ALL THE KING'S MEN
French Infantry Colors of the Seven Years War
circa 1760
Images Added March 2005
Regiments Limousin, Hainaut & Chartres
Notes
The colors carried by French infantry regiments during the Seven Years War were not greatly different from those used in the War of the Spanish Succession. Each regiment had a Colonel's Color and a number of drapeaux d'ordonnance. The former was usually a white flag with a white cross sewn onto it, while the latter displayed a white cross with different combinations of colors in the quarters. Some regiments, especially if they bore royal or princely titles, were entitled to display badges on their colors as illustrated above.
There were two battalions of Gardes Françoise, each with its own colors. The corps of Grenadiers Royaux and Grenadiers de France, each some eight battalions strong, were formed about 1750 from the grenadier companies retained in service when their parent regiments were disbanded after the War of the Austrian Succession. All battalions of each corps used the same style of drapeau d'ordonnance, but they were apparently not authorized to bear a Colonel's Color.
See also The French Army in Quebec.
Note on the Illustrations: For each regiment, the Colonel's Color is shown on the left and the drapeau d'ordonnance is shown on the right. The two grenadier corps had no Colonel's Color.
Gardes Françoise
(French Foot Guards)
Left: Régiment du Roi Régiment
Dauphin
Left: Régiment
de
La Couronne
Right: Régiment
Limousin
Left: Régiment Bretagne
Right: Régiment Lorraine
Régiment
de La Fere
Left: Régiment
Hainaut
Right: Régiment
Chartres
Left: Régiment d'Eu
Right: Régiment de La Marche
. .
. . . . . . . . .
Left: Corps des Grenadiers Royaux Right: Corps des Grenadiers de France
