BACKGROUND
The Regiment de Westphalie [1] was raised on 11 December 1806, with battalion recruiting areas designated as Munster, Minden, Brunswick and the area of Fulda and Erfurt. However, like so many foreign units raised for French service, recruitment was
difficult. The regiment was plagued by desertion, evidenced by correspondence dated 4 May 1807 which also complained about the assortment of uniforms and equipment issued to the unit,
which originated from Prussian, Hessian and Saxon stores. Originally established at 3600 men strong, recruiting was such that by September 1807 the regiment consisted of only 1158 men.
The first battalion was posted to Spain, to the 1st Division of
Moncey's III Corps. Originally at a strength of 1078 men, by
March 1808 it had been reduced, by action disease and
desertion, to 690 men. The regiment was subsequently
disbanded, the first battalion being re-named Bataillon de
Westphalie on 3 January 1809. This battalion was very short-lived. In September 1809 it too was disbanded and the remaining personnel incorporated into the Legion Hanovrienne.
Originally established at a strength of four battalions this was
reduced to a two battalion establishment in October 1807 as a
result of desertion and poor recruiting. In the event, as has been
seen, even this proved difficult and it was only possible to raise
one service battalion. This battalion consisted of six companies
of chasseurs of 150 men each. No elite or specialist sub-units are mentioned.
The style of uniform was decided in November 1807 and
followed that of the French light infantry. The colour of the short-tailed habit, however, was white with Swedish cuffs and green
fringed epaulettes. The distinctive was red. The lapels and
vertical pockets in the tails were piped in red, the collar and cuffs
piped in white. Yellow hunting horns decorated the red turnbacks.
The shako had yellow metal fittings; Rigo shows an eagle-shaped front plate whilst Blondieau describes a regulation plate, that is to say lozenge-shaped embossed with an eagle without
legend or number. A green plume with a white tip was worn over a lightblue pompon. [2] The tops of the black gaiters were 'heart'-shaped decorated with green trim and tassels. Equipment was French.
A request for an eagle was made on 2 June 1807 but was
refused by Napoleon in the contemptuous fashion he frequently
reserved for foreign units, especially German ones, in French
service. After some correspondence, however, it was agreed to
present four drapeaux, one to each battalion. By this time,
however, for the reasons described, the establishment had been
reduced to two battalions.
On 6 January 1808, the first battalion received a single drapeau which it took with it to Spain. [3] The
drapeaux were fixed to a black staff finished with a gilt spear
point. They had blank corner wreaths and conformed to the
design of the modele 1804 type Challiot in every respect
except one. Instead of measuring 80cm square, they were
approximately twice the size at 164cm square. The wording on
the drapeau carried in Spain was as follows.
Obverse:
L'EMPEREUR DES FRANCAIS, AU REGIMENT DE WESTPHALIE
Reverse: VALEUR ET DISCIPLINE 1.er. BATAILLON
[1] Rigondaud, A ('Rigo'i. Le Plumet, planche 65. Paris, n.d. (based on primary sources in the Archives de Service Historique de l'armee de
Terre and private collections).
The Units:
ORGANIZATION
UNIFORMS
DRAPUEAUX
Notes:
Blondioau, C. Aigles et Shakos du Premier Empire. Paris, 1810. p27.
Charric, P Drapeaux et Etendards de la Revolution et de l'Empire Paris, 1982. pp171 and 208-209.
Ruttorf, M. Bersicht ber die Fahnen und Standarten der Westlischen Armee unter Konig Jerome Bonaparte 1808-1813. Meckenheim, 1993. p16 and Taffel XI.
[2] It is possible that this is a company coloured pompom. Rigo, however, makes no mention of such a system for this regiment.
[2] The drapeau of the third battalion, presumably never presensed (it is in pristine condition), is displayed (1991) in the Schloss museum at Bad
Wildungen together with a significant collection of other Westphalian uniforms and artefacts. A museum well worth visiting if in the Kassel area.
Regiment de Westphalie
Legion Hanovrienne
Legion du Midi
Garde de Paris
Rheinbund Inf. Regt. 19
Large Colour Uniform Illustration (123K)
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