In 1679, Louis XIV, the Sun King, decided that every company of cavalry would include two men equipped with a rifle known as a carabine (not the same as the English word "carbine"). In 1691, the carabiniers were withdrawn from the cavalry companies and formed into a senior elite company within each cavalry regiment.

At right, 1810-15 cuirass from collection of Shephard Paine. The pot-bellied armor was iron with a covering of sheet brass riveted to it. Note the chains on the shoulder straps--only carabinier armor used these during the First Empire.

After the battle of Neerwinden (29 July, 1693), where all the carabinier companies were brigaded together and executed the decisive charge that penetrated the Dutch-Allied position, the King decided to make this arrangement permanent. 100 companies of carabiniers were stripped from the cavalry regiments and formed into five brigades of 20 companies each.

The King appointed its officers, drawn from the poorer nobility as a means to insure their loyalty. Carabinier troopers were recruited from other cavalry regiments, had to stand five feet seven inches, be between 25 and 40 years old, and have two years of service with at least three years of service remaining.

After the Treaty of Ryswick in late 1697, 60 companies were disbanded, with the remaining 40 distributed among five brigades of eight companies each. Although the carabiniers were designated as "Royal", they ranked 18th in seniority. In 1758, the Royal-Carabiniers were given to the Prince of Provence, which placed them 22nd in rank, a position they held until the onset of the Revolution.

In 1763, after the Seven Years War, the carabiniers were reduced to 30 companies. At that time, the exalted reputation of the carabiniers' horsemanship and maneuvering skills led to the requirement that other cavalry regiments send horsemen to the carabiniers for instruction. This became the origins of the famous French cavalry school of Saumur, begun in 1768 by the carabiniers.

After the coronation of Louis XVI in 1779, the units became known as the Carabiniers de Monsieur (Carabiniers of the King's Brother). In 1788, the brigades became known as regiments. Not until 1791 did the "Grenadiers of the Cavalry" become the 1st and 2nd Carabinier regiments, and were regarded as the senior regiments of the French cavalry.

[adapted from Jean Lochet's book in progress on the French cavalry]

More Carabiniers

Carabiniers Section 1: 1679-1791
Carabiniers Section 2: 1792-1811
Carabiniers Section 3: 1812 and After
Carabiniers Uniforms 1801-09, 1810-15
Carabiniers Uniform Colors 1788-1815 (slow: 114K)
Carabiniers Postings: 1792-1815
Issue Cover: Carabiniers at Borodino (very slow: 224K)


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