Standards of the Danish 1st Sjaellandske Cavalry Regiment late 17th to early 18th Century

First raised 1670. Divided into 1st and 2nd Sjaellendske Regiments in 1675.

Service:

Served in the Great Northern War; landing at Humlebaek 1700; Scanian Campaign 1709 and 1710; battle of Wismar 1711; battle of Gadebusch and sieges of Stade and Stralsund 1712. Sent to Zealand 1716.

Disbanded 1721.

The motto on the standard means: "Everything Has Its Time" (one of many mottoes carried by the various standards of this regiment).

And this was probably the uniform late 17th to early 18th century:

Flags and Uniform Dutch Infantry Regiment Aylva/Schratenbach/Ockinga/Nassau-Dillenberg Late 17th/Early 18th Century

First raised 1577 One battalion strong

Aylva from 1637-1694 under various commanders named Aylva, then Schratenbach 1694-1706 and then Ockinga 1706-1711. Nassau-Dillenberg 1711-1727

Service history:

1689: Battle of Walcourt
1690: Battle of Fleurus [where it was badly mauled and flags captured]
1692: Battle of Steinkirk
1693: Batle of Neerwinden-Landen

War of the Spanish Succession:

1702: Defence of Hulst; captured as POWs but soon exchanged
1704: In Portugal with the army of the Duke of Schomberg
1708: Battle of Oudenarde
1709: September to October siege and capture of Mons
1710: July to August siege of Béthune
1712: In Flanders

The flags were captured by the French as shown on the plate; the motto on the flags was that of the Aylva family:

And this was probably the uniform in much of the WSS (although there is evidence that they may have had blue uniforms in the 1690s):

And this shows the flags in use with Simon Miller's splendid version of the regiment:

(The unit had not had its final basing at the time the photograph was taken by Simon.)

Two Extra Generic Austrian Cuirassier Standards For Regiments Without Known Standards - Useful for WSS to SYW and also late 17th century, probably

To complete the set and add to the variety possible I offer two extra generic Austrian cuirassier standards, in yellow and green.

Generic Austrian Cuirassier Standards For Regiments Without Known Standards - Useful for WSS to SYW and also late 17th century, probably

As a favour I put together a sheet of generic Austrian cuirassier standards, based on work I did many years ago, for those relatively many regiments whose standards we do not know. They should be useful for much of the 18th century, at least the WSS to the SYW and probably the late 17th century. So here they are:

Standards of the Danish 5th Jyske Cavalry Regiment late 17th to early 18th Century

Strength 8 staff officers and 6 companies in 2 squadrons with a total strength of 440 officers and men.

In the service of Great Britain and Holland 1701-1714

These standards carry the cipher of King Christian V, who ruled Denmark 1670-1699. It is known that standards with his cipher were carried well into the reign of his successor Frederick IV. The cloth is damask.

And this was probably the uniform in the WSS:

Standards of the Spanish Carabineros Reales in the Seven Years War

This is the last set of Spanish cavalry standards recreated by me earlier this year for Lewis Simpson-Jones.

Carabineros Reales first raised 1732 from the carabinier units of various line cavalry regiments. It had precedence over  all cavalry units except for the Reales Guardias de Corpas. Consisted of 4 squadrons each of 3 companies.

Service:

1733-1735: War of the Polish Succession; in Italy and fought at the battle of Bitonto 1734

1740-1748: War of the Austrian Succession: In Italy; 1743 battle of Campo Santo; August 1745 the forcing of the passage of the Tanaro River

SYW: No information

[Details from Kronoskaf]

And this was the uniform in 1737; by the SYW it was little different:

[From NYPL: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-99a8-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 ]

Guidons and uniform of Spanish Reina Dragoons in the Seven Years War

This is the third set of Spanish cavalry flags commissioned by Lewis Simpson-Jones this summer. As I explained previously, I recreated the cavalry standards and guidons from verbal descriptions in a Spanish source, along with some rather poor 18th century images.

First raised 1735 as Real de las Reina Dragones. 12 companies strong.

