The Compagnies franches de la marine (; previously known as Troupes de la Marine, later renamed and reorganized as Troupes coloniales and then Troupes de Marine) were an ensemble of autonomous infantry units attached to the French Royal Navy () bound to serve both on land and sea. These troupes constituted the principal military force of France capable of intervening in actions and holding garrisons in outre-mer (overseas) from 1690 to 1761. Independent companies of the navy and colonial regulars,Sutherland, Stuart. "Troupes de la Marine", in The Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1988), Volume 4, p.2196. were under the authority of the French Minister of Marine, who was also responsible for the French navy, overseas trade, and French colonies.
In New France, these were the only regular soldiers stationed by the Crown from 1685 to 1755; that year several army battalions were dispatched to North America during the Seven Years' War between France and Great Britain, which was waged in Europe and North America.
The Naval Department of France began using the Compagnies to defend their control of the fur trade in North America with certain tribes and the safety of local civilians from raiding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, especially the powerful Mohawk and Seneca.Russ, Christopher J. Les Troupes De La Marine, 1683-1713, 1971. Print. In 1756, after the start of the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War by American historians), the Compagnies were superseded in New France by the arrival of large units of the regular army commanded by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. After the fall of Montreal to British forces in 1760, the victors ordered the disbanding of the Compagnies in Canada. After the war ended in 1763, France ceded all of its North American territories east of the Mississippi River to the British.
In 1992 the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve revived the Compagnies as a historical re-enactment unit. It has toured the country.
Development of the Troupes de la marine
Genesis
The French colonial forces are believed to date to the establishment in 1622 by Cardinal Richelieu of the hundred Compagnies Ordinaires de la Mer. These units served as soldiers on board naval vessels of the French Navy. Desertions, floods, lack of funds and governmental interest considerably reduced their effectiveness. In 1626 Richelieu created the Régiment la Marine, of which he was the owner and honorary commandant. The regiment demonstrated its capability in limited battles along the provincial coast up to the Lérins Islands, near Cannes, and in the Bay of Biscay.
Richelieu created other regiments to sustain the effort of French colonization in New France. The first supported national efforts in the Antilles; the first French colonizers arrived in the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique (named by the French) in the year 1630. The period of service of the regiments varied: Régiment du Havre (1636-1642), Régiment des Îles (garrisoned at îles de Ré and Oléron in 1636-1663), and the régiment des Galères garrisoned at Toulon. Louis XIII created the Régiment des Vaisseaux (1638-1643).
The latter was reformed by Cardinal Mazarin in 1664 and renamed as Régiment Vaisseau-Mazarin. The regiment was designated Régiment Vaisseau-Provence in 1658, then Régiment Royal-Vaisseaux in 1669.
In 1669, Jean-Baptiste Colbert State Secretary of the Navy () and avid developer of the marine royal (French Royal Navy) and colonial efforts, created two regiments: Régiment Royal–La Marine and the Régiment de l'Amiral; their forces were distributed among naval installations at Dunkerque, le Havre, Brest, Rochefort, and Toulon. For the first time they wore the grey-white uniform with blue vest, which became traditional for them.
In 1670 there were significant changes administered by Colbert and François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, respectively the Naval State Secretary and the Secretary of State of War. The four regiments of la marine were transferred from the secretariat of La Marine to that of the secretariat of La Guerre. This change was required to meet the successive military war demands of the reign of Louis XIV, who wanted the Crown to control all French units. The regiments were withdrawn from the French Navy, preserving only the name as a naval designation. During the Revolution of the late 18th century, the La Marine, Royal-Marine, Royal-Vaisseux, and the Régiment de l'Amiral ( re-baptized Régiment de Vermandois) were completely integrated into the French Army, becoming respectively, the 11e, 60e, 43e and 61e de Ligne in 1791.
The Marine Royale attracted numerous recruits in 1671: France was able to staff 196 naval vessels. Colbert decided to create 100 companies of "guardian-soldiers" intended to defend the naval vessels (). However, in 1673 Louvois has these men transferred to the French Army.
Starting this date, naval and marine officers were required to recruit their own crews. Owing to the presence of "levées" on the war or commercial sea ports, similar to the "marine press", the officers garrisoned their naval ships with defenders. However, the system found its limits quickly. The recruits were often lacking discipline and experience...and were discharged or deserted following their first campaign, ruining months of training. The naval and marine officers re-visited impressment and sought other ways to recruit crew. French naval and marine officers had limited access to experienced soldiers until 1682.
In 1683, three companies of Troupes de la Marine were sent to Québec to contain the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy from south of the Great Lakes, who were constantly raiding French settlements. They also blocked commercial fur trading routes to the interior of the Canadian colony, as they wanted to keep a monopoly on the trade.Cassel, Jay. "Troupes de la Marine," The Oxford Companion to Canadian History. Oxford University Press, 2004. By 1690, it became clear that the forces assigned to ships were not sufficient to defend the French colonies. Another force was created with that specific mission in mind; it was also called the Compagnies Franches de la Marine.
