The French in North America

1778-1781

Organization and Uniforms

by Mark Hume

Organisation

The ordinance of 1776 introduced the reorganisation of the French army. The standard adopted by this reorganisation was the 2-battalion regiment. This led to an increase in the number of regiments as 4 battalion regiments were split up.

Each battalion, on paper, was to consist of 4 companies of fusiliers, 1 company of grenadiers and 1 company of chasseurs. The strength of the battalion was to be 1000 men. However, this figure was rarely reached and during the war in America the average was closer to 500 men per battalion.

Also employed were the 'Legions Volontaire etrangers de la Marine'. These volunteer units mainly consisted of Germans. The 'Legions' were raised for foreign service only and consisted of both cavalry and infantry. The strength of each 'Legion' was to be 600 men. The most famous was Lauzun's Legion, which contained in its cavalry a company of lancers. Lauzun's Legion was incorporated into the French regular army as Lauzun's Regiment (Hussars) on its return to France in 1883.

Uniforms

I made a bold attempt to research this army and its activities without reference to the appropriate 'Osprey' book.

Grenadier, Touraine Regiment: after illustration by Malcolm McGregor, Blandford's "Uniforms of the American Revolution"

It is an interesting task and for most part I have succeeded, particularly in relationship to major units and their activities. However, the difficulty comes when trying to research a minor unit, such as a small unit of foreign volunteers or even the French marines. If you are one of those who is not fussed on research the 'Osprey' books are a great investment. In the end I did purchase the 'Osprey' to fill in the gaps.

With French uniforms there is the opportunity to have some fun and to use some historical licence. The French government issued a series of ordinances in 1775, 1776 and 1779. In each ordinance there were changes to regimental numbers, uniform design and facing colours. For example, the Regiment Bourbonnais in the 1776 ordinance was numbered as the 15th while in 1779 they were numbered the 13th. The Regiment Touraine kept the same number (34th) but changed their facing colours in each of the three ordinances.

So, if a regiment such as the Gatinois was sent to the West Indies in 1775 what uniform did they wear when they participated in the siege at Yorktown in 1781? Had the French government bothered to send out the new uniforms? To complicate matters even further, regiments sent directly from France in 1780 did not all wear the same uniforms. The Regiment Saintonge were partially dressed in the 1776 uniform and partly in the 1779 uniform. Grenadier caps abolished by the 1775 ordinance were still being worn by the Regiment Soissonais in 1781. All this is great cover for when that uniform 'expert ' questions your armies' outfits.

My approach to this dilemma is if they sailed from France 1776, paint them in the 1775 uniform. This would cater for delays in supplying troops with the new uniform before they departed. Those that sailed in the expeditionary force of 1780 get the 1779 uniform.

The French army in North America does make a very colourful project. German regiments such as the Royal Deux-Pont, wore a dark sky blue uniform with yellow facings, the Irish regiments, such as the Dillon, wore red. The French were in white with a rainbow of facings colours of red, blue, green and violet and black. Marines and artillery wore dark blue with red facings.

Wargaming

The French armies in America are small enough to build completely. For example Rochambeau's expeditionary force would consist of 8 battalions of regular infantry plus Lausan's Legion and artillery. There is also the option of combining French and Americans together. This option becomes very attractive if the French figures are not readily available. One thing against this army is that hussars of the 'Legions' should be classed as irregulars. Under the WRG point system this would make them 48 points per figure; the hussars of Lauzun's Legion would then cost 348 points for 8 figures! As there are no added bonuses in the rules for using them, the only reason I can see for WRG giving them such a high value is to prevent over-use. Personally, the option I would use is give them the same point value as normal irregular cavalry but impose a limitation of one or two 8-figure units per army depending on the size of the army. This may encourage the use of War of Independence armies in competitions.

The French also employed independent units detached from their parent regiments. These detachments regularly served in the place of Marines aboard ships of the French navy. As the navy played a vital role in the operations of the army these detachments, along with their Marine counterparts, were also deployed on land. For a wargame scenario (or competition army) these units could be used in the form of composite battalions or as small independent detachments of 2 to 6 figures under the direct control of the C in C.

Sources

Many books that have been published on the subject of the American War of Independence concentrate on American military involvement, totally ignoring the role of the French. If the French are mentioned it is usually in relation to the activities of Lafayette. However the involvement of the French both on land and at sea was critical for American success. The one major operation involving the French was at Yorktown. This campaign brought about the surrender of Cornwallis and his army, which virtually ended the war for the British.

Of the sources I have looked at there are three that contain significant details of French involvement. Firstly, 'The Spirit of Seventy-Six' edited by Henry Commanger and Richard Morris. This work basically consists of letters and accounts of participants. The editors have compiled them and written brief descriptions of the events before handing over to the guys that were there. The second book 'The Wind from America' by Claude Manceron is written in the style of a novel, which makes it easy to read. The third book is Barbara W Tuchman's 'The First Salute' which describes the roles of Washington, Cornwallis, Rodney and de Grasse during the war. Researching uniform data is a little easier.

The sources mentioned above do have occasional references to uniforms, but these are sketchy. The best uniform source is 'Uniforms of the Lace Wars' produced by Ward Lock Ltd. This book gives colour guides to the uniform colours of all French regiments. The Osprey book 'The French Army in the American War of Independence' is also a good source of information particularly in relation to minor units. Ian Croxall's 'Warflag' web page has examples of French flags of the War of Independence and the Seven Years War. From previous experience, there is a need to cross check these flags as some can be incorrectly labelled s, or coloured. Ian has acknowledged that he does not create all of the flags and that he cannot always ensure the accuracy of flags created by others. 'Unifor ms of the Lace Wars' is also an excellent source for flags. As with uniforms, flags of all the French regiments are shown.

Conclusion

The title of this article refers to a comment made by the Marquis de Saint Simon to Lafayette at Yorktown. Saint-Simon said that storming the redoubts was a job for 'old soldiers'. He was quite miffed when Lafayette and his 'young' American soldiers captured their redoubt first.

The War of Independence is one of those often-ignored conflicts. However, would young French officers, such as Berthier, achieved so much in later careers if it had not been for the experience gained in America? Perhaps Gneisenau's infamous distrust of the British in 1815 had its roots serving as a staff officer with the British on the American continent. This conflict deserves more attention than what it gets.

It offers small armies that can be built to completion, colourful uniforms and interesting terrain problems not encountered in Europe. OK, so there is probably an over abundance of French armies and cer tainly the majority of rule sets give the French bonuses that make them very attractive, particularly in competitions. But there is always room for another, especially since that gray coated, white-horsed megalomaniac and his evil minions are nowhere in sight.

More American War of Independence

Battle of Lexington Scenario

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