The 10e Legere is the last regiment in the 1st Brigade of Saint Hilaire's 4th Division in 1809. Before 1809, the veteran regiment fought in the battles of Austerlitz, Iena (Jena), Eylau, Heilsberg, and countless other small engagements. At the Battle of Thann, the regiment played a secondary yet still very important role in the eventual French victory. The gallant and well thought of Colonel Pierre Berthezene was the commanding officer since February 1807, taking over for Colonel Pouzet (later his head was taken off by a cannonball as a General de Brigade in front of his friend Marshal Lannes at the end of the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809). The regiment fought the majority of the battle on the far right of the French position located near Roith. Throughout the battle, their opponents were the Peterwardeiner Grenz Infantry Regiment No. 9 (1 battalion) and the Erzherzog Karl Legion (1 battalion). We know about the regiment's actions in the battle mainly from the after action reports of Marshal Davout, L. Boudin de Roville (1st Aide de Camp to General Saint-Hilaire) (1) and Colonel Berthezene's memoirs (2). Before the battle on 10 April 1809, the situational report shows 71 officers and 2,501 men with the regiment. There were also two men detached and 204 in the hospital with a total effective strength of 2,778 officers and soldiers. The regiment had 3 Batallions du Guerre and the elite companies from the 4e Batallion.
Unfortunately, I was unable to view the Controles de Troupes for the regiment, and there is no precise information on casualties other than the officers. In Binder's work (1906), he claims the 10e Legere had five officers and 431 out of action. (3) According to Binder, he used the 3rd Corps 20 April 1809 situational report to come to this number, but Martinien cites nine officers wounded (4), and in my research, I was able to find one additional officer injured and two officers captured. It seems that Martinien listed Lieut. Salomon as wounded on the 19 and 21 April 1809, but his service record only list the 21st. He could of have possibly mixed up the name with Sous-Lieut. Louis Auguste Bonenfant who was seriously wounded by a cannonball and missing from Martinien's list. His service record states that he was wounded by a cannonball that carried away his left arm and retired due to the amputation of that same arm in 1810. Below can be seen his record from Base Leonore (here).
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| Lieut. Bonenfant service record. Even after losing his left arm he came out of retirement and joined the 69e Cohort in 1812. |
His wound most likely occurred when the large Austrian battery stationed in front of Hausen targeted the 10e Legere as it left the cover of the woods north of Hausen. Colonel Berthezen says, "The 10th light moved, by the right of this regiment (57e Ligne), to the left flank
of the enemy, and attacked it so vigorously that it did not allow it a
long resistance; the artillery, compromised, hastened his retreat,
leaving one of his pieces in our hands, and the infantry was led, bayonet
clear in their loins, to the heights of Hausen; but then the 10th light
and the 3rd of the line (1e Batallion under orders of Chef de batallion Laffithe), which had been sent to his right to support
his operation, found exposed discovered under fire from 40,000 men and 60
pieces of guns. After having suffered an artillery discharge and some
battalion fires, they had to reenter the wood" (Berthezene, 1855, p. 194).
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| Capit. Jean Richard born on 24 April 1767, was wounded and captured just five days short of his 42nd birthday. |
Below I will post the three uniform plates for the Carabiniers, Chasseurs, and Voltigeurs of the 10e Legere. The 10e Legere uniforms in 1809 are not exactly known, and there are many different variations of the uniform worn. I have tried my best to show each of the variations, but I have decided to go with what I believe the uniform looked like at the time. On Frederic Berjaud's website, you can find his description of the most likely uniform for the regiment here (2). I will also add some of the paintings and petit soldats showing the regiment in its many different uniform variations below.
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| Carabiniers |
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| Chasseurs |
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| Voltigeurs |
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| Carabinier Sergent Major and Sapeur from E.Fort | |
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| Carabinier in 1809 uniform from Bucquoy plates. |
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| Sapeur in 1809 uniform from Bucquoy plates. |
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| Chasseur from E.Fort |
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| Chasseur Flutist and Voltigeur from E.Fort |
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| Voltigeur, Carabinier, Chasseur, and Chasseur Drummer from the Carl Collection | |
For those who can read French, an article by the late Didier Davin describing the regiment's uniforms in the Napoleonic period. Didier Davin was also the writer of the history of the 10e Legere on Frederic Berjaud's website.
References
1.) Campagne de 1809 en Allemagne et en Autriche –
2.) Souvenirs militaires de la République et de l'Empire –
3.) Der Krieg Napoleons gegen Oesterreich 1809 – Freiherr Karl Binder von Krieglstein https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=H8lCAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA207
4.) Le 10ème Régiment d'Infanterie Légère 1796-1815 http://frederic.berjaud.free.fr/Articles_de_Didier_Davin/10eLeger/10e%20Leger.htm
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