ALL THE KING'S MEN

FRENCH INFANTRY IN THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR

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. Some sources depict the color of the Grenadiers Royaux without the royal arms. 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. Images Added October 2011 Regiments Bresse, Forez & Vastan