‘Every Species of Foreigner’: Britain's Foreign Regiments 1793-1796

By Steve Brown

It seems incomprehensible that by 1795, the third year of the war against France, there were more French regiments attached to the British army than Scottish ones. More German regiments, too. The thousands of French émigrés in England and Germany, desirous of striking a blow at the King-killing, anti-religion Jacobite hordes, found a ready ally in Great Britain: foreign regiments provided a solution to the chronic shortage of British troops in the period.

In the following tables, ‘Nationality’ should be taken as no more than an outline of the majority. Many units became mongrel collections of many nationalities over time, no matter how singular the initial enlistment may have been. ‘Mixed’ is used when I found I had no hope of pinning down a predominant nationality. ‘Former Slaves’ refers generally to West Indian units which were principally Negro in composition, but they could have contained Caribbean native or mulatto (half-caste) troops, as well as white planters.

Troop strengths are shown for two convenient time periods (coinciding with a HCPP summary) to provide some indication of real, rather than ‘Establishment’ strengths.

Regiments Raised in Europe

Regiment	Nationality	Date Taken into British Service	Strength Nov 1794	Strength Aug 1795	Date Disbanded	Service Record
Loyal Emigrant Regiment (La Chatre’s)	French	25 May 1793 (London)	450	579	24 Aug 1802 (Jersey)	Flanders, Quiberon, Portugal
York Rangers (Ramsay’s York Chasseurs)	Germans	21 Jun 1793	871	617	Oct 1798 (Tobago) ¹	Flanders, St Lucia, St Vincent
Royal-Louis Regiment	French	7 Sep 1793 (Toulon)	475	-	12 Dec 1794 ²	Toulon Corsica
Uhlans Britannique (Bouille’s)	French	16 Aug 1793 (Flanders)	602	453	27 Aug 1796 (Sand Domingo)	Flanders St Lucia San Domingo
Corsican Chasseurs (MacLean’s)	Corsican	31 Oct 1793 (Toulon)	?	?	24 Jun 1798 (Portugal) ³	Toulon Corsica Portugal
Royal French Marine Artillery Company	French	8 Dec 1793 (Elba)	~70	?	Jul 1797 (Lisbon) ⁴	Toulon Corsica Portugal
Quiefdeville Artillery	French	Jan 1794 (Portsmouth)	~60	-	May 1795 ⁴	Flanders
Corsican Gendarmerie	French / Corsican	Feb 1794 (Corsica)	?	?	Oct 1796 (Corsica) *	Corsica
Salm-Kirbourg Hussars	German	25 Feb 1794 (Holland)	872	768	3 Dec 17695 (Germany)	Flanders
Salm-Kirbourg Light Infantry	German / French	27 Feb 1794 (Holland)	?	444	8 Aug 1795 ³	Flanders Quiberon
Hompesch’s Hussars	German	27 Feb 1794 (Hanover)	720	851	Oct 1797 (Isle of Wight)	Flanders San Domingo
Hompesch’s Chasseurs	German	27 Feb 1794 (Hanover)	~120	-	Apr 1795 (Germany)	Flanders