Service:

1742: To Italy
1743: Battle of Campo Santo
1745: Sieges and capture of Seravalle and Tortona; occupation of Piacenza and Parma; capture of Pavia; battle of Bassignano; siege and capture of Alessandria; attack on Cassale di Monferrato
1746: Attack on Codogno; battle of Piacenza; battle of Rottofreddo; occupation of Oneglia, Nice and Exiles
1748: Back to Spain

Seven Years War:

1757: Stationed at Rivera
1758: To Merida then Andalucia
1760: To Jeréz de la Frontera
1762: On the way to the planned invasion of Portugal; by April at Ciudad Rodrigo where a total of 10,000 troops had assembled. By June the whole regiment was at Gallegos. August at the siege of Almeida, which capitulated 25th August. September invaded Portugal and at the capture of Salvatierra 9th September. October 1st at an encounter with the enemy at Sarcedas. October 26th at the siege of Elvas and Campo Mayor. November at Montijo at end of hostilities.

And this was probably the uniform in the Seven Years War:

Flag of the Danish Grenadier Corps from 1709

This unit was created 1701 from the grenadier companies of the Livgarden, Dronningens, Prins Georg, Prins Christians, Sjaellandske, Jydske, Oldenborgske, Schwärtzels and Mörners regiments.

Served in Scania and North Germany 1709-1715

 

And this was probably the uniform 1708-1709:

The Great Northern War 1700-1721, Volume II by Höglund et al, tells us that in 1709 "the regimental commander requested a pair of colours. Their appearance, however, is unknown". But Sapherson in his volume on the Danish Army 1699-1715 does give us this design.

My feeling is that every unit on the wargames table, if possible, should have flags and this is especially so when we know that a unit did carry flags but we do not know the actual design. I apologise if this is heresy to some! ;-)

Guidons and uniform of Spanish Sagunto Dragoons in the Seven Years War

This is the second set of cavalry flags commissioned by Lewis Simpson-Jones this summer. As I explained previously, I recreated the cavalry standards and guidons from verbal descriptions in a Spanish source, along with some rather poor 18th century images.

Sagunto Dragoons, then called Camprodon Dragoons, first raised 1703; 500 strong, in 5 squadrons each of 2 companies.

The guidons date from about 1750.

Service:

1703: Blockade of Arronches; sieges of Portalegre and Castelo de Vide
1705: Siege of Gibraltar (failed); occupation of Alcañiz and the castle of Morella
1706: Attack on Villareal; failed defence of Murviedro
1707: Siege and capture of Egea; attack on insurgents at Sábada; relief of Verdun and Borja
1709: Attack on allied camp defending the bridge of Montañana
1710: To Catalonia; battle of Saragossa; combat of Villaviciosa
1711: In the mountains of Aragon and Catalonia; capture of Castle of Arenys and Benasque; failed siege of Cardona
1712: Relief of Arenys
1713: Campaign against the Catalan insurgents
1714: Siege and capture of Barcelona

1715: Now 12 companies of 30 men each

1718: Renamed Sagunto

1720: Coast of North Africa; relief of Ceuta
1721: Back to Spain

1732: Reconquest of Oran, North Africa

1741: To Italy
1743: Passage of the Tanaro and battle of Campo Santo
1745: Siege and capture of Tortona; storm of Piacenza; capture of Parma and Pavia; battle of Bassignano
1746: Battle of Piacenza; battle of Rottofreddo
1747: Retreat to Provence and Languedoc
1748: Return to Catalonia

Seven Years War:

1762: With the Army of Castile for the Invasion of Portugal. Allocated to the Reserve of the army gathered at Zamora. In May the Reserve crossed the Portuguese border and marched on Brandilanes. July 8th it retired to Ciudad Rodrigo. October to cantonments at Malpartida.

(Text summarised from Kronoskaf SYW entry.)

And this was the uniform in the mid-18th century:

Standard and uniform of Spanish Caballeria Reina in the Seven Years War

Here is the first high resolution Spanish cavalry standard, as mentioned in my previous post, from this summer's Spanish cavalry standard commission. Lewis Simpson-Jones commissioned some Spanish infantry flags and four cavalry standards and guidons. We agreed that I'd charge less and he'd be happy for me to post the flag sheets on my blog sooner rather than later! As I explained, I recreated the cavalry standards from verbal descriptions in a Spanish source, along with some rather poor 18th century images. The results at least look pretty good, I think!

