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The Irish Legion
The Irish Legion
by J.Lochetillustration by Mike Gilbert
The "Legion Irlandaise" or Irish
Legion, was raised as a light infantry
battalion by the Decree of 3 April 1803
from the almost endless stream of
enthusiastic Irishmen that appeared any
time there was an Englishman to be shot.
The Legion was raised with the intention
of using it in the proposed French
invasion of Ireland, a project which was
under very serious consideration in 1803.
Initially, only a single battalion was
raised under the direction of
Adjudant general Bernard Macsheehey, a
French officer of Irish birth and many
years of service in the French army. The
organization of the battalion was
completed on 31 August 1803 in Brest. It
had a complement of five companies,
each company having the following
structure:
1 Capitaine
1 Lieutenant
1 Sous-lieutenant
1 Sergeant-major
4 Sergeants
1 Fourrier
8 Corporals
120 Chasseurs
2 Drummers
139 Total
Eventually, the battalion was raised to
the standard nine company organization
of all French battalions. This gave it eight
chasseur companies and a single
carabinier company. Later, like in other
French army infantry units, one company
of chasseurs was changed to a company
of voltigeurs.
Since the Irish Legion initially had only
a single battalion it did not have a full
regimental staff. Its staff consisted of:
1 Chef de bataillon
1 Adjudant-major
1 Chirurgien (surgeon)
1 Drum major
4 Master artisans
The Decree of 10 March 1804 ordered
the raising of a second battalion and the
title "Regiment" was given to the legion.
In February 1807, when the 1st Battalion
had a strength of 900 men, the regiment
received both a standard and an eagle.
The flag had the distinction to be of a
special pattern.
After the French victories over the
Prussians in 1806, a number Irish were
released from Prussian captivity and
added to the regiment. It appears that a
number of Irishmen who were involved in
the insurrections of 1798 had been sold
by the British to the King of Prussia as
miners. Many were recruited into the
Prussian army and after the destruction of
that army it was natural that many would
pass into French service.
On 25 October 1807, the Irish Legion
was directed to form a provisional
battalion with six 140-man companies.
This battalion did not last long and was
quickly reabsorbed into the regiment.
On 1 January 1808, the 2nd Battalion of
the Irish Legion was serving in the 2nd
Division of the Corps d'Observation des
Cotes de l'Ocean (Coastal Observation
Corps) in Spain and it contained eight officers and 518 men. By 1 June its strength
had risen to 654 officers and men. On 15
November it was serving as part of the
garrison of Pampeluna and had a strength
of 556 men.
Irishmen ... had been sold
by the British to the King
of Prussia as miners.
The Decree of 17 December, l808
reorganized the 2nd Battalion, then
serving in Spain, to the six-company
formation which had become the standard
in the French army. It now had one
carabinier, one voltigeur and four
chasseur companies. The staff of the
regiment consisted of:
1 Chef de bataillon
1 Adjudant-major
1 Adjudant sous-officier
1 Drum corporal
4 Master artisans
Each company had:
1 Capitaine
1 Lieutenant
1 Sous-lieutenant
1 Sergeant-major
4 Sergeants
1 Caporal fourrier
8 Corporals
121 Soldiers
2 Drummers
140 Total
This gave the battalion a total
theoretical strength of 848 men. The
actual strength of the battalion was 556
when this reorganization was completed
in Burgos. However, despite the
reorganization of the 2nd Battalion, the 1st
Battalion, still in Flushing, retained the
original nine-company organization.
The 1st Battalion was reorganized with
six companies identical to that of the
battalion in Spain shortly after the
reorganization of the 2nd Battalion was
complete. After the 1st Battalion completed
its reorganization it was renamed the 2nd
Battalion and the battalion in Spain
became the 1st Battalion. After this
redesignation was complete, the new 2nd
Battalion received a reorganized staff that
consisted of:
1 Chef de bataillon
1 Adjudant major
1 Quartier-maitre
1 Chirurgien-major
1 Chirurgien sous-aide
1 Adjudant sous-officier
1 Drum corporal
1 Master tailor
1 Master armorer
1 Master gaitermaker
1 Master cobbler
11 Total
On 13 April 1809, a further three
battalions were ordered raised. The 3rd
and 4th Battalions were given the same
organization as the first two battalions.
The 5th Battalion, being the depot, had
only four chasseur companies.
The 3rd Battalion was formed on 1 June
1809 in Landau and the 4th began
organizing on l6 August 1809 in Antwerp.
When formed, the 4th Battalion went to
Flushing where it became part of the
garrison. The 5th Battalion was also
formed in Antwerp and became the depot
battalion. All three battalions were formed
principally of foreign deserters of every
nationality.
