French 114th Infantry Regiment Saxon de La Dauphine, Seven Years’ War, 1757–1760
This Saxon foreign regiment was established by royal ordinance of July 1, 1747, from German volunteers recruited by Brigadier August Heinrich, Count of Friesen, and – unsurprisingly – granted to Maria Josepha of Saxony, the Dauphine of France, as the colonel. Maria Josepha, daughter of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was the niece of Marshal Maurice of Saxony, the young Count of Friesen was his nephew.
The Regiment de La Dauphine fought in Flanders in 1748 during the War of the Austrian Succession, as the 139th Infantry Regiment. By the outbreak of the Seven Years‘ War, it had risen in seniority to 115th Infantry Regiment of the French Army, and was one battalion strong. From 1757 onward, the Regiment de La Dauphine served in the French Army of the Rhine, fighting at Hastenbeck, Sandershausen, Lutterberg, and Minden. On January 18, 1760, in the course of the reorganization of the German foreign regiments, it was incorporated into the 101st Régiment Royal-Bavière as the 3rd Battalion.
Mestre de camp commandant
- Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France, 1747–1760
Mestre de camp-lieutenant
- Brigadier August Heinrich, Count von Friesen, 1747–1755
- Adam, Count von Löwenhaupt, 1755–1760
Uniform
- blue coat with yellow metal buttons
- coat pockets “ordinaire” with 3 buttons
- red collar
- red lapels with 7 buttons right and left
3 buttons below the left lapel, and 3 buttonholes below the right lapel - red cuffs with 3 buttons
- white turnbacks with white hearts
- white vest with yellow metal buttons
- white breeches
- white gaiters with yellow metal buttons
- black tricorne hat with yellow edging
- Grenadiers wore beards, and sabres, and from 1759 bearskin caps
Campaign History
- Battle of Hastenbeck, 26 July 1757
- French Occupation of Hanover, 1 August 1757
- Combat at Sandershausen (Hesse), 23 July 1758
- Battle of Lutterberg (Hesse), 10 October 1758
- Battle of Minden, 1 August 1759
Lineage
- III. Battalion 101e Regiment Royal-Bavière, 18 January 1760
The German foreign regiments of the French army look very dashing in their blue uniforms.