The cavalry regiment Caballeria Reina was raised 1703 from a former Guardia Real de Caballeria but then split into two regiments, Reina and Real Asturias, in April that year.

Consisted of 12 companies in 3 squadrons.

The standards are unusual in looking more like dragoon guidons than the usual square  cavalry standard.

Service:

1704: Campaign in Portugal; taking of Salvatierra; combat of Monsanto
1705: Relief of Monsanto and of Badajoz
1706: Combat of Brozas; campaign of Atienza
1707: Battle of Almansa; capture of Valencia; combat of San Mateo; capture of Ulldecona; conquest of Lérida
1708: Siege of Tortosa
1710: Battles of Almenar, Saragossa and Villaviciosa
1711: Into Catalonia and became part of the garrison of Lerida; capture of enemy convoy
1712; In Catalonia and Lérida
1713: Fought the Catalan insurgents (or patriots, depending on your point of view); blockade of Barcelona
1714: Blockade, siege and capture of Barcelona
1715: After the end of the war remained in Catalonia

1719: To Navarra; campaign against France

1732: Reconquest of Oran

1742: To Italy; combats of Bocheta and Ottagio
1743: Battle of Campo Santo
1745: Siege of Tortona; battle of Bassignano; blockade and siege of Alessandria; occupation of Milan
1746: Battle of Piacenza; battle of Rottofreddo
1747: Returned to Spain; stationed in Catalonia again

In the Seven Years War:

1758: To Burgos
1762: To the Gibraltar front
1763: The same

And this was probably the uniform in the SYW:

Preview of 18th Century Spanish Cavalry and Dragoon Standards Recreated By Me

As part of a commission this summer I recreated the standards of several Spanish dragoon and cavalry regiments, on the understanding that the commission would allow me to post the flags on my blog sooner rather than later. These standards were recreated by me from verbal descriptions in Spanish and from rather difficult to interpret poor images from an 18th century Spanish manuscript. So, I cannot promise that they are absolutely accurate but I think the versions I have produced go some way towards appearing like the actual flags and also do look rather attractive, though I say so myself. This sheet is a preview of the standards as I still need to spend some time to create the text and uniform plates for them. Even compressed into a relatively low-resolution JPEG the detail still shows rather well.

Flag and uniform of Danish Fynske Infantry Regiment in the War of the Spanish Succession

3 battalions strong, with 18 companies of musketeers and 1
of grenadiers.

From 1689 to 1697 one battalion of six companies was in English pay and service.

From 1701 to 1714 one battalion (of seven companies including one grenadier company) was in Dutch pay.

Service in the WSS:

The first battalion in Dutch pay:

1702: Siege and capture of Liège
1704: With he army of Eugène of Savoy; 13th August at Blenheim; sieges of Trarbach and Saarburg
1706: With Marlborough's army; battle of Ramillies; sieges of Antwerp, Ostend, Menin, Ath, Dendermonde and Oudenarde
1709: Siege of Tournai; 1th September battle of Malplaquet
1714: Returned to Denmark

The other two battalions apparently served in the Great Northern War (1700-1721) from 1710 and fought in the battle of Helsingborg

And this was probably the uniform during much of the WSS:

Flag and uniform of Danish Prins Christian Infantry Regiment in the War of the Spanish Succession

First raised 1657. From 1676-1699 this was Prins Frederik's Regiment and renamed Kronprinsens in 1703.

The stylish black flag is strikingly different from so many of the white Danish flags!

3 battalions strong, with 18 musketeer companies and 1 grenadier.

One battalion served in Ireland in 1690. One was in Imperial service 1702-1709, with 6 companies of musketeers and 1 grenadier company - theoretical strength 803 men.

In 1701 the battalion which had been sent to Saxony was taken into Austrian pay. It joined the Austrian offensive into Northern Italy in 1702 and was at the battle of Luzzara on 15th August.

And this was probably the uniform in the WSS:

Flag and uniform of Danish Jyske Infantry Regiment in the War of the Spanish Succession

First raised 1675. One battalion in British pay 1689-1697.

Company flag of the regiment.

There is no known Colonel's flag.

By the WSS the regiment consisted of 3 battalions with 6 musketeer companies each and one grenadier company.

