Spotlight on
L'incomparable 9e Leger

Joseph De Barroussel (1729-1791)

by Terry Crowdy and Martin Lancaster,
Illustrations by Terri Julians
Photos by kind permission of 9è Légèr and Mëck Hoffmann

The 'father' of the 9è Léger was himself born at Sainte-Livrade in Agenois. Volunteered for the army in 1745 (rgt. de la Molière). Sous-lieutenant (1746) Invalided in 1748 after being shot through the body. Re-enlisted in 1758 with the rank of capitaine, in the volontaires de Flandres where he gained considerable experience fighting in out posts and forward positions of the army. In 1761, his unit was retitled the Légion de Flandres. All seven Légions were dissolved in 1776 and the officers split up. De Barroussel sent three years with Rgt d'Armagnac before finding a slightly more suitable post in the newly formed 2è Chasseurs à Cheval on its formation in 1779. In 1784, de Barroussel was made lieutenant-colonel of the light infantry battalion attached to the 4è Chasseurs à Cheval. With considerable expertise, de Barroussel formed the battalion from scratch, many of his 'boys' going on to become senior officers in the late revolutionary and Empire periods. De Barroussel's death in April 1791, at the age of 62, came just one year short of his battalion going into the field for the first time. De Barrossel was made a Chevalier in 1763.

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