Decree of 18 février 1808 the Organization of the Infantry.
LINE AND LIGHT INFANTRY COMPOSITION.
Article. 1. - Our line infantry and light infantry regiments will in future be made up of a staff and five battalions; the first four will be nominated battalions of war and the fifth that of the depot.
Article 2. - Each war battalion, commanded by a battalion chief having under his orders an adjutant-major and two warrant officers, will be composed of six companies, including one of grenadiers, one of voltigeurs and four riflemen, all of equal force
Article 3. - Each depot battalion will be composed of four companies. A Major will always be attached to this battalion. A Captain designated by the Minister on the presentation of three candidates made by the Colonel will command the battalion of the depot, under the orders of the Major. He will command one of the four companies at the same time. There will be one adjutant-major and two warrant officers near the depot.
Article. 4. - The strength of the general
staff and that of each company of grenadiers or carabiniers, voltigeurs
or fusiliers is determined as follows:
Etat Major
Colonel........................... 1
Major ............................. 1
Chefs de Bataillon.......... 4
Adjudant-majors............. 5
Quartier-maitre trésorier. 1
Officier payeur................ 1
Porte-Aigle...................... 1
Chirurgien-major . . . . . . 1
Aides-chirurgiens............ 4
Sous-aides. . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Adjudants sous-officiers .10
2 et 3º porte-aigle. . . . . . .2
Tambour-major . . . . . . . .1
Caporal tambour . . . . . . .1
Musiciens with 1 chef . . .8
Maitres-ouvriers. ............ 4
Total: 50
Company
Capitaine.................. 1
Lieutenant ................... 1
Sous-lieutenant .......... 1
Sergent-majors ......................... 1
Sergent .................................... 4
Fourrier.................................... 1
Caporaux.................................. 8
Grenadiers, Voltigeurs ou Fusiliers. 121
Tambours ................................ 2
Total:140
Thus the strength of each regiment will be 3,970 men, including 108
officers and 3,862 non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
Article. 5. There will be per war battalion, four sappers who will be chosen from the company of grenadiers of which they will continue to be part, as well as the caporal who will command all the sappers of the regiment.
Article. 6. In battle, the company of grenadiers will hold the right of
the battalion; that of the voltigeurs, the left.
Article. 7. When the six companies are present at the battalion, we will parade and we will always act by division. When the grenadiers and the voltigeurs are absent from the battalion, they would maneuver and always parade in platoons. These companies will form a division; each company will form a platoon;
each half-company a section. (1)
So where are all the battalions of the 3e Ligne? Well as the regimental history states, "On this date will also begin the confusion in all the bodies, which will
have detachments everywhere: in Germany, in France, in Spain; thus, on
April 1, 1808, the first three battalions of 3e Ligne were in the vicinity of
Stettin, in the Saint-Hilaire division; the 4th battalion has its two
companies of grenadiers and voltigeurs at Danzig, in the Oudinol
division; its four rifle companies are part of a provisional regiment of
the ocean coast observation corps (3rd provisional regiment); the 5e battalion (depot) is in Strasbourg." (2) Colonel Pierre Berthezene gives another unfavorable opinion about the new regimental organization, "the battalions were reduced from nine companies to six, for the
battalions of war, and to four for those of the depot. By this measure,
the number of companies was increased by regiment, without any advantage
for the battalions of war, which, on the contrary, in several
circumstances experienced a real reduction." He continues to say, " lt is probable that this change was due to political thought, and that
the desire to send part of our old troops to Spain, without reducing the
number of regiments and battalions of the grand army determined this
formation. It seems bad to me: it gives too weak battalions or too
strong companies and one of the most serious inconveniences that it offers is to reduce the number of companies in the center too much, reduced to four, can no longer suffice to feed the two elite." (3)
Major Francois Duclos will leave the regiment to take command of the 3rd Provisional Regiment in Spain and the new Major Joseph Klein will command the depot. However, Major Klein will be put in command of the 11 Provisional Demi-Brigade of the Army of Germany on May 12, 1809. (4)
In the summer of 1808 and towards the beginning of 1809, "The three battalions of the 3rd entered
Stralsund; they were joined there, towards the end of December, by the voltigeurs and the grenadiers of the 4th Battalion, coming from Hanau,
where they had left the Oudinot division. Under the energetic command of
Davout the winter was employed to improve training, to repair the armament, and, in the spring of 1809, the army of the Rhine was ready to enter the campaign. "
With war looming against the Austrians the 3e Ligne and Davout's Corps started to concentrate near Regensburg when "The Saint-Hilaire division was transported with marvelous rapidity from
Pomerania to Regensburg. The 3rd of the line, who left on the 6th of March from
Stralsund arrived on the 18th at Magdeburg, where he was joined by 300
men coming from the depot in Strasbourg. He stopped there until the 24th, to stock up on ammunition, replace the parts of the armament and equipment deemed defective. He arrived at Bamberg on the 10th of April and went at once to Ratisbonne. "
The Austrians declared the beginning of hostilities on April 9th, "Since the 9th, the 3rd had been camped at Nieder-Windzer, on the left bank of the Danube; he passed on the right bank, with the whole army corps, on the day of the 18th. The next day, very early in the
morning, Davout began his audacious flank march before the army of
Archduke Charles."(2) This is where we find the 3e Ligne on the morning of April 19th, 1809 beginning to make contact with the Austrian light troops, which will start the Battle of Teugen-Hausen.