One battalion was in Austrian pay 1701-1709 and consisted of 6 musketeer companies and one grenadier company. In 1702-1702 this battalion was involved in the invasion of Northern Italy and on 15th August 1702 fought at the battle of Luzzara.

And this was probably the uniform in the WSS:

Flags of French Volontaires de Flandres probably 1749-1762

Created 1749 from amalgamating regiments Arquebusiers de Grassin Fusiliers de la Morliere and the Volontaires Bretons. Composed of three brigades of 4 companies each, 2 of infantry of 40 men and 2 of cavalry of 20 men each, not including officers.

Divided into 2 regiments in 1757, the Volontaires de Flandres and Volontaires du Haynault, consisting of 6 companies each; the company was of 70 men, 40 infantry and 30 cavalry. By Ordonnance of 25th February 1758 each of the two regiments was increased to 600 men by adding 2 new companies and 5 mounted men to each of the 6 companies. Total was therefore 8 companies of 75 men each, 40 foot and 35 cavalry.

In 1762 the regiment was amalgamated with the Volontaires du Dauphiné and renamed the Légion de Flandre, which was disbanded in 1776.

The flags are variously described but I know of no contemporary depiction. Charrié says at the centre was a lion in natural colours from 1749-1762. But the lion of Flanders in heraldry was anciently depicted as a black rampant lion. I have therefore created 2 versions, one as described by Charrié (Variant 1) and one with the traditional heraldic Flanders lion (Variant 2).

Service (mostly from Kronoskaf as I have no independent history):

1757: Army of the Lower Rhine; July 26th battle of Hastenbeck with the vanguard which attacked the left flank of the Hanoverians in the woods

1758: In Clermont's Army; at the battle of Krefeld June 23rd then with the Army of the Lower Rhine under Contades and with Chevert's Corps which turned the allied left flank at the battle of Lutterberg October 10th

1759: Various advanced corps actions including being forced to retire into woods near Fritzlar by the advance of an allied corps on the 17th August

1760: Similar advance corps activity and then at the battle of Korbach as part of Saint Germain's detachment on July 10th, reaching the battlefield only after a forced march. From November 17th part of the garrison of Göttingen.

1761: 25th March mounted troops of the regiment along with those of other Volontaire units and the Orléans Dragoons under M. de Montchenu drove the allies out of the village of Mengsberg and then successfully attacked the allied rearguard.

1761: Part of the corps of Prince Xavier which was attacked by Luckner on July 13th and the French corps lost 150 prisoners. On August 15th as part of Caraman's Corps, and along with Nicolai Dragoons and Chamborant Hussars, it was part of  a successful attack near Dringenberg on allied troops, taking 2 officers and 60 men prisoners. The Corps was attacked on August 18th by allied forces under the Hereditary Prince but retired in good order having lost 30 men and having taken about 30 prisoners.

1762: Army of the Upper Rhine under Soubise; June 24th battle of Wilhelmstahl. July 10th involved in an attack on allied troops at Uslar and took over 500 prisoners in the woods nearby. Eventually they were forced to retreat by the arrival of Luckner's Corps.

And this was the infantry uniform in the SYW:

Flags of French regiments disbanded 1749: Flags of French Infantry Regiment Auxerrois 1692-1749

First raised 1692. One battalion strong. Named after the province.

This is one of my favourite French flag designs, which was unique to this regiment and was not seen again in the French army after the regiment was absorbed into the Regiment de Flandre in 1749. Flags of this pattern were carried for the whole existence of the regiment 1692-1749.

Service (from Susane):

On the coasts and in Germany to the Peace of Ryswick 1697
1702: Army of Germany
1703: Sieges of Brisach and Landau; combat of Speyerbach
1704: Army of Bavaria; battle of Hochstedt (Blenheim)
1705-1708: Army of the Rhine
1708: To Flanders; Scottish Expedition
To 1712: Manning the Lines of the Lauter
1713: Sieges of Landau and Fribourg

Given to many different proprietors to 1745 when given to Louis-Joseph de Saint-Véran, Marquis de Montcalm

1744: Army of the Alps; passage of the Alps by the valley of Spino; conquest of Piedmont
1745: Combat of Rivarrone
1746: Battles of Plaisance and Tidone
1747: Camp of Briançon; combat of the Assietta; camp of Tournoux
1747-8: Campaigning in Nice

Absorbed into the Regiment de Flandre 10th February 1749; the grenadiers went to the Grenadiers de France.

