Compagnie des Suisses de Monsieur le comte d'Artois

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monsieur le comte d'Artois in the uniform of the Colonel général of the Gardes suisses
Guard in court service uniform

The Compagnie des Suisses de Monsieur le comte d'Artois was a guard formation that was led by Louis XV. for his grandson, later King Charles X. in 1773.

Before 1789

The formation of the company

In 1771 and 1773, Louis XV approved. the formation of a company of Swiss Guards each for his two grandchildren. The younger of the two, the Comte d'Artois (Count of Artois) received the "Compagnie des Suisses de Monsieur le comte d'Artois", an infantry unit that in 1780 was 54 men strong. In order to be accepted into the guard, each officer had to have a minimum height of 5 pieds and 5 pouces (1 pied = 33 cm and 1 pouce = 27.07 mm - a total of 178 cm) - the average height of French men at the time 162 cm. Other conditions were good health, a “beautiful face”, a noble demeanor and coming from a wealthy or otherwise extraordinary high nobility family.

The members of the lower ranks (deuxieme classe) were also of the nobility.

The ranks were completely different from those of the line troops. A captain from a line regiment switched to the Garde du corps as a simple sergent major . Even the Comte d'Artois was just an ordinary captain in his guard. It was an extraordinary honor to serve in the guard of the brother of the (future) king.

The Comte d'Artois was held in high regard by the troops for his military service.

At the age of 15 he was appointed Colonel General of the Swiss Guard, much to the displeasure of all those who had hoped for this lucrative post themselves. He felt his calling as a warrior and took his cause very seriously by regularly participating in the exercises of his Swiss Guard. This zeal did not seem appropriate to the Bourbons, since they did not like it when their descendants became too involved in military affairs.

Either on behalf of Louis XV. or on his own initiative, said Minister Maurepas to the young Colonel:

“Do you find the maneuvers very attractive, Monseigneur? This is not appropriate for a prince. Enjoy yourself in a different way, get into debt - we will pay for it. "

This advice fell on fertile ground. He became frivolous and wasteful and abandoned the soldier's character.

Details

The wages were significantly higher than in a provincial or line regiment and the financial advantages were of various kinds. B. the salary for board and lodging. Medical care was guaranteed and free of charge. The officers were young, in good physical shape, and rarely on sick leave. One of the doctors at the Maison du comte d'Artois was Jean-Paul Marat . The doctors received an annual salary of 2,000 livres , which corresponded to the board and lodging allowance for a captain.

staff

1 The Comte d'Artois as Capitaine
1 Medecien (regimental doctor)
2 lieutenants
1 Quartier-maître trésorier in the rank of Sous-lieutenant
2 porte-drapeaux
4 adjutants (as officers' deputy)
2 fourriers
1 Maître-aumônier (regimental chaplain)
1 Commissaire de guerre (War Commissioner)
1 maître-author (clerk)
4 Caporals (NCOs)
1 drum (drummer)
28–34 guardsmen

After 1789

emigration

In July 1789 the king's brother emigrated to the Austrian Netherlands with a passport from La Fayette . Only a small number of his guardsmen accompanied him. These were paid more or less regularly for a few more months, but then had to share the misfortunes and failures of their boss.

The "Compagnie des Suisses de Monsieur le comte d'Artois" was officially dissolved on June 25, 1791. It is not known how many of the company's members were still on duty.

restoration

In the course of the restoration , the Comte d'Artois set up a sizeable guard of honor (Garde d'honneur) in 1814, which, however, resembled the French Swiss Guard .

See also

literature

  • Histoire de la maison militaire du roi de 1814 à 1830 , E. Titeux, Ed. Baudry (Paris), 1890.
  • Encyclopédie théologique , Tome I, Vol. 2, Jacques-Paul Migne, Paris, 1859.
  • Dictionnaire de la conversation et de la lecture , Volume 29, Bellin-Mandar, Paris, 1836.

Web links

Commons : Uniforms of the Royal French Guard  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ^ Georges Bordonove , Charles X , éditions Pygmalion.