When the five battalion organization
was completed a full regimental staff was
established and consisted of:
1 Colonel
1 Major
5 Chefs de bataillon (l per battalion)
5 Adjudants majors (l per battalion)
1 Quartier-maitre tresorier
1 Officier payeur (paymaster)
3 Porte etandards (standard bearers)
1 Chirurgien major 5 Chirurgien sous-aide (l per battalion)
10 Adjudant sous-officiers (2 per battalion)
1 Drum major
1 Drum corporal
1 Chef de musique
7 Musicians
1 Master tailor
1 Master cobbler
1 Master gaitermaker
1 Master armorer
This set the strength of the regiment at
five battalions, one being the depot. It
had 108 officers and 3,862 men, 3,970 total.
With the capture of Flushing by the
British on 16 April 1809, the 4th Battalion
was taken prisoner along with the 2nd
Battalion of the Regiment de Prusse.
Though the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment
de Prusse was quickly reestablished from
its depot, the 4th Battalion of the Irish
Legion was not.
During 1813, the Irish were
finally able to come to
grips with the enemy.
Records indicate that in January 1810,
the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Irish
Legion were serving in Spain in the 3rd
Division of Junot's VIII Corps, under the
command of Major General Solignac. As
at Flushing, the Irish Legion was serving
with its sister regiment, the Regiment de
Prusse, another foreign regiment. The
Irish Legion served in the siege of Astorga
during April 1810, suffered a small
number of casualties, and led an
otherwise undistinguished life.
During June 1810, the Irish Legion
found itself assigned to the Army of
Portugal. It was still in Junot's VIII Corps
and was assigned to the brigade of
General Thomieres. Its next major combat
effort was to be the siege of
Ciudad-Rodrigo as Marshal Massena
began his advance into Portugal.
The order of 1 May 1810 ordered the
4th Battalion reformed in Landau, but the
strength of the regiment was so low that it
was decided to reduce the strength of the
regiment to two battalions. The Decree of
28 June 1810 reorganized the regiment and
the 1st and 4th Battalions became the new
1st Battalion. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions,
then serving in Spain, became the new
2nd Battalion.
On 1 January 1811, the 2nd Battalion, in
Thomiere's brigade of the Army of
Portugal, mustered 23 officers and 525
men. However, by 1 March, its strength
had fallen to 273 men. Reinforcements
appear to have arrived in the following
weeks because by 15 March its strength
had risen to 21 officers and 462 men.
On 4 and 5 May 1811, the Irish Legion
was engaged in the battle of Fuentes de
Onoro. Though the Irish Legion's
Division was not on the field in the first
day of battle, during the second day,
Solignac's Division formed the reserve for
the flanking maneuver that was to strike
the British Light and 7th Divisions.
However, as Solignac's Division was not
engaged, losing only two officers killed, the Irish did not have
an opportunity to display their military
prowess.
The two battalions of the
Irish Legion were
destroyed...
After the battle, Marmont assumed
command of the Army of Portugal. The
Division in which the Irish Legion's
served was now commanded by Major
General Brenniers and its strength
formally recorded as a single battalion.
On 5 August 1811, as part of a general
reorganization of foreign regiments, the
Irish Legion was renamed the 3rd
Regiment etranger. During February 1812,
the 3rd Battalion was reestablished. In
addition, the 2nd Battalion was withdrawn
from Spanish service and sent north to be
rebuilt and refit.
In 1812 the 1st Battalion occupied the
islands of Goeree and Overflanque, the
2nd Battalion was in Berg-op-Zoom and
the 3rd was in Willemstadt. On 2 February
1813, the first two battalions joined
Lauriston's corps of the reforming Grande
Armee in Germany and returned to their
depot in October 1813.
During 1813, the Irish were finally able
to come to grips with the enemy. Two of
its battalions were assigned to Lauriston's
V Corps, 17th Division (Puthod), 1st
Brigade (Vachot). On 19 August 1813,
facing the Army of Silesia, they were
heavily engaged in the battle of
Lowenberg, losing ten officers. It appears
to have been engaged with Langeron's
corps. On 23 August 1813 they were
engaged again in the Battle of Goldberg
where they lost 5 more officers engaging
the Prussians under Prince Carl von
Mecklenburg.
The Legion was not engaged at
Katzbach, which occurred on 26 August,
but on 29 August it was engaged in a
savage skirmish on the Bober River. Its
commander, General Puthod, had pushed
his Division across the Bober River and
was quickly trapped by a superior allied
force. The two battalions of the Irish
Legion were destroyed, losing 20 officers
and all of its enlisted men. Many of these
casualties were the result of combined
attacks by Russian General Emanuel's
cavalry of the Russian advanced guard
and a detachment of the Prussian Leib
Hussars of Major von Schenk and later
infantry assaults, including a bayonet
charge by five Russian Jaeger battalions.
The battle went poorly for Puthod's
Division, and according to Prussian
sources, of the 11,885 men he led over the
Bober that morning, only 254
escaped. The rest were either captured or
killed.
The portions of the Irish Legion that
survived the Bober disaster also escaped
the Decree of 25 November 1813 that
disbanded most of the foreign regiments.