And this was the uniform in the 1740s:

Further Generic Standards For French Cavalry With No Known Emblems - Aurore and Ponceau Red

I was looking through the list of French cavalry regiments which served at Warburg 1760 and in the list are two with no known emblems but whose colours are a bit unusual - so Descars Cavalry had standards with aurore as the base colour and Espinchal Cavalry had ponceau red as their base colour. I thought I'd better add them to my list of generic standards so here they are, each in the two different styles I previously posted:

and:

Flags of French Volontaires du Dauphiné probably 1749-1762

Created by the Ordonnance of 30th December 1748 from amalgamation of the following units:

Volontaires de Gante's 1746
Company Chasseurs de Sabattier 1747
Chasseurs de Colonne 1747
Volontaires de Lancize 1747

At the beginning of the SYW the unit consisted of only 120 men in 6 companies of 20 men each, five of infantrymen and one of dragoons.

In 1758 the unit was increased to 456 men, with 6 companies each of 40 men and 30 dragoons plus 6 officers. In April that year an additional company was added. By 1759 the unit was 1006 strong, consisting of 1 grenadier company, 8 fusilier companies and 8 dragoon companies.

The flags are problematic. Modern authorities e.g. Charrié describe the infantry Ordonnance flag with a single dolphin at the centre of the white cross and the light blue flames in the corners, as in my flag set one at the top. But the 1759 État Militaire (which generally does not describe the flags, if any, of light units) does give a description of both the infantry flags and the dragoon guidon as seen below:

 

I have recreated two possible versions of the infantry flag according to that description; no doubt others are possible!

And this was the dragoon guidon:

 

Notable service in the SYW:

1757 In garrison at Grenoble

1759: In Western Germany as part of Beaupréau's Corps. As part of the French offensive the unit was involved in skirmishing between the light troops of both armies. On June 15th they, along with Turpin Hussars and the Volontaires De Château Thierry, were attacked by Hanoverian hussars and jägers. On July 9th they raided the country towards Nienburg. On August 1st they were in the battle of Minden occupying an advanced post at Eichhorst while the dragoons were maintaining communications between two of the army's corps.

1760: Part of the vanguard of Broglie's army. July 10th the battle of Corbach deployed in a wood left of Corbach. The dragoons of the unit along with Beaufremont Dragoons defeated a charge by two squadrons of British dragoon guards, capturing a standard. On August 2nd they were sent with other troops to dislodge the Légion Britannique from some woods which the Légion then abandoned without resistance. Holding Zierenberg along with the Volontaires Étrangers de Clermont Prince, they were attacked by a force of 5 battalions and 150 highlanders and 8 dragoon squadrons of the Allies. In the attack the Warburg gate was taken and the unit lost 231 prisoners. The Allied force then left as quickly as they had come.

1761: The unit was part of Fischer's Light Brigade at the battle of Vellinghausen on the 16th of July.

1762: Attached to the Army of the Lower Rhine, under the Prince de Condé, they were part of a force that captured 100 men and 3 officers of Scheither's Corps, including Scheither himself, on July 4th. They were singled out for praise in this action along with Chapt Dragoons. In August they fought at the battle of Nauheim as part of the vanguard. At the end of the war this was one of the units which was ordered to stay in Germany.

Later in 1762 the unit was absorbed into the Volontaires de Flandres which was renamed the Légion de Flandres.

And the infantry uniform was like this in the SYW (with the dragoons dressed rather similarly):

Flags of the Palatinate in the War of the Spanish Succession: Leibstandarte Venningen Gendarmes and speculative dragoon guidons

The Palatinate Venningen Gendarmes und Karabiniers were first raised in 1695. From 1704 they were in Imperial pay.

The Triomphes Louis XIV records two cavalry standards of this regiment captured in an action at Speyer (or Speyerbach) on the 15th November 1703. This is the Leibstandarte. The two dragoon guidons are speculative but based on written descriptions.

Effectives November 1704: 424 men in 9 companies and 372 horses.