Returning to the organization of the Etat-Major one of the articles of the 1808 organization breaks down the qualifications and some uniform details of the 2e and 3e Porte Aigle.
Art. 17. - Each regiment will have an eagle which will be carried by an eagle carrier having the rank of lieutenant or sub-lieut holding and counting at least ten years of service, or having made the four campaigns of Ulm, Austerlitz, of Jena and Friedland. He will enjoy the pay of 1st class lieutenant. Two brave men, taken from among the former non-literate soldiers, who, for this reason, could not obtain advancement, having at least ten years of service, with the title, one of a second eagle carrier, the other of third eagle carrier, will always be placed next to the eagle. They will have the rank of sergeant and the pay of sergeant major. They will carry four chevrons on both arms. The
eagle will always stay where there are the most battalions together.
The eagle bearers are part of the regimental staff. All three are
appointed by Napoleon and can only be removed by Napoleon.
Art. 18. - Each war battalion will have a sign carried by a
non-commissioned officer chosen by the chief in one of the companies of that battalion. (1)
There will be a later decree giving the weapons that should be carried by the 2e & 3e Porte Aigles, but, it seems it was up to the Colonel how these men were armed and dressed other than the 4 chevrons. These two veterans could come from any company of the regiment, so, for instance, there could be a grenadier and a fusilier next to the Porte Aigle. According to Frederic Berjaud's website on the 7e Legere, he says, " Until now all we knew was that they had to wear probably the sergeant's stripes, epaulets of grenadiers NCO (carabinier for light infantry), four red chevrons on the arms. They kept the lighter sword and their rifle. The Emperor modified their armament in September 1809 and awarded them an esponton with a red flame for the second Eagle Gate and white for the 3rd. On one side, the regiment's name is inscribed and on the other, "NAPOLEON". Two pistols complete the armament. To wear them, we will soon adopt a case worn on the chest as in the mamelukes. As a headdress: the bearskin cap is envisaged with white racket cord and feathers to mark the membership of the regiment's general staff. It was pointed out that until the war administration could provide homogeneous elements, regiments should try to provide themselves." (5) In 1811 the precise uniform details will be decreed, but until then it seems we are unsure or left with some Petit Soldats de Strasbourg from the Boersch collections and a painting such as Rigo's Porte Aigle of the 7e Legere in 1809. Rigo mentions that one was a carabiner and one was a chasseur, yet both wear a bearskin.
Let's take a look at the commander of the first battalion Chef de Batallion
Jean-Baptiste Laffithe. His had a long and glorious career and was awarded for his efforts as the Colonel of the 124th Ligne Regiment from 1812-1814. His Base Leonore files show his awards as an Officer and Knight of the Legion d'honneur. On the far right side of his service record details his injuries and detailed battlefield service. I find it amazing to see that this type of history is so well preserved and I enjoy researching and finding the stories of the men who fought. (6)
Sources:
(1)
Campagne de 1809 en Allemagne et en Autriche by Charles Gaspard Louis Saski
(2) HISTORIQUE DU 3 Regiment d'Infanterie EX-PIEMONT 1569-1891
(3)
Souvenirs militaires de la République et de l'Empire – Pierre Berthezène
(4) Archives administratives des corps de troupe SHD Xb347
(5) http://frederic.berjaud.free.fr/Articles_de_Didier_Davin/07eLeger/07e_Leger.htm
(6) http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/leonore_fr?ACTION=RETROUVER&FIELD_98=NOM&VALUE_98=%27LAFFITHE%27&NUMBER=2&GRP=0&REQ=%28%28%27LAFFITHE%27%29%20%3aNOM%20%29&USRNAME=nobody&USRPWD=4%24%2534P&SPEC=9&SYN=1&IMLY=&MAX1=1&MAX2=1&MAX3=100&DOM=All
+
