French 37th Infantry Regiment Royal-Roussillon, Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763
By Royal Decree, Cardinal Mazarin raised the Mazarin-Catalan regiment in Perpignan in 1655. Following the Cardinal‘s death in 1661, the King of France took over the regiment, initially designating it Royal-Catalan and, from 1667, Royal-Roussillon. The King of France was always the regiment‘s proprietor. During the Seven Years‘ War, the 37th Regiment Royal-Roussillon saw action with its 1st Battalion at Fort William Henry, Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga), Crown Point, Fort Niagara, Montmorency Falls, the Plains of Abraham, Ste. Foy, and Montreal. The 2nd Battalion remained in Europe and participated in the battles of Roßbach and Bergen.
Proprietor
- Le Roi
Colonel Lieutenant
- M. du Hautoy, 1748–1759
- C. de Haussonville, 1759–1761
- D. de Châtillon, 1761
Uniform
The État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 describes the uniform of infantry regiment Royal-Roussillon as follows: Habit blanc, culotte de même, veste, parements & collet bleus, boutons jaunes, pattes ordinaires garnies de trois boutons & six sur la manche, chapeau bordé d‘or.
White coat, matching breeches, blue waistcoat, cuffs, and collar; yellow buttons; horizontal pocket flaps “ordinaires” trimmed with three buttons and six on the cuff; hat edged with gold.
Lucien Mouillard, on the other hand, depicts the uniform of the Royal-Roussillon Infantry Regiment as follows:
- white coat with yellow metal buttons
- horizontal coat pockets “ordinaires” with 3 buttons
- blue collar
- 8 buttons right, and buttonholes left
- blue cuffs with 5 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, 1st Battalion
- Siege and capture of Fort William Henry, August 1757
- Battle of Carillon (Fort Carillon / Fort Ticonderoga), 07 and 08 July 1757
- Second Battle on Snowshoes, Lake George, NY, 13 March 1758
- Siege of Fort Niagara, June/July 1759
- Montmorency Falls, 1759
- Battle of the Plains of Abraham, 1759
- Battle of Sainte-Foy, 1760
- Bataille des Mille-Îles, Fort Lévis, Montreal, 1760
2nd Bataillon
- Battle of Roßbach, 5 November 1757
- Battle of Bergen, 13 April 1759
Lineage
- 53ème régiment d’infanterie, 1791
Bibliography
- Chartrand, René: Louis XV‘s Army (2) – French Infantry (Botley 1997), plate C4
- Mollo, John: Uniforms of the Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763, plate 147
- Montendre-Longchamps: État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 (Paris 1758)
- Mouillard, Lucien: Les régiments sous Louis XV (Paris 1882)