Mousquetaires de la Garde
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Armies >> French Army >> Mousquetaires de la Garde
Origin and History
This prestigious unit consisted of two companies:
- Mousquetaires gris (Grey musketeers)
- Mousquetaires noirs (Black musketeers)
In 1734, each company counted 250 troopers. Thus 100 troopers of each company could remain with the king while the other 150 troopers would participate to campaigns.
The unit was disbanded on December 15 1775. It was re-established in 1789 and soon disbanded again by the Republic.
1ère Compagnie – Mousquetaires gris
In 1622, Louis XIII replaced the carbines of his Compagnie de Carabins with muskets, renaming them Compagnie de Mousquetaires. Until 1629, this company was subordinated to the Chevau-légers de la Garde.
In 1634, Louis XIII became captain of the company which was disbanded in 1646. On January 10 1657, the company was re-established. It now consisted of 1 lieutenant-captain, 1 sous-lieutenant, 1 cornet and 2 maréchaux des logis. Louis XIV then added an ensign and fixed the number of Mousquetaires to 150. This company was added to the Garde to fight mounted or dismounted just like the dragoons.
The company was quartered at number 2 rue du Bac in Paris.
During the Seven Years' War, the company was under the nominal command of king Louis XV but under the direct command of a lieutenant-captain:
- since May 21 1738 till 1767: marquis de Jumilhac
2e Compagnie – Mousquetaires noirs
This foot company was created in August 1660. It was the guard of cardinal de Mazarin who gave it to the king. In 1663, it was transformed into a mounted unit. On January 9 1665, king Louis XIV became captain of the company and integrated it into the Maison du Roi.
The company was quartered in its own hotel in the Faubourg Saint Antoine in Paris.
During the Seven Years' War, the company was under the nominal command of king Louis XV but under the direct command of a lieutenant-captain:
- since April 1 1754 till 1766: marquis de la Rivière
Service during the War
By August 1 1757, the 2 companies were stationed in Paris. The unit did not take part in the early campaigns of the Seven Years' War.
In 1761, the unit 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 unit 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 of the 1ère Compagnie
| Headgear | black tricorne laced gold, with a white cockade and a white plume | ||||||||||||
| Neckstock | n/a | ||||||||||||
| Coat | scarlet lined scarlet, laced gold with golden buttonholes and gold buttons blue soubreveste lined red, bordered with a silver braid, laced with a double silver braid and decorated in front and rear with a white velvet cross with a yellow velvet fleurs de lys at the end of each branch decorated with silver and red flames at the angles.
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | scarlet laced gold (as per Mouillard) | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | scarlet | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
| ||||||||||||
| Horse Furniture |
|
Troopers were armed with a sword, a pistol and a carbine.
Troopers were mounted on grey horses.
Privates of the 2ème Compagnie
| Headgear | black tricorne laced silver, with a white cockade and a white plume | ||||||||||||
| Neckstock | n/a | ||||||||||||
| Coat | scarlet lined scarlet, laced silver with silver buttonholes and silver buttons blue soubreveste lined red, bordered with a silver braid, laced with a double silver braid and decorated in front and rear with a white velvet cross with a yellow velvet fleurs de lys at the end of each branch decorated with silver and yellow flames at the angles.
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | scarlet laced silver (as per Mouillard) | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | scarlet | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
| ||||||||||||
| Horse Furniture |
|
Troopers were armed with a sword, a pistol and a carbine.
Troopers were mounted on black horses.
Officers
Like for all units belonging to the Maison du Roi, the horses of the officers had to be grey.
Musicians
Exceptionally for a mounted unit of the Maison du Roi, the Mousquetaires had drummers and oboeists rather than kettle drummers.
Colours
Since Mousquetaires served mounted and dismounted, each company carried a flag and a standard. The flags were much smaller than the usual infantry flag. The square standards were of the usual size.
Flags and standard had a heavily embroidered white field fringed in gold and silver.
When the unit served mounted, the deployed standard was to the right of the flag which remained rolled, protected by a cover. When the unit served dismounted, the deployed flag was to the right of the standard which remained rolled.
Standards of the 1ère Compagnie de Mousquetaires gris
Obverse: decorated with a central scene depicting a bomb fired from a mortar and falling on a city, the whole surmounted by a scroll carrying the motto “Quo ruit est lethum”
The illustrated standard was in use between 1734 and 1748 but even though he had been redesigned many times, its general appearance had remained quite the same.
Colours of the 1ère Compagnie de Mousquetaires gris
From 1657 to 1775, the colours of the company remained unchanged.
Standards of the 2ème Compagnie de Mousquetaires noirs
Obverse: decorated with a central scene depicting a fasces of 12 red fins tailed javelins pointing downwards fastened with a blue ribbon, the whole surmounted by a scroll carrying the motto “Al terius Jovis altera tela”
Reverse: decorated with a golden royal sun
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. 10-11
Other sources
Funcken, L. and F., Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle
Menguy, Patrice, Les Sujets du Bien Aimé
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
Acknowledgements
Gilbert Noury for the information on the colours and standards
