Commissaire général Cavalerie
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised on 15 October 1645 from three old compagnies d'ordonnance and three new companies by the Marquis d'Esclainvilliers. It always ranked third among the French line cavalry regiments.
In 1646, the regiment served with the Army of Flanders and took in the siege of Courtrai. In 1647, it participated in the relief of Landrecies, and in the capture of Dixmude, the Knoque, Nieudam, Sluys and Lens; in 1648, in the siege of Ypres and in the Battle of Lens; in 1649, in the siege of Cambrai and in the capture of Condé and Maubeuge; in 1650, in the relief of Guise and in the Battle of Rethel; in 1651, in the relief of Dunkerque and Vervins; in 1652, in the Combat of Étampes and in the Combat of Saint-Antoine In 1653, the regiment campaigned in Bourgogne and Champagne where it was present at the siege of Bellegarde, Rethel, Mouzon and Sainte-Ménehould.
On 25 May 1654, the Marquis d'Esclainvilliers was promoted to commissaire général de la cavalerie and his regiment became known as "Commissaire-Général Cavalerie". The same year, it took part in the siege of Stenay, in the attack of the entrenchments of Arras and in the capture of Le Quesnoy; in 1655, in the sieges of Landrecies, Condé and Saint-Ghislain. In 1656 and 1657, the regiment campaigned in Flanders and Champagne. In 1658, it took part in the Battle of the Dunes and contributed to the capture of Dunkerque, Bergues, Furnes, Oudenarde, Menin and Ypres. In 1659, after Treaty of the Pyrenees, the regiment was severely reduced.
On 5 December 1665, the regiment was re-established. In 1667, it took part in the capture of Bergues, Furnes, Armentières, Courtrai and Oudenarde.
On 4 February 1672, at the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War (1672-78), the regiment was permanently re-established. It numbered six companies. The same year, it took part in the capture of Wesel, Emmerich, Arnheim, Nijmegen and Crèvecoeur; in 1673, in the siege of Maastricht; in 1674, in the conquest of Franche-Comté and in the Combat of Séneffe; in 1675, in the capture of Dinant and Limburg, and in the Combat of Consarbruck; in 1676, in the sieges of Condé and Bouchain, in the capture of the Castle of Bouillon and in the relief of Zweibrücken; in 1677, in the siege of Valenciennes, in the Combat of Cassel, in the relief of Charleroi and in the capture of Saint-Ghislain; and in 1678, in the capture of Ghent and Ypres and in the combats of Rheinfeld and Ortenberg.
In 1684, the regiment was at the siege of Luxembourg.
In 1688, at the outbreak of the Nine Years' War (1688-97), the regiment campaigned in Flanders. From 1689 to 1691, it was posted on the Moselle. In 1693, it returned to Flanders, where it fought in the Battle of Landen and was at the siege of Charleroi. In 1694 and 1695, it campaigned on the Meuse and the Moselle. In 1696, it returned once more to Flanders and in 1697 was transferred to the Meuse.
At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment counted 3 squadrons.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the successive colonels of the regiment were:
- from 2 September 1688: Claude-Louis-Hector Marquis de Villars (promoted to maréchal de France in 1702)
- from 7 July 1703: Joseph-Ignace-Auguste-Mainfroi-Jérôme de Scaglia, Comte de Verrue
- from 17 September 1704 to 26 February 1714: Charles-François de La Baume Le Blanc, Duc de La Vallière
Service during the War
In 1701, the regiment was sent to Italy. On 1 September, it took part in the Battle of Chiari, where it was deployed in Praslin's Brigade, in the first line of the left wing.
On 15 August 1702, the regiment was at the Battle of Luzzara.
In June and July 1704, the regiment was at the Siege of Vercelli. In August and September, it was at the Siege of Ivrea. From October, it was present at the long Siege of Verrua.
In 1705, the regiment continued the Siege of Verrua until the capture of the place in April.
On 16 August 1705, the regiment was present at the Battle of Cassano.
On 19 April 1706, the regiment fought in the Battle of Calcinato, where it was deployed in Coulange's Brigade in the first line of the left wing. The regiment is also reported to be present at the Battle of Turin and the Battle of Castiglione, but it is very unlikely that he could have been present at both engagements.
In 1707, the regiment campaigned in Savoie and on the Rhine.
In 1708, the regiment was transferred to Flanders and, on 11 July, was present at the Battle of Oudenarde.
On 11 September 1709, the regiment took part in the Battle of Malplaquet.
On 24 July 1712, the regiment was present at the Battle of Denain. In August and September, it was at the recapture of Douai; and in October, at the recapture of Le Quesnoy and at the recapture of Bouchain.
In 1713, the regiment campaigned on the Rhine and was at the siege of Landau.
Uniform
Troopers
| Headgear | black tricorne laced gold | ||||||||||||
| Neck stock | probably a black cravate | ||||||||||||
| Coat | grey white lined grey white with copper buttons
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| Gloves | buff | ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | buff leather jerkin with copper buttons | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | kid (goat leather) | ||||||||||||
| Greatcoat | grey white lined grey white | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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| Horse Furniture |
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Troopers were armed with a carbine, two pistols and a sabre.
Standards
Colonel standard (1 silken standard): blue field sown with golden fleurs de lys
Regimental standards (5 silken standards): red field bordered, embroidered and fringed in gold; centre device consisting of a golden royal sun with the royal motto “Nec Pluribus Impar” in gold
N.B.: the regimental standard is repeatedly described in various French États militaires (1740, 1741, 1753) as carrying une Ecrevisse sur terre on one side. This quite unusual device has conducted us to investigate this particular colour. PMPdeL found that the arms of the Marquis de Bissy, who commanded this unit from March 1736 to April 1748 (after our period of reference), were three crayfishes on a gold field.
References
Funcken, L. and F.: Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle
Susane, Louis: Histoire de la cavalerie française, Vol. 2, J. Hetzel et Cie, Paris, 1874, pp. 24-34