1st Rohan’s Hussars	German	3 Mar 1794 (Germany)	872	793	1 Jul 1797 (San Domingo) ⁵	Flanders San Domingo
Rohan’s Light Infantry	German	3 Mar 1794 (Germany)	828	442	8 Oct 1797 ³	Flanders Quiberon
Choiseul’s Hussars	French / Belgian	15 Mar 1794 (Flanders)	888	940	Mar 1796 (Isle of Wight)	Flanders Quiberon
Foreign Engineers (Corsican)	Corsican	Apr 1794? (Corsica)	~93	?	Oct 1796 (Corsica)	Corsica
York Hussars	German	21 Jun 1794 (Germany)	949	618	24 Jul 1802 (Isle of Wight)	Flanders, San Domingo, Jamaica
Perigord’s Light Infantry	French	10 Jul 1794 (Germany)	?	173	Destroyed at Quiberon 1795	Quiberon
Regiment d’Autichamp	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	285	295	24 Oct 1795 (Germany)	Flanders
Regiment De Vioménil	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	365	481	24 Oct 1795 (Germany)	Flanders
Regiment de Béthisy	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	255	305	24 Oct 1795 (Germany)	Flanders
Regiment de Laval (Montmorency)	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	294	393	24 Oct 1795 (Germany)	Flanders
Regiment de Mortemart	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	381	439	24 Aug 1802 (Portsmouth)	Flanders, Portugal
Regiment de Castries	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	409	755	Aug 1802 (Portsmouth)	Flanders, Portugal
Regiment du Dresnay	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	530	729	24 Oct 1795 (Germany) ⁶	Quiberon
Regiment d’Hervilly (2 battalions)	French	1 Aug 1794 (Holland)	972	1,413	25 Oct 1795 (Germany) ⁶	Quiberon
Power’s Chasseurs	Belgian	9 Sep 1794 (Flanders)	~100	-	May 1795 ⁷	Flanders
Royal York Fusiliers (Hardy’s)	Germans	26 Sep 1794 (Flanders)	?	817	25 Aug 1797 ¹	Flanders, St Lucia
Pionniers du Quartier Général	French	Oct 1794 (Flanders)	?	?	16 Jan 1796	Flanders
Duke of Fitz-James Regiment, Irish Catholic Brigade	Irish	Oct 1794 (Ireland)	?	?	Mar 1796 ⁸	Home
Count Walsh’s Regiment, Irish Catholic Brigade	Irish	Oct 1794 (Ireland)	?	?	Nov 1798 (Chatham)	Martinique, Jamaica, Honduras, San Domingo
Dillon’s Regiment, Irish Catholic Brigade	Irish	Oct 1794 (Ireland)	?	?	Late 1798 (England)	Jamaica, San Domingo
O’Connell’s Regiment, Irish Catholic Brigade	Irish	Oct 1794 (Ireland)	?	?	Mar 1796 ⁸	Home
Viscount Walsh’s Regiment, Irish Catholic Brigade	Irish	Oct 1794 (Ireland)	?	?	25 Dec 1797 (Chatham)	Jamaica, Nova Scotia
Conway’s Regiment, Irish Catholic Brigade	Irish	Oct 1794 (Ireland)	?	?	Oct 1798 (England)	Nova Scotia
Regiment d’Hector (Royal Marines)	French (Navy)	1 Oct 1794 (Southampton)	611	725	24 Oct 1795 (Germany) ⁶	Quiberon
Regiment de Broglie	French	11 Oct 1794 (Holland)	382	473	24 Oct 1795 (Germany)	Flanders
