieutenant-colonel of the Nassau-Ussingen regiment, became the first company of the 2nd battalion. The 13 other companies of the two former regiments were placed in the 1st or 2nd battalion according to the seniority of their commanding captains.
On January 18, 1760, when the German Infantry was reorganised, the regiment was increased to three battalions by the incorporation of Saint-Germain Infanterie.
In December 1762, when the French army was reorganised, the regiment was reduced to 2 battalions.
Service during the War
At the end of April 1757, the regiment arrived at Cologne for the planned invasion of Hanover. On July 1, it fought in the Battle of Hastenbeck. It then took part in the invasion of Hanover under the Maréchal de Richelieu and contributed to the capture of Minden and Hanover. At the end of the year, it took its winter-quarters in the first line of the French army at Ahlden and Grethem on the Aller River.
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. On March 20, the regiment was incorporated into the new Nassau Prince-Louis regiment. When Ferdinand of Brunswick launched his offensive in Western Germany 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.
On Tuesday January 2, 1759, at about 5:00 a.m., the regiment presented itself before the Sachsenhausen Gate of Frankfurt and was admitted as previously authorised on December 31, 1758. As soon as it had entered the town, the regiment ordered the town-guard to deposit arms and to admit five other regiments who easily captured Frankfurt. On April 13, the regiment took part in the Battle of Bergen where it formed part of the reserve of the left wing deployed in regimental columns behind the Warthberg. In June, at the beginning of the French offensive in Western Germany, the regiment was part of the “Right Reserve” under the command of the Duc de Broglie who had taken position at Friedberg in Hesse. The regiment finally took its winter-quarters in Ziegenheim.
By the end of January 1760, the regiment had taken its winter-quarters in the first line of the French army. On January 18, it incorporated Saint-Germain Infanterie; it now counted three battalions. By mid March, the regiment was billeted in Walsdorf near Idstein, still in the first line. By May 23, the regiment was part of the second line of Broglie's Army, placed under the command of the Prince de Croy. By December 30, the regiment had taken its winter-quarters in Treyssa and Ziegenheim.
In February 1761, the regiment was besieged in Ziegenheim, resisting for three weeks. This gave enough time to the Maréchal de Broglie to assemble a relief force. On February 25, the Allies were forced to raise the siege. On July 16, the regiment took part in the Battle of Vellinghausen where it formed part of M. de Closen's Brigade placed at the vanguard. The colonel-commandant of the regiment, the Baron de Zügmantel distinguished himself in this battle where the regiment captured three guns. On September 2, it was also present at the engagement of Osterode.
In 1762, the regiment took part in the defence of Kassel which capitulated on November 1. It then returned to France. On December 21, it was reduced to two battalions.
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 | blue (royal blue before the amalgamation of 1758) with 2 frogs on each side under the lapel and 1 frog on each side in the small of the back
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | white (red before the amalgamation of 1758) | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | white (red before the amalgamation of 1758) | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | white | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
|
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
The drummers of the regiment wore the prince of Nassau's livery. The drum were orange and and carried the arms of the House of Nassau.
| Headgear | black tricorne (van-dyked lace) and bordered with plumes | ||||||||||||
| Neckstock | probably black | ||||||||||||
| Coat | orange with 4 white buttons under the right lapel
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | scarlet laced silver | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | orange | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | probably white |
Colours
Colonel colour: white field; centre device consisting of the crowned arms of France (3 golden fleurs de lys surmounted by a golden crown) surrounded by two green laurel branches, the whole surmounted by a white scroll carrying the motto “HIS CONSECRO VIRES” (the manuscript of 1757 does not show any scroll). The lower outer canton carried a crouching golden lion.
Ordonnance colours (11): a white St. Andrew cross with a crowned blue escutcheon carrying a golden lion in each branch of the cross; centre device consisting of a royal sun; the right and left triangles were yellow while the upper and lower ones were blue; the upper triangle carried a white scroll with the motto “HIS CONSECRO VIRES” (the manuscript of 1757 does not show any scroll).
 Colonel Colour - Source: PMPdeL |
 Ordonnance Colour - Source: PMPdeL |
References
The 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 7, pp. 331-333.
- Pajol, Charles P. V., Les Guerres sous Louis XV, vol. VII, Paris, 1891.
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.
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.
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.
