I have taken the liberty of enclosing my notes on this subject, although unfortunately, they are somewhat meagre and represent the sum total of my research to date [Jan 1993]. These notes cover foreign corps in British service, locally-raised colonial or provincial corps and militia, but not British Regiments of the Line which are already well documented. My conclusions are tentative and must be treated with extreme caution, I have not had any access to primary sources and have therefore been entirely reliant upon scraps of information gleaned from various published books on the subject. The facts so obtained have often proved to be confusing and contradictory. I hope these notes may be of some. use to you and will provide a basis for further research. Let us pray that some other member will write in with additional information that will enable us to amplify and correct the details. To augment the skeleton ranks of the expeditionary force the British Government resorted to different expedients. Foreign Corps in British service were shipped out to the colony. The remnants of an Irish regiment in French service which surrendered at Mole Saint Nicolas was taken into British pay. Local colonial or provincial corps and militia were recruited from whites and mulattoes (and presumably free blacks) in districts not under the control of the rebel army. However, the most radical and best measure was the formation of special black corps called either "Les Corps Negres" or "Les Corps des Chasseurs Noires" recruited from plantation slaves commanded by white or mulatto officers. The rank and file were enlisted for a period of five years with the promise of manumission at the end of their service. They received British pay and rations, a measure which proved very popular. The first chasseur corps were formed in the Artibonite and Cul de Sac districts in the summer of 1794. A levy of one slave in every fifteen was made in July 1795 to flesh-out the chasseur corps, a measure which had an adverse effect upon the plantation economy. Local corps were officered by a mixture of Britons, French emigres, French colonists, foreign adventurers and even a few free coloureds. Most units were grossly over-officered and gravely under-manned. Many officers simultaneously held commissions in different corps. one actually held five separate commissions! Nepotism and peculation went unchecked. The local corps were devisively known as "Les Royal - Gourdons" after the local monetary unit. Many commanding officers ran a neat little racket of enlisting both their own and neighbours slaves, pocketed their pay and allowances, and then sent them home to work on their plantations instead of carrying out their proper military duties. By the end of 1796 there were 40 local corps (including militia) in existence totalling some 1,800 officers and NCO's plus 9,600 rank and file. In 1797 there were some 5,000 whites (including foreigners) , 5,800 blacks and 4,000 militia Horrified by the cost and abuses of these units, General Simcoe ordered a thorough reorganisation of the local forces in May 1797, which reduced them to some 14 units. Having suffered appalling losses while making little impression upon the rebel armies the British finally decided to cut their losses and leave the island. General Maitland reached an agreement with Toussaint L'Ouvreture whereby the British would withdraw on the condition that the rebe2s respected the lives and property of those royalists who chose to remain. In the event most royalists wisely accompanied the British evacuation to Jamaica, the mulatto and black other ranks were largely absorbed into the rebel armies. Little information exists regarding the local corps in Saint Domingue and what does is often both contradictory and confusing, in many cases, only the name of the unit is known, and even then one is left with a nagging doubt that this may be duplicated. All local corps were disbanded by the time of the British evacuation in October 1798. British Units in Saint Domingue: Regiments of Foot: 1st. l3th. 16th. l7th. 20th. 22nd. 23rd. 32nd. 35th. 39th. 40th. 41st. 49th. 56th. 60th. 62nd. 66th. 67th. 69th. 81st. 82nd. 83rd. 93rd. 96th. 99th. 130th. Regiments of Light Dragoons: 13th. 14th. 17th. 18th. 21st. 26th. 29th. Royal Regiments of Artillery Corps of Royal Engineers, and Hospital Corps. West Indian Regiments: Colonel William Keppell's Regiment or Foot was raised in May 1795. It was recruited from the black "Corps des Chasseurs" in Saint Domingue and later completed in Jamaica. In 1798 it became the 3rd W.I.F. and was disbanded in 1870. Colonel Oliver Nicoll's Regiment of Foot was raised in May 1795. It was recruited from black "Corps des chasseurs" in Saint Domingue and later absorbed the disbanded "Corps of Loyal Black Rangers" from Grenada. In 1798 it became the 4th W.I.R. and was disbanded in 1819. Colonel Stephen Howe's Regiment of Foot was raised in May 1795. It was recruited from the black "Corps des Chasseurs" in Saint Domingue and-later completed in Jamaica. in December 1795 it became Colonel Charles Graham's Regiment of Foot, in 1798 the 5th W.I.R., and was disbanded in 1817. Colonel John Lewe's Regiment of Foot was raised in September 1795. It was recruited from the black "Corps des Chasseurs" in Saint Domingue and later completed in Barbados. In December 1796 it became Colonel Alexander Campbell's Regiment of Foot, in 1798 the 7th W.I.R., and was disbanded in 1802. Uniform: Black round hat made of either stiffened leather, or straw, with a black bearskin crest and white plume, Red coat with different coloured facings for each regiment. White waistcoat, white breeches and black short gaiters, or white mosquito trousers. Leather slippers, or bare feet, white. cross belts. 3rd W.I.R.: Red faced yellow. Square ended lace (in pairs) with one large black stripe. Officers had silver lace. 4th W.I.R.: Red faced yellow. Square ended lace (single) with two yellow and one blue stripes. Officers had silver lace. 5th W.I.R.: Red faced dark-green. Square ended plain white lace (single). officers had gold lace. 7th W.I.R.: Red faced yellow. Square ended lace (single) with one brown, one blue, one yellow (or scarlet) stripes. Officers had silver lace. The Hompesch Hussars: Originally formed in 1794 by Charles de Hompesch as a corps of three hussar and five foot "chasseur" companies, it served in the luckless Netherlands campaign. The infantry element was disbanded in 1795 and the hussars were brought to Britain and reformed. The Prince Regent was so impressed by its bearing whilst stationed on the Isle of Wight that he granted it the honour title of "The Prince of Wales's Hompesch Hussars." The regiment was sent out to Saint Domingue in 1796 where it suffered the ultimate indignity for a cavalry unit of having its mounts taken away in order that it might serve on foot as light infantry. By 1798, wasted away by active service and disease, its remnants were drafted into the "York Hussars" (1793-1802). More British Raised Troops Part 1 of British Raised Troops Serving in Saint Domingo Part 2 of British Raised Troops Serving in Saint Domingo Part 3 of British Raised Troops Serving in Saint Domingo Back to Table of Contents -- El Dorado Vol VI No. 4 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by The South and Central American Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com