Chasseurs des Cévennes
The Chasseurs des Cévennes was a light infantry battalion of the French Royal Army which was created just before the French Revolution. The battalion would see light service during the initial stages of the conflict, but the lineage ended after being amalgamated with two volunteer battalions to form a demi-brigade. The battalion's successor, the 84éme Régiment d'Infanterie continued to serve in the modern French Army until 1940 when it was disbanded following the Battle of France.
| Chasseurs des Cévennes 9éme Bataillon de Chassers (Cévennes) | |
|---|---|
 Regimental uniform after formation in 1788. | |
| Active | 1788–1794 |
| Country |   .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Allegiance | King of France French Nation |
| Branch | |
| Type | Chasseurs à Pied |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | Army of the Ardennes |
| Headquarters | Bitche |
Formation
The Chasseurs des Cévennes was formed in and was to recruit exclusively from troops of the Cévennes region of Auvergne. The new battalion was organised around the infantry companies of the Chasseurs à Cheval des Cévennes, and grouped in Bitche where it established its headquarters. The battalion was placed 9th in precedence of the chasseurs, after the Chasseurs des Vosges and before the Chasseurs des Gévaudan.[1][2]
The regiment's first uniform consisted of; black tricone (officers in bicorne), pink collar, dark green turnbacks, dark green jacket, dark green breeches, dark green gaiters, black boots, dark green pockets, dark green pockets, pink cuff flaps, pink cuffs, and white buttons.[1][3][4]
In 1789, the battalion moved to Fort-Louis du Rhin, and from there moved to Longwy in 1790, and in early 1791 to Metz.
Revolution
On 1 April 1791, provisional regulations were announced following the initial stages of the French Revolution, and the regiment renamed as the 9éme Bataillon de Chasseurs (Cévennes), but they continued to be known as their former title until 1792. In addition to the new title, the regiment adopted a new uniform; peak casque, with stiff black horsehair crest and mock leopard skin turban helmet, crimson collar, dark green turnbacks, dark green jacket, dark green breeches, dark green gaiters, black boots, dark green pockets, dark green pockets, pink cuff flaps, pink cuffs, and white buttons.[1][3][4]
On 16 April 1792, the battalion left Metz and joined the Army of La Fayette and on 23 May took part in the Battle of Philippeville, where Lieutenant Colonel Saint-Sauveur was killed. The battalion then took part in the Flanders campaign and garrisoned in Namur.[2]
War of the First Coalition
When General Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez abandoned the army, the battalion was not only accused of helping him, but accused of joining him in support of the royalists. Soon, this accusation became increasingly false as members of the sans-culottes within the battalion voiced their support of the republicans in support of the battalion. The battalion continued to be part of the vanguard of the Army of the Ardennes Armée des Ardennes until it was disbanded.[2]
The years following the Revolution saw great changes for the French Army: the old royalist infantry regiments were to serve as the stiffening for the tens of thousands of new volunteers who answered the patriotic Levée en masse. In the First Amalgamation of 1794, each old royalist battalion was put together with two new volunteers battalions to become new Demi-Brigade de Bataille or Demi-Brigade of Battle. Therefore, on 21 March 1794, the battalion amalgamated with the Chasseurs Battalion of the Aisne and Battalion of Chasseurs of the Seine-et-Marne to form the 9éme Demi-Brigade Légère, thus ending the royalist lineage and traditions.[1][2]
Commanding Officers
Commanding officers of the battalion were:[2]
- 1788–1791 Joseph, Chevalier de Barroussel
- 1791–1791 Jacques Marie Blaise Segond
- 1791–1792 Philippe César Delpuech de Commeyras de Peudemar
- 1792–1792 Antoine Alexandre Nau de Sainte-Sauveur
- 1792–1794 Claude Hyacinthe de Blondeau
Footnotes
- Susane, Volume I, pp. 311, 313–314, 364, 369, 399, 404.
- Susane, Volume VII, pp. 386–387.
- Lienhart & Humbet, pp. 57–58.
- Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, p. 42–47.
References
- Louis Susane, Historie de l'Ancienne Infanterie Français, Volume I, 1849 Naval and Polytechnical Military Library of Paris, Paris, France.
- Louis Susane, Historie de l'Ancienne Infanterie Français, Volume VII, 1853 Naval and Polytechnical Military Library of Paris, Paris, France.
- Dr. Constance Lienhart & Réne Humbert, The Uniforms of French Armies 1690–1894; Volume 3: The Infantry, Originally published in 1906, re-printed in 2020, Zanica, Italy. ISBN 978-8893275255.
- Digby Smith & Jeremy Black, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, 2015 Lorenz Books, London, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-0-7548-1571-6.