Rotalier’s Emigrant Artillery	French	1 Nov 1794	?	~440	24 Aug 1802 (Gosport)	Quiberon, Portugal
Royal Anglo-Corsican Regiment (4 battalions)	Corsican	Nov 1794 (Corsica)	?	?	Oct 1796 (Corsica)	Corsica, Elba
Corsican Light Dragoons	Corsica	Nov 1794 (Corsica)	76	?	Sep 1795 (Corsica)	Corsica
Regiment de Léon	French	5 Dec 1794 (Jersey)	-	337	7 Nov 1796 (Isle of Wight)	Quiberon
Regiment du Trésor	French	5 Dec 1794 (Jersey)	-	228	7 Nov 1796 (Isle of Wight)	Home
de Roll’s Regiment (2 battalions)	Swiss	9 Dec 1794 (Switzerland)	-	1,558	24 Aug 1816 (Venice)	Corsica, Elba, Portugal, Minorca, Egypt
Dillon’s Regiment (2 battalions)	French / Italian	1 Feb 1795 (Italy)	-	736	Jan 1815 (Gibraltar)	Corsica, Elba, Portugal, Minorca, Egypt
Carneville Hussars	German	2 Feb 1795 (Germany)	?	?	25 May 1795	Germany
Legion de Béon	French / Dutch	9 Feb 1795 (Holland)	-	369	24 Dec 1795 (Germany) ^3,6	Flanders, Quiberon
Damas Cavalry	French	22 Feb 1795 (Holland)	-	220	Oct 1797	Flanders, Rhineland
Regiment de Damas	French	22 Feb 1795 (Holland)	-	798	Destroyed at Quiberon 1795	Flanders, Quiberon
Regiment de Williamson	French	2 Mar 1795 (Guernsey)	-	318	7 Nov 1796 (Isle of Wight)	Quiberon
Corsican (Union) Regiment (Smith’s)	Corsican	4 Apr 1795 (Corsica)	-	~675	Oct 1796 (Corsica)	Corsica
Loewenstein’s Chasseurs (2 battalions)	German	Apr 1795 (Germany)	-	1,029	25 Dec 1797 (Martinique) ¹	St Lucia, Grenada, Martinique, Trinidad, Puerto Rico
Lüninck’s Light Infantry	Dutch	Apr 1795 (Germany)	-	-	May 1795 (Germany)	Germany
Regiment d’Allonville	French	1 May 1795 (Germany)	-	369	7 Nov 1796 (Isle of Wight)	Home
Pfaffenhoffen Legion	German	5 May 1795 (Hanover)	-	?	Aug 1795 ⁹	Germany
Royal Étranger Regiment (La Tours)	Dutch / German	7 May 1795 (Germany)	-	313	1 Jan 1798 ¹	St Lucia, Grenada
2nd Rohan’s Hussars	German	12 Jun 1795 (Germany)	-	~300	26 Nov 1795 (amalgamated into 1st)	Flanders, San Domingo
Warren’s Hussars	French	Jun 1795? (England)	-	9	24 Jun 1796 (England)	Quiberon
Waldstein’s Light Infantry	German	12 Jul 1795 (Germany)	-	?	Apr 1798 ¹	Martinique, Dominica
Loewenstein’s Fusiliers	German	22 Aug 1795 (Germany)	-	?	18 Dec 1797 (Barbados) ¹	Martinique, Puerto Rico
Maltese Artillery Company	Maltese	Late 1795 (Corsica)	-	74	26 Jun 1797 ⁴	Corsica, Elba, Portugal
Dutch Emigrant Artillery	Dutch	1795 (Hanover)	-	102	Mar 1803 (West Indies) *	San Domingo
Wittgenstein’s Regiment	French	28 Feb 1796 (Germany)	-	-	Early 1797 (Isle of Wight) ¹⁰	Home
Hompesch’s Light Infantry (Fusiliers)	German	3 Mar 1796 (Germany)	-	-	1 May 1798 ¹	Martinique, Trinidad, Antigua
Hompesch’s Mounted Rifles	German	Sep 1796 (Isle of Wight)	-	-	28 Sep 1802 (Portsmouth)	Ireland, Ferrol, Cadiz, Egypt