These troops originally were recruited from the French mainland from among males sixteen years and older who were at least 5'5" tall. Starting in 1685, younger sons of aristocrats in Quebec were sent to France to attain a military or naval education and become officers.Christopher J. Russ, Les Troupes De La Marine, 1683-1713, 1971. 130. Print. However, throughout their history the Compagnies often did not have their full complement of soldiers, which the colonial leadership frequently complained about to the national leadership in metropolitan France. This was in large part due to the problems of recruitment of soldiers to Canada. The climate, and constant fighting with the powerful Iroquois, frightened off many French from signing up.Christopher J. Russ, Les Troupes De La Marine, 1683-1713, 1971. 79. Print. Another factor was that the French custom of having to ask for the consent of soldier to be sent to a region, which led many to refuse to go to Canada. The French resorted to using petty criminals to serve in the Compagnies Franche de la Marine.Christopher J. Russ, Les Troupes De La Marine, 1683-1713, 1971. 73. Print. Even under-strength, they served to defend the major towns of the colony. Other detachments were assigned to the small fur trading posts that were so important to the economy.
One of the reasons for the multi-façade orientation service ( sea and land troupe de terre as a line infantry) of the Troupes de la Marine, was due to the rivalry between the Colbert family, who were Ministers of the Marine, and the Le Tellier family whom were in charge of the Troupe de Terre.Christopher J. Russ, Les Troupes De La Marine, 1683-1713, 1971. 125. Print. These bad relations led to the Colbert family sending significantly more naval officers to serve on land than officers from the Troupe de Terre
Three ordinances
To render the limited access of proper naval experiences more operationally effective, the royal power decided to create new colonial troupes, with the initiative of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay, succeeding to the secretariat of the Navy. Colbert requested from the military intendant of Rochefort, the creation of a corps of soldiers "toujours prêt à embarquer" (always ready to embark), "gens braves et capables de bons services" (brave people and capable of good services). Accordingly, are created six "companies of la marine" dependent on State Secretary of the Navy. Composed of 50 men each, units were dispersed between Brest, Rochefort, and Toulon, which became the principal war ports of France. They were "gardiens de port" (guardian of ports) in demi-solde assigned to the surveillance of the ports and royal vessels. Disposing of four months of leave per year, they remained in their homes in times of peace at the condition of reporting back to duty three to four times a year in sessions of inspection and exercises lasting three days. They were commanded by a Lieutenant de Vaisseau. They were definitely dependent of the "secretariat de la Marine" (Naval secretariat).
The royal ordinance of January 1, 1685 completed this system by the second foundation of the "soldats-gardiens" (guardian soldiers). Each port consisted of six "escouades" (sections) of 50 guardian soldiers and six companies of 50 demi-soldes, that is 300 of each type, totaling a theoretical of 600 soldiers per port. When the guardian soldiers of the ports would embark, those in demi-solde would be called to serve in their place at full pay. The number of companies of guardian soldiers by port became ten, that is 500 men in 1686, then eleven companies, that is 550 men in 1687. 150 men, that is three companies, assigned to Havre during the same year. The units of the same port are under the commandment of a "capitaine de vaisseau".
The successor of de Seignelay, Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain, signed the royal ordinance of April 15, 1689 which reinforced the ensemble of existing by supplementations of a company of 100 "apprentis-canonniers" (artillery-apprentices) at Brest, Rochefort and Toulon, one company of 50 "bombardiers" and six sections of 50 supplementary guardian soldiers at Brest, Rochefort, Toulon and le Havre. The ensemble of these units were regrouped under the designation of "troupes de la Marine" (Troupes de la Marine). Principally mainly interested in the service at sea, these guardian soldiers could form up to a third of the equipment on which they boarded.
On December 16, 1690, the royal ordinance reorganized entirely the French troupes destined in outre-mer service. The royal ordinance authorized the creation of eighty companies franches de la marine integrating at the crops of the same units, new recruits in addition to the ensemble forming the guardian soldiers, port guardians in demi-solde, the artillery-apprentices and bombardiers.
Function
The Troupes de la Marine was not different from the troupes de terre of the French Army in terms of being a Line Infantry on land or sea on board a ship. Most of the troupes de la marine regiments were transferred to the French Army, with the latter having had troupes de terre (land forces troupes) in maritime service on board ships since 1622 after the first regular specific infantry troupes of Spain and Portugal.
However their service orientation function at the corps of the three ordinances mounting the defensive of sea ports differentiated them from the troupe de terre of the French Army.