Osprey Men-at-Arms 313 : Louis XV's Army (5) : Colonial and Naval Troops

In 1715, when the infant Louis XV became king, France had a sizeable overseas empire in America, Africa and Asia. These colonies were garrisoned by thousands of regular officers and soldiers who belonged to the Navy's colonial establishment or by the French East India Company's troops. This represented some 4,500 European officers and men in 1720; about 6,500 Europeans with about 10,000 Sepoys in 1756; and about 8,800 Europeans and 1,000 Sepoys by 1770. The Navy had its own establishment of troops based in France for sea service, hovering between 6,000 and 11,000 officers and men. These troops did not form part of the regular army, and are not usually covered in histories of the French forces. Yet, since the end of the 17th century, they saw most action against the enemy overseas [usually the British] and in ships on the high seas; it was only from 1755 that metropolitan army battalions first saw action overseas. Thus, we are dealing with a largely 'unknown' colonial and naval army. Much of the information presented by Rene Chartrand in this last book in a series of five [Men-at-Arms 296, 302, 304, 308 & 313], is entirely new and abstracted from considerable historical data. This text detailing the uniforms, arms and accoutrements of these troops is accompanied by numerous photographs and illustrations, including eight full page colour plates by Eugène Lelièpvre.

Contents

• Introduction
• Colonial Regular Troops
  Colonial Campagnies Franches de la Marine
  New France - Canada
  IIe Royale (Louisbourg)
  Louisiana
  West Indies and Guyana
  
• Uniforms, Arms and Accoutrements
• Colonial Artillery Corps
  Troops of the 'Campagnie des Indies'
  Uniforms
  Artillery
  Sepoys
  
• Colonial Troops 1763-1772
• Colonial Militias
  New France Militias
  West Indies and Guyana Militias
  East Indies and Africa
  
• Naval Troops
  Post 1763 Marine Units
  Galley Fleet Troops
  
• Select Bibliography
• Addenda to Previous Volumes in the Series
• The Plates