92nd Régiment d’Infanterie de Bulkeley, Seven Years’ War, 1757–1763
At the start of the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–1692), an infantry regiment known as O’Brian was raised in Ireland; following the Treaty of Limerick on October 3, 1691, its officers and men emigrated en masse to France and entered French service as a foreign regiment. From 1694, the regiment bore the name Lee; in 1707, command was conferred upon an Irish Jacobite, Colonel (and later Lieutenant General) François de Bulkeley. In 1754, his son Henri de Bulkeley assumed command of the regiment, which absorbed the disbanded Royal-Écossais regiment in 1762. During the Seven Years‘ War, the Bulkeley regiment served initially on the Channel coast, then in Germany, and fought in the Battle of Wilhelmsthal on June 24, 1762. After absorbing the remnants of the Clare regiment, the Bulkeley regiment was reorganized in 1775 and incorporated into the Dillon regiment.
Mestre de camp commandant
- François de Bulkeley, 1707–1754
- Henri de Bulkeley, 1754–1775
Uniform
The État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 describes the uniform of infantry regiment Bulkeley as follows: Habit rouge, parements verts en botte, veste verte, culotte blance, boutons blancs d‘un côté de deux en deux jusqu‘aux poches qui sont en travers & garni de trois boutons ainsi que les manches, les boutonnières sont toutes de poil de chevre blanc, chapeau bordé d‘argent.
Red coat with narrow green cuffs “en botte”, green waistcoat, white breeches; white buttons arranged in pairs down one side as far as the horizontal pockets — which are trimmed with three buttons, as are the sleeves — and buttonholes all made of white goats‘ hair; hat edged with silver.
Lucien Mouillard, on the other hand, depicts the uniform of the Bulkeley Infantry Regiment as follows:
- red coat with white metal buttons and white buttonhole lace
- coat pockets “ordinaire” with 3 buttons and buttonhole lace
- green cuffs with 3 buttons and buttonhole lace
- green turnbacks with white hearts
- green vest with white metal buttons and buttonhole lace
- white breeches
- white gaiters with white metal buttons
- black tricorne hat with white edging and white cockade of ribbon
- Grenadiers wore beards, and sabres, and from 1759 bearskin caps
Campaign History
- 1757 – Garrison Duty in Calais
- 1760 – Campaign in Germany
- 1761 – Garrison Duty in Marburg
- 24.06.1762 – Battle of Wilhelmsthal (Kassel, Hesse)
Lineage
- Régiment d’infanterie Dillon, 1775
Bibliography
- Chartrand, René: Louis XV‘s Army (3) – Foreign Infantry (Botley 1997), plate E4
- McLaughlin, Mark G.: The Wild Geese – The Irish Brigades of France and Spain (London 1983), plate B1
- Montendre-Longchamps: État militaire de France, pour l’Année 1758 (Paris 1758)
- Mouillard, Lucien: Les régiments sous Louis XV (Paris 1882)