Notes:

1. Men drafted into 60th Foot

2. Men drafted into Regiment d’Hervilly

3. Men drafted into Loyal Emigrants

4. Men drafted into Rotalier’s Emigrant Artillery

5. Men drafted into York Hussars

6. Official disbandment date, although unit largely destroyed at Quiberon

7. Men drafted into Royal York Fusiliers

8. Men drafted into other Irish Brigade battalions

9. Men drafted into Rohan’s Hussars

10. Men drafted into Waldstein’s Light Infantry

Regiments Raised in the West Indies

Regiment	Nationality	Date Taken into British Service	Strength 1794	Strength 1795	Date Disbanded	Service Record
Carolina Black Corps	Former Slaves	1782 (St Lucia)	?	?	See Whyte’s Regiment	Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, St Vincent
Légion de la Grande Anse	French	11 Sep 1793 (San Domingo)	?	-	9 Dec 1794 (San Domingo) ¹	San Domingo
Regiment de Dillon	French/Irish	21 Sep 1793 (San Domingo)	~180	58	Oct 1796 (San Domingo)	San Domingo
Dessource’s Legion	Former Slaves	Oct 1793 (San Domingo)	?	?	Aug 1798 (Jamaica)	San Domingo
Maréchausée & Guides	Mixed	Oct 1793 (San Domingo)	~300	~430	1798 (San Domingo)	San Domingo
Chasseurs de George III (Kina’s Corps)	Former Slaves	Oct 1793 (San Domingo)	?	?	1798 (San Domingo)	San Domingo
Myer’s St Vincent Black Rangers	Former Slaves	1793 (St Vincent)	-	?	See Myer’s Regiment	St Vincent
Légion d’York	Former Slaves	Feb 1794 (San Domingo)	-	~240	Oct 1798 (Jamaica)	San Domingo
Gendarmes Royaux Anglais	French	10 Aug 1794 (San Domingo)	?	?	1798 (Jamaica)	San Domingo
Black Pioneers	Former Slaves	16 Oct 1793 (Jamaica)	?	?	?	Various
Charmilly Cavalry (Uhlans Britanniques de St-Domingue)	French (ex-POWs)	9 Dec 1794 (San Domingo)	-	245	8 Dec 1795 (San Domingo) *	San Domingo
Legion Britannique de St-Domingue (Montalembert’s)	Mixed	9 Dec 1794 (San Domingo)	-	364	Oct 1798 (San Domingo)	San Domingo
Loyal Dominican Regiment	Former Slaves	1794 (Dominica)	-	?	1798 (see 8WIR)	Dominica
Druault’s Guadeloupe Rangers	Former Slaves	1794 (Guadeloupe)	-	?	1798 (see 9WIR)	Guadeloupe, Trinidad
Soter’s Royal Island Rangers	Former Slaves	1794 (Martinique)	-	?	1798 (see 10WIR)	Martinique
South American Rangers	Former Slaves	1794 (Demerara)	-	?	1798 (see 11WIR)	Martinique
O’Meara’s Rangers	Former Slaves	1794 (St Lucia)	-	?	1798 (see 12WIR)	St Lucia
Malcolm’s Rangers	Former Slaves	1795	-	?	See Whyte’s Regiment	St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada
Whyte’s Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	24 Apr 1795	-	?	1798 (see 1WIR)	St Lucia, Grenada, Puerto Rico
Myer’s Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	24 Apr 1795 (St Vincent)	-	?	1798 (see 2WIR)	St Vincent, St Lucia
Keppel’s Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	20 May 1795	-	?	1798 (see 3WIR)	San Domingo
Nicholl’s Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	20 May 1795	-	?	1798 (see 4WIR)	Surinam, Demerara
Howe’s Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	20 May 1795	-	?	1798 (see 5WIR)	San Domingo
Tobago Rangers	Former Slaves	Jun 1795 (Tobago)	-	?	May 1799	Tobago
Whitelocke’s Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	1 Sep 1795	-	-	1798 (see 6WIR)	Belize
Lewes’ Regiment of Foot	Former Slaves	15 Sep 1795	-	-	1798 (see 7WIR)	San Domingo
Loyal Orange Battalion	Dutch	Apr 1796 (Demerara)	-	-	?	Demerara
Grenada Loyal Black Rangers	Former Slaves	Jun 1796 (Grenada)	-	-	1818	Grenada

Notes:

1. Men drafted into Montalembert’s Legion Britannique.

Regiments Raised in the East Indies

Regiment	Nationality	Date Taken into British Service	Date Disbanded	Service Record
Meuron’s Regiment	Swiss	14 Oct 1795 (Ceylon)	24 Sep 1816 (Harwich)	Ceylon, India
Wirtemberg’s Company	German	Feb 1796 (Ceylon)	?	Ceylon, Moluccas

Sources:

Return of His Majesty's Land Forces, Consisting of Regular Cavalry and Infantry, Fencible Cavalry and Infantry, Independent Corps, and Militia; as They Were Effective In November 1794. HCPP.

Chartrand, René. Émigré And Foreign Troops in British Service (1): 1793–1802, Osprey Publishing.

Placed on the Napoleon Series: March 2014

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