However, this decree directed it to absorb
into its ranks the Regiment de Prusse,
also known as the 4th Regiment etranger.
The result of this merger was the
reestablishment of the Irish Legion as a
regiment with five battalions, four field
and one depot. The decree stipulated that
there be no Russians or Prussians in this
force and those that were in this new
regiment were sent to join the newly
forming battalions of "foreign pioneers."
This reorganized regiment went to
Antwerp where it participated in the
spirited defense of that city. On 19
December 1813 the regiment still had four
battalions and a depot battalion, though
its strength was reduced by combat and
attrition.
When Napoleon abdicated, Louis XVIII
began a general reorganization of the
French army. The regiment was
technically disbanded 26 May 1814, but
the disbanding went slowly. By 1
September 1814, the regiment still
consisted of three companies of
chasseurs and a train unit.
Before the Legion had totally
disbanded, Louis XVIII issued the Royal
Ordinance of 16 November 1814 which
raised a successor to the Irish Legion
using the veterans of the original Legion.
This newly organized regiment had a
theoretical staff organization of:
1 Colonel
1 Major
3 Chefs de bataillon
3 Adjudants-majors
1 Quartier-maiter
1 Porte drapeau
1 Chirurgien major
1 Chirurgien aide-major
1 Chirurgien sous-aide
3 Adjudant sous-officiers
1 Drum major1 Drum corporal
1 Chef de musique
7 Musicians
1 Master cobbler
1 Master tailor1 Master armorer
29 Total
Each company was to have:
1 Capitaine
1 Lieutenant
1 Sous-lieutenant1 Sergeant-major4 Sergeants
1 Fourrier
8 Corporals
56 Soldiers
2 Drummers75 Total
This Royal Irish Regiment was
disbanded by Napoleon's Decree of 2
May 1815. The Irish soldiers in it were
assigned to the new 7th Foreign
Regiment, but this unit never grew to a
significant size under Napoleon and did
not engage in any combat during the One
Hundred Days.
Uniforms
During the period 1803 to 1814, the
Irish Legion wore the basic French Light
Infantry uniform in a striking light green
color with pockets a la Soubise.
The waist-coat and trousers were white in
1811 and the breeches may have been
green prior to that date (1). The facing
colors were yellow, i.e., collar, turnbacks,
etc. They wore knee-length black gaiters,
black shoes and white belts.
Initially, the carabiniers wore a
bearskin bonnet with red cords, patches
and plumes. This was eventually replaced
by a shako with the same accouterments.
The chasseurs wore a shako with white
cords and pompons of the company
colors: yellow, green, violet and light
blue. The voltigeurs' shako had a yellow
over green plume and green cords. All
shakos had the Imperial Eagle plate.
The regimental sappers wore the same
uniform as the carabiniers, but their
bearskin had a primrose patch with a red
grenade, plume and cords.
Commanders
The regimental commandants and
colonels of the Irish Legion were as
follows:
Commandants:
April 1803-Macsheehy
December 1803-Petterzzolli
Colonels:
3 April 1803-Daniel O'Meara
8 February 1812-William Lawless
19 August 1813-Mahony
Of the regimental colonels, William
Lawless led a most interesting career. He
was born in Dublin Ireland on 20 April
1772. He entered French service as a chef
de bataillon in 1799, no doubt one of the
many Irish seeking an opportunity to fight
the English. He served as part of the
Legion des Francs du Nord, a light
infantry formation. In 1800, however, he
was subjected to a mandatory retirement.
In 1803 he was returned to service and
appointed as a captain in the Irish Legion.
On 10 July 1806, he became a Chef de
Bataillon, probably commanding the
regiment's 2nd Battalion. He particularly
distinguished himself during the l809
British invasion of the Scheldt at
Flushing, where he was grievously
wounded.
On 10 February 1810, he was
promoted to Major in the Legion. He
became regimental commander on 8
February 1812. During the battle of
Lowenberg, in 1813, he was wounded
again and his arm was amputated as a
result. He was retired for a second time on
26 October 1814.
Bibliography
Belhomme, Lt. Col., Histoire de
l'infanterie en France, Paris.
Couderc de Saint-Chamant, H.,
Napoleon ses dernieres armees, E.
Flammarion, Paris, date unknown.
Fieffe, E., Histoiredes troupes
etrangeres au service de la France,
Librairie Militaire J.Dumaine, Paris, 1854.
Friederich, R., Geschichte des
Herbstfeldzuges 1813, Ernst Siegfried
Mittler und Sohn, Berlin, 1904.
Malibran, H., Guide a l'usage des
artistes et des costumiers, Combet & Cie,
Paris, 1904.
Martinien, A., Tableaux par corps et
par batailles des officiers tues et blesses
pendant les guerres de l'Empire
(1805-1815), Editions Militaires
Europeennes, Paris, 1987.
(1) Malibran, H. Guide a l'usage des
artistes et des costumiers, Combet & Cie,
Paris, 1904, p. 314 gives the trousers as
white in 1811.
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