Actions:

1702: Siege of Landau
1703: June to July covering the Stollhofen Lines
1703: 15th November skirmish at Speyerbach [where they lost the two standards recorded in the Triomphes Louis XIV of which the Leibstandarte depicted here was one]
1704: Capture of Altenstadt; Landau siege September to November
1708: Battle of Oudenarde; Raid on La Bassée; siege of Lille
1709: Battle of Malplaquet; siege of Tournay; siege of Mons
1710: Siege of Douai; siege of Bethune
1711: Bouchain raid

And this was probably the uniform in 1707:

Flags of Austrian Infantry Regiment Alt-Starhemberg in the War of the Spanish Succession (and probably before)

Reputedly the oldest regiment in the Austrian army, Alt-Starhemberg was probably first raised in 1642. There is a great deal of detail on the 17th century history of the regiment on the Kronoskaf WSS website.

4 battalions strong in the War of the Spanish Succession. The flags show the insignia of Emperor Leopold 1st, who was Emperor from 1658 and died in 1705, so may well have been carried before 1700 as well as in the WSS.

Service in the WSS:

1701: Sent to the Tyrol for the Invasion of Northern Italy. By mid-June 3 battalions of the regiment were with Prince Eugène's army. 9th July Combat of Carpi where the grenadiers distinguished themselves. 1st September the whole regiment fought well at the battle of Chiari.
1702: 15th August battle of Luzzara
1704: Battle of Crescentino
1705-1706: Still on campaign in Italy
1707: Campaign against Toulon
1708-1712: In Piedmont and Savoy
1713: Defence of Freiburg/Breisgau then moved to the Netherlands where it stayed until 1728

And this was the uniform in 1710:

Uniform and flag details from August Kühn and Robert Hall: Materials On The War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714: The Imperial Regiments of Foot 1701-1714 Part 21. Historical details from the Kronoskaf WSS website. Note that the uniform details on the Kronoskaf site are totally different and no flag details are given.

Flags of French Infantry Regiment Lyonnais 1635-1791

First raised 1616. Two battalions strong and ranked 15th in 1756. These flags were carried from at least 1635 to 1791. As usual, a simple pattern reflects the unit's antiquity. The fancy flags tend to go with the Johnny Come Lately regiments!

The regiment had a long and pretty distinguished history. Full details can most easily be found in the Kronoskaf entry on the regiment (or, if you wish to practice your French, in Volume 4 of Susane's Histoire de l'Ancienne Infanterie Française which can be found here: https://archive.org/download/bub_gb_L1zWAAAAMAAJ/bub_gb_L1zWAAAAMAAJ.pdf. ). Here I shall concentrate on the Seven Years War history - which was not perhaps the most distinguished episode in the long regimental history but the French army in general was going through a bad patch in that period.

My translation of the Susane extract on the regiment in the SYW Volume 4:

The regiment left Valenciennes in the spring of 1756 to go to Rouen. Several months later it was intended to be part of the 24,000 men which the king intended to send to the aid of the Empress Maria Theresa. This plan was abandoned and Lyonnais spent the winter at Strasbourg. In 1757 it was part of the Army of Germany and found itself at the battle of Hastenbeck, at the capture of Hameln, of Minden and of Hanover. After the violation of the Convention of Closterseven it left the camp of Halberstadt to march to Zell and it fought on the 25th December to force a passage over the river Aller. Placed in garrison at Minden, it was attacked before breaking winter quarters and forced to surrender on the 14th March 1758 with its lieutenant colonel M. de Bruslard. M. de Villeroy, its colonel, spent the winter at court.

Exchanged soon after, the regiment left Germany and went to serve on the coasts during the following campaigns. It contributed in 1761 to the defence of Belle-Isle-En-Mer against the British; captains Tarnaud and Durbois were badly wounded there.

Recalled the same year to the Rhine, Lyonnais found itself on the 16th July at the battle of Vellingshausen. It was part of the reserve of the Prince de Condé which protected the retreat of the Marshal de Broglie. On the 23rd July 1762 it was at the combat on the Fulda; Captain Lestrade and a lieutenant were wounded there. On the 9th August the regiment took revenge at Ellemberg for its previous failures and totally routed a Hanoverian Corps which was entrenched on a peninsula of the Fulda.

