66th Régiment d’Infanterie de La Marck, Seven Years’ War, 1757–1763
On August 10, 1680, General Otto Wilhelm Count von Königsmarck raised a German foreign regiment for service in the French army; the regiment was held by the Count von Fürstenberg from 1693 to 1697, before being transferred by him to his relative, the Count von der Marck. During the Seven Years‘ War, the 66th Regiment de La Marck fought at Hastenbeck, Roßbach, Krefeld, Korbach-Sachsenhausen, and Wilhelmsthal. On January 18, 1760, the regiment was expanded to three battalions through the incorporation of the 2nd Battalion Lowendahl.
Mestre de camp commandant
- Lieutenant-Général Louis-Engelbert, Comte de La Marck, 1727–1773
Mestre de camp-lieutenant
- Lieutenant-Général Louis-Engelbert, Comte de La Marck, 1727 – 21 April 1759
- Christian Peter Baron de Wimpffen, Maréchal de Camp, 21 April 1759
Staff
- Colonel en second Felix Baron de Wimpffen
- Lieutenant colonel M. de Freytag
- Major M. de Falck
- Qu. Me. Trés. M. Saulnier
Uniform
The État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 describes the uniform of infantry regiment La Marck as follows: Habit, veste, culotte & doublure bleus, collet & parements jaunes, poches en travers, boutons d‘étain d‘un côté, sur l‘habit & la veste boutonnières de laine blanche de la largeur de quatre lignes des deux côtés, sur l‘habit jusqu‘à la hauteur de la poche, & des deux côtés sur la veste jusqu‘en bas, les manches sont en bottes & se boutonnent afin de pouvoir les abattre, chapeau bordé d‘argent.
Blue coat, waistcoat, breeches, and lining; yellow collar and cuffs; horizontal pockets; pewter buttons on one side; white wool buttonholes (four lines wide) on both sides of the coat and waistcoat — extending to pocket height on the coat and down to the bottom on the waistcoat; cuffs designed to be turned down and buttoned; hat edged with silver.
Lucien Mouillard, on the other hand, depicts the uniform of the La Marck Infantry Regiment as follows:
Uniform 1753
- Turquin Blue coat with white buttons and buttonhole lace
- horizontal coat pockets “en travers” with 3 buttons and buttonhole lace
- black stock
- Turquin blue lapels with 7 buttons and buttonhole lace right and left
3 buttons with buttonhole lace under the lapels - Turquin blue cuffs with 3 buttons and buttonhole lace
- Turquin blue turnbacks
- Turquin blue waistcoat with white buttons
- Turquin blue breeches
- white gaiters with white buttons
- black tricorne hat with white edging and white cockade of ribbon
- Grenadiers wore beards, and sabres
Uniform 1758
- yellow collar
- yellow cuffs with 3 buttons and buttonhole lace
Uniform 1763
- yellow lapels with 7 buttons and buttonhole lace right and left
3 buttons with buttonhole lace below the lapels - white turnbacks
- Grenadiers wore beards, and sabres, and from 1759 bearskin caps
Campaign History
- Battle of Hastenbeck, 1757
- Battle of Roßbach, 1757
- Battle of Crefeld, 1758
- Engagement at Corbach (Korbach-Sachsenhausen), 10.07.1760
- Battle of Wilhelmsthal, 24.06.1762
Lineage
- 77ème régiment d’infanterie, 1791
Bibliography
- Chartrand, René: Louis XV‘s Army (3) – Foreign Infantry (Botley 1997), plate C2
- Mollo, John: Uniforms of the Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763, plate 28
- Montendre-Longchamps: État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 (Paris 1758)
- Mouillard, Lucien: Les régiments sous Louis XV (Paris 1882)
The German foreign regiments of the French army look very smart in their blue uniforms with yellow facings.