Saintonge Infanterie
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Origin and History
The regiment was created on September 8 1684. Indeed, expecting a Coalition to soon form against France, Louis XIV raised 30 new regiments from September 1 to 30 for the defence of the various places of the realm. By raising one regiment a day, he avoided any problem of precedence among these new regiments.
In 1688, at the outbreak of the Nine Years' War (1688–97), the regiment assumed garrison duty in Landau. On May 5, 1689, nine companies, charged to build a redoubt opposite the mouth of the Neckar on the Rhine, were attacked by a party of Imperialists that they drove back. In 1690, the regiment initially campaigned on the Moselle before being transferred to the Low Countries where it fought in the Battle of Fleurus. In 1691, it took part in the siege of Mons before returning to the Moselle. In 1692, it contributed four companies for the creation of III./Picardie Infanterie. The same year and in 1693, the regiment campaigned on the Rhine. In 1694, it was transferred to the Alps. In 1697, it returned to Flanders where it took part in the siege of Ath.
On February 1, 1701, on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13), the regiment was increased from one to two battalions and sent to the Spanish Netherlands where it occupied the City of Antwerp. In 1702, the first battalion was transferred to Alsace and took part in the attack of the bridge at Huningue, in the capture of Neuenburg and the Battle of Friedlingen. For its part, its second battalion took part in the defence of Landau. In 1703, the entire regiment took part in the siege of Kehl. Afterwards, its first battalion marched to towards Bavaria and took part in the attack of the Lines of Stolhoffen, in the capture of Gegembach, Biberach and Husen, in the storming of the entrenchments of the Hornberg Valley, in the Battle of Höchstädt and in the capture of Ulm and Augsburg; meanwhile, the second battalion remained on the Rhine and contributed to the capture of Breisach and Landau and to the victory of Speyerbach. In 1704, the first battalion took part in the disastrous Battle of Blenheim and the entire regiment took part in the defence of Breisach. In 1705, it remained in garrison in Breisach. In 1706, it took part in the relief of Fort Louis, and in the storming of the entrenchments of Drusenheim, Lauterburg, Haguenau and Île du Marquisat. In 1709, it took part in the sanguinary Battle of Malplaquet; in 1710, in the defence of Douai; and in 1713, in the recapture of Landau where it then assumed garrison duty.
In 1715, the second battalion of the regiment was disbanded.
In 1733, at the outbreak of the War of the Polish Succession (1733-35), the regiment was garrisoning Besançon. In 1734, it joined the Army of the Rhine and took part in the attack of the Lines of Ettlingen and in the siege of Philisbourg. In 1735, it served on the Moselle and took part in the Battle of Klausen.
In 1742, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), the regiment was sent to Bavaria and contributed to the capture of Elnbogen and Kaaden, and in the relief of Braunau. In 1743, it took part in the relief of Egra. In 1744, it was at Bitche. In 1745, it was transferred to Flanders where it took part in the siege of Ath. In 1746, it fought in the Battle of Rocoux. In 1747, it was transferred to the Alpine theatre of operation and, on July 19, took part in the Battle of Assietta where its colonel, M. de la Grandville, was wounded.
In 1755, the regiment took part in the training camp of Aimeries sur Sambre.
On the eve of the Seven Years' War, the regiment counted only one battalion.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment ranked 77th and was under the command of:
- from June 8, 1744: Louis-Joseph Bidé, de La Grandville
- from May 22, 1759: Louis-Antoine-Gustave, Comte des Salles
- from July 28, 1759: René-Gabriel, Comte de Boisgelin
- from February 20, 1761: Denis-Auguste de Beauvoir de Grimoard, Marquis du Roure
- from May 11, 1762 to March 8, 1780: Charles du Guast, Vicomte de Béranger
- from May 11 1762 to 1780: Vicomte de Béranger
Service during the War
At the beginning of the Seven Years' War, the regiment was stationed at Brest in Bretagne.
By August 1, 1757, the regiment was stationed at Rouen in Upper Normandy.
In 1759, the regiment was among the expeditionary corps assembled for the planned invasion of England..
In 1761, the regiment embarked at Rochefort for French Guyana. On its way, it lost several companies in a wreck. The regiment was then stationed in Cayenne until 1766.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
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| Neck stock | black | ||||||||||||
| Coat | grey-white
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| Waistcoat | grey-white (blue in 1761) | ||||||||||||
| 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
n/a
Musicians
n/a
Colours
Colonel Colour: white field with a white cross.
Ordonnance Colours: a white cross, each canton consisting of four opposed triangles (yellow, blue, green, red). Ordonnance colours remained unchanged from 1684 to 1791.
 Colonel Colour - Source: Kronoskaf |
 Ordonnance Colour - Source: Kronoskaf |
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 7, pp. 128-138
Other sources
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
Sommaire des forces armées Françaises à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de la France - 1er Août 1757, Service Historique de l'armée de terre