Following on from the reforms of 10th December 1762 the regiment of Nice, first raised 1678, was incorporated into Lyonnais, which was therefore increased to four battalions. It was then in garrison at Alais and Saint Hippolyte. It moved from there in
May 1763 to Thionville, then Dunkirk in August 1765.

And this was probably the uniform in 1756:

Flags of French Volontaires Étrangers de Clermont-Prince 1758-1766

The complicated history of the creation of this unit of horse and foot can be found on Kronoskaf.

First raised in 1758, the unit was supposed to consist of 1000 infantry and 800 cavalry but in reality rarely rose near that total. Having become the Legion de Condé in 1766, the unit was disbanded in 1776.

During the Seven Years War, in 1759 the Volontaires were attached to Broglie's Corps in Germany and had a fairly checquered career. In 1760 they were part of a corps of Broglie's army which drove the Légion Britannique from woods on the left of Broglie's Corps on 2nd August. They then suffered a fairly dramatic reverse on 5th September that year when, posted with the Volontaires de Dauphiné at Zierenberg, they were attacked overnight by an allied force and the colonel M. de Comeiras, his entire staff and 161 privates were all captured.

In 1761 on 21st March they were at the Engagement of Grünberg then, on the 25th along with other French units, drove the allies out of the village of Mengsberg, before pursuing the allied rearguard. On June 22nd they were part of an assemblage of French units that stormed Lünen, taking 300 prisoners. On July 16th the unit was at the battle of Vellinghausen. In September,along with the Volontaires de Soubise, they burned several magazines in the County of Dinklage and a large magazine at Osnabrück.

In 1762 the unit was initially part of a detachment posted near Wesel then was attached to the Army of the Lower Rhine under the Prince de Condé. On June 21st a successful attack was made on the allied Scheither Corps at Schermbeck, who were driven back and lost 50 men captured.

The Volontaires were amongst the units chosen to stay in Germany until the final evacuation by French troops.

The uniform, like the flag, was in the livery of the House of Bourbon-Condé, chamois with red. The infantry uniform was something like this (taken from the NYPL: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-3ec7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 ):

Flags of Two Franconian Circle Infantry Regiments in the War of the Spanish Succession

As with the previous Swabian Circle Infantry Regiment flags I posted,  I have absolutely no information on the operational use of these troops in the War of the Spanish Succession and the little uniform information I have seems fairly confusing, so all I can offer here is this sheet of flags; they are attractive flags, anyway!

 

The Brandenburg Onolzbach battalion flag was captured by the French at Friedlingen in 1702, which is why we know its design. Oddly I cannot find it in the Triomphes Louis XIV MS which I have (as a PDF from a French official source), despite that MS recording some flags captured at Friedlingen. I suspect there may be two different versions of the Triomphes as I have seen for sale a version online that appears to have different flags. As so often in this subject, there are frequently more questions than answers!

Flags of Swabian Circle Infantry Regiments Baden-Durlach and Baden-Baden in the War of the Spanish Succession

I have absolutely no information on the operational use of these troops in the War of the Spanish Succession and the uniform information seems fairly confusing, so all I can offer here is this sheet of flags; they are attractive flags, anyway!

Three Austrian Cuirassiers' Standards of the Late 17th/Early 18th Century

Two of the three are of unknown regiments. The bottom standard is that of Taafe's Cuirassiers and a summary of its history is given below. (Information mostly from Kronoskaf WSS website.)

Austrian Taafe Cuirassiers:

First raised 1636.

Proprietors: From 1677 FML Franz Taafe, Mylord of Carlingford; from 1704 G.d.C. Philipp Count Leiningen-Westerburg; from 1705 Colonel Franz Thomas Count Reising; from 1706 Colonel Johann Adam von Pfefferkornrom; from 1707 until 1740: Colonel Johann Count Browne de Hautois

Notable service:

1636; Blockade of Hanau
1642: Battle of Leipzig
1645: Action at Jankau
1655: Campaigning against the Turks in Hungary
1664: Battle of St Gotthard
1683: Relief of Vienna

Service in the War of the Spanish Succession

1702: Siege of Landau
1704: 13th August Battle of Blenheim
1705: In Hungary; battles of Budmeritz and Schibo
1706-1709: In Hungary and Transylvania

And the uniform in the WSS was probably something like this: