French 14th Infantry Regiment de Poitou, Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763
The Infantry Regiment d’Hostel, established on 26 September 1616, was renamed the Régiment de Plessis-Praslin on 3 August 1624; it reverted to the Régiment d’Hostel in 1643, became the Régiment de Plessis-Praslin again in 1650, and was designated the Régiment de Poitou from 31 August 1682. On 10 December 1762, the Régiment de Poitou was augmented to four battalions by the incorporation of the Régiment de Saint-Mauris.
Proprietor
- François de Broglie, Comte de Revel, 2 January 1745 to 6 November 1757
- Louis César Renaud, Vicomte de Choiseul, 20 November 1757 to 3 January 1770
Colonel Lieutenant
- M. le Chevalier de Bonneval
Uniform
The État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 describes the uniform of infantry regiment de Poitou as follows: Habit & culotte blanche, veste, parements & collet bleus, boutons jaunes, doubles poches avec chacune six boutons de deux en deux, quatre aussi de deux en deux sur la manche, chapeau bordé d‘or.
White coat and breeches; blue waistcoat, cuffs, and collar; yellow buttons; double pockets, each with six buttons arranged in pairs; four buttons on the cuff, also in pairs; hat edged with gold.
Lucien Mouillard, on the other hand, depicts the uniform of the Poitou Infantry Regiment as follows:
- white coat with yellow metal buttons
- double coat pockets “doubles” with 6 buttons, arranged in pairs
- blue collar
- blue cuffs with 3 buttons
- white turnbacks with white hearts
- blue waistcoat with yellow metal buttons
- white breeches
- white gaiters with yellow metal buttons
- black tricorne hat with yellow edging
- Grenadiers wore beards, and sabres
Campaign History
- French Occupation of Wesel, 6 April 1757
- Billets in Jülich, 1757
- Battle of Hastenbeck, 26 July 1757
- Occupation of Wolfenbüttel, 16 August 1757
- Battle of Roßbach, 5 November 1757
- Winter Quarters in Lippstadt, 1757
- Coastal Defence in France, 1758
- Battle of Vellinghausen, 16 July 1758
- Battle of Wilhelmsthal, 24 June 1762
- Camp at Spangenberg, 17 August 1762
- Combat at Brücker Mühle (Amöneburg, Hesse), 21 September 1762
- Withdrawal across the Rhine at Koblenz, 1762
- Garrison at Nîmes, 1763
Lineage
- 25e régiment d’infanterie de ligne, 1. Januar 1791
Bibliography
- Montendre-Longchamps: État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 (Paris 1758)
- Mouillard, Lucien: Les régiments sous Louis XV (Paris 1882)