Chasseurs Royaux Corses
The Chasseurs Royaux Corses (Royal Corsican Chasseurs) was a light infantry battalion of the French Royal Army which participated in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars until being disbanded in 1794. The regiment's successor, the 78éme Régiment d'Infanterie continued to serve in the modern French Army until 1940 when it was disbanded following the Battle of France.
Chasseurs Corses 4éme Bataillon de Chassers (Corses) | |
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![]() Regimental uniform after formation in 1788. | |
Active | 1788–1794 |
Country | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Allegiance | King of France French Nation |
Branch | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Type | Chasseurs à Pied |
Size | Battalion |
Part of | Army of the Alps |
Headquarters | Mont-Dauphin |
Formation
![](../I/m/3er_chasseurs_1791.png)
The Chasseurs Royaux Corses were formed from and were to recruit exclusively from troops of Corsica, recently conquered by France. The battalion was granted 3rd in precedence in the chasseurs, just after the Chasseurs Royaux de Dauphiné. On 26 April 1788, the battalion was constituted and organised in Vienne under command of Lieutenant Colonel de Rossi, who's relative formed the Chasseurs Corses, which became 4th in precedence, just after the Royaux Corses.[1][2]
The regiment's first uniform consisted of; black tricone (officers in bicorne), red collar, red turnbacks, dark green jacket, dark green breeches, dark green gaiters, black boots, dark green pockets, dark green pockets, red cuff flaps, and white buttons.[1][3][4]
Revolution
The battalion remained in the town in which it was formed until 1791 when it occupied the garrison of Mont-Dauphin. On 1 April 1791, provisional regulations were announced following the initial stages of the French Revolution, and the regiment renamed as the 3éme Bataillon de Chasseurs (Royaux Corses), 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, bright yellow turnbacks, dark green jacket, dark green breeches, dark green gaiters, black boots, dark green pockets, bright yellow trimmed dark green pockets, bright yellow trimmed dark green cuffs, bright yellow cuff flaps, and white buttons.[1][2][4]
War of the First Coalition
In 1792, the battalion joined the garrison of Grenoble and part of the garrison in Lyon as part of the Army of the Alps and the subsequent campaign in Savoy. In 1793, the battalion took part in a Battle of the Fourche Mountain, which was its only main action before disbandment.
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 16 June 1795, the battalion amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion of Revolutionary Chasseurs, 1st Battalion of Chasseurs of the Alpes, and Chasseurs of the Upper Alpes to form the 3éme Demi-Brigade Légère, thus ending the royalist lineage and traditions.[1][2]
Commanding Officers
Commanding officers of the regiment were:[2]
- 1788–1791 Camille de Rossi
- 1791–1792 Charles Pascal Ciovanni-Limpérani
- 1792–1793 Ange Louis Salicetti
- 1793–1794 Charles Cominique Casanova
Footnotes
- Susane, Volume I, pp. 311, 313–314, 364, 369, 399, 404.
- Susane, Volume VII, p. 329–330.
- 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.