Origin and History
The unit was raised in Flanders on March 7 1649 by the Prince of Hesse-Homburg under the name of “Tercio de corazas del pais”. In 1653, it became Bateville; in 1667, Trautmannsdorf; in 1669, Quincy; in 1675, d'Andignies; in 1676, Bethencourt; and in 1693, Fourneau.
On March 12 1649, shortly after its creation, the unit was part of the army who entered into France and took position at Badencourt on the Oise River. It took part in the capture of Ypres and in the sieges of Cambrai and La Motte-aux-Bois. In 1650, it participated in the unsuccessful siege of Guise and in the capture of Chapelle and Mouzon; in 1651, in the march on Paris and in the siege of Gravelines; in 1652, in the capture of Gravelines and in the siege and capture of Dunkerque; in 1653, in the siege of Rocroi; in 1654, in the unsuccessful siege of Arras; in 1656, in the relief of Valenciennes and in the siege and capture of Condé; in 1657, in the attack of Ardres; and in 1658, in the Battle of the Dunes.
In 1667, at the beginning of the War of Devolution (1667–68), the unit took part in an attempt to relieve Furnes.
In 1673, during the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78), the unit took part in the defence of Maastricht. In 1674, it participated in the Battle of Seneffe and in the siege of Oudenarde; in 1675, in the defence of Saint-Omer; in 1676, in the defence of Condé and in an attempt to relieve Bouchain; in 1677, in the Battle of Cassel and in the unsuccessful siege of Charleroi; and in 1678, in the Battle of Saint-Denis.
In 1689, during the Nine Years' War (1688–97), the unit took part in the Battle of Walcourt and in the defence of the Lines of Montigny; in 1690, in the Battle of Fleurus; in 1691, in the defence of Mons; in 1692, in the Battle of Steenkerque; in 1693, in the Battle of Landen; and in 1695, in the siege of Namur.
In the Spring of 1701, at the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–13), the 2 squadrons of the regiment were stationed in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1702, it served in the Electorate of Cologne. And took part in an offensive on the Lower Rhine. In 1703, it campaigned in the Spanish Netherlands; and in 1704, in Alsace. In 1705, the regiment took part in the siege and capture of Huy. In 1706, it was posted in the Lines of Stokel. In 1707, it took part in an offensive in Swabia; in 1708, in the engagement of Wijnendale; in 1709, in the Battle of Malplaquet. In 1710, the regiment was transferred from Flanders to Catalonia and was soon allocated to the Army of Extremadura. In 1711, the regiment campaigned in Portugal. In 1712, it returned to Spain and took part in the campaign in Catalonia.
In 1718, the regiment was sent to Sicily, occupied Palermo and took part in the capture of Messina and in the victorious Battle of Milazzo. In 1719, it fought in the Battle of Francavilla. In 1720, it sailed back to Barcelona.
In 1732, 50 men of the regiment took part in the expedition of Oran.
In 1733, at the outbreak of the War of the Polish Succession (1733–35), the regiment marched to Antibes where it embarked for Tuscany. In 1734, it took part in the Battle of Bitonto and in the reconquest of the Kingdom of Naples. It was then transferred to Sicily where it participated in the blockade of Syracuse. It then re-embarked for Naples. In 1735, it campaigned once more in Sicily and ended the war in Lombardy.
In 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), one squadron of the regiment was sent to reinforce the Army of Italy. It took part in the siege and capture of Tortona, in the Battle of Bassignano and in the occupation of Milan. In 1746, it participated in the siege of the citadel of Milan, in the Battle of Piacenza. After this defeat, it retired to Provence and then to Spain.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was under the command of:
- no information available yet
Service during the War
On April 18, the regiment marched through Old Castile to Zamora join the army assembling for the planned invasion of Portugal. On May 1, it passed the frontier as part of the first column under the Count de Maceda who took position at Ciudad-Rodrigo. On June 5, this column advanced into Portugal. From July 6 to August 25, the regiment took part in the Siege of Almeida. It campaigned until October 31 and then took up cantonments in Villar del Rey and Arroyo del Puerco. On November 14, it retired to Castile.
|Headgear||black tricorne laced gold with a red cockade fastened with a yellow button|
|Coat||dark blue with yellow buttons on the right side, 1 yellow button on each side in the small of the back and small yellow buttons on each side to fasten the basques
|Waistcoat||red with yellow buttons, horizontal pockets with yellow buttons|
no information available yet
Musicians wore a uniform with reversed colours: red coat with dark blue facings.
The standards were made of damask or silk, fringed and embroidered in gold. They had red and yellow cravats with gold tassels.
Obverse: red field, centre device consisting of the Royal Spanish Arms surrounded by the necklace of the Order of the Golden Fleece; all embroideries in gold.
Reverse: red field, centre device consisting of the regimental emblem, a golden cartouche with a silver or white oval shield and a red Burgundian cross. The cartouche is surmounted by the royal crown; all embroideries in gold.
This article is mostly made of abridged and adapted excerpts from the following books which are now in the public domain:
- Clonard, Conde de, Historia Orgánica de las Armas de Infantería y Caballería, vol. XIV, Madrid, 1851-62, pp. 277-294
Album de Taccoli, 1759
Clonard, Conde de: Album de la caballeria española
Fernández Mateos, Francisco P.: Regimiento "Numancia", 9º de Caballería
Peréz, José Luis Calvo and Luis Grávalos González: Banderas de Espana, Silex 1983
Vinkhuijzen Collection: Porta-estandarte de Farnesio. (Linea) 1737
Juan José Torres and the Asociación Cultural de Modelismo Histórico Alabarda for the information and counselling provided for this article.
Volker Scholz for the information on standards.