WSS Irish Brigade help

[Zozimus]

After several decades of inaction I have started again with the War of the Spanish Succession and have decided to initially put together the Irish Brigade in Louis XIVs service.  I am using 1707 as a basis for organisation because I hope to be able to use the figures as English troops by having a replacement set of standards etc and I prefer the English flags in use before the Union with Scotland.  I'm using Warlord Games 28mm figures, which I quite like although I'd prefer there to be more variation in figure types.

My problem, which I'm hoping someone can help me with, is that I can find minimal, if any, information on three regiments which were part of the Brigade in 1707. The regiments are: Galmoy, Fitzgerald (formerly Albemarle, later O'Donnell), and Burke (formerly Luttrell).  I know that Galmoy and O'Donnell were disbanded in 1715, and Burke (as Wauchope's Regiment) was transferred to Spain in the same year, becoming the Regimento Irlanda.

I would be grateful if anyone can point me towards sources of information which can shed light on their facings, lace, flags etc.  Thanks in anticipation.

[aphillathehun]

Robert Hall has a CD on French infantry which should give you all that info.  It's available from the Pike and Shot society, I believe.

[Zozimus]

Thanks for that information, will have to take a look. For some reason I hadn't thought of the Pike and Shot Society.

[Arthur]

There were eight Irish regiments in French service during the WSS. Here they are with their facing colours (when known) and the campaigns in which they served :

* Lee : green cuffs, lining, waistcoat & breeches, white stockings, white buttons & hat lace. Campaigns : Germany 1702-1707, Flanders 1708-1712

* Clare (1706 O'Brien) : yellow cuffs, lining and waistcoat, red breeches, white stockings, white buttons & lace. Campaigns : Germany 1703-1705, Flanders 1706-1712.

* Dillon : Green cuffs & lining, red waistcoat & white stockings. The black cuffs traditionally shown on many illustrations may only have been introduced in 1735 and facings were almost certainly green during the WSS. Campaigns : Italy 1701-1706, Spain 1707-1709, Germany 1709-1712.

* Dorrington : Blue cuffs, lining, waistcoat & stockings, yellow buttons and hat lace. Campaigns : Germany 1703-1707, Flanders 1708-1712

* Burke (also spelled Bourke) : facings unknown, may have been either yellow or blue. Campaigns : Italy 1701-1706, Spain & Roussillon 1707-1713.

* Berwick : yellow cuffs, lining, waistcoat, breeches a stockings. Yellow buttons and hat lace. Campaigns : Italy 1701-1706, Spain 1707-1713.

* Fitzgerald (1708 O'Donnel) : white cuffs , lining, breeches & stockings, red waistcoat, white buttons & hat lace. Campaigns : Italy 1701-1706, Flanders 1707-1712. 

* Galmoy : blue cuffs & lining, red waistcoat & breeches, white stockings, yellow buttons & hat lace. Campaigns : Italy 1702, Germany 1703, Italy 1704-1706, Germany 1707, Dauphiné 1709, Flanders 1710-17012, Roussillon & Catalogne 1713-14.

The Hall book is an excellent resource indeed and will provide you with additional detail regarding the coats worn by the officers, NCO's and drummers, officers often wearing scarlet coats faced scarlet regardless of their regiment's facing colour. In a nutshell, very little is known about the uniforms worn by Burke, while Fitzgerald had NCO's in coats similar to the rank & file and drummers in white/grey-white faced red. Galmoy had sergeants in blue coats faced red and drummers in blue coats faced and lined yellow with red waistcoats and lace in the colonel's colours of blue and yellow on their coats.

Remember that being French units, they wore French accoutrements with a belly cartridge box worn on the waistbelt rather than the ammo pouch on a shoulder belt used by British troops. As a result, the Front Rank or Ebor French infantry miniatures are more appropriate for the Irish than the generic Warlord plastic figures (Ebot are my personal favourites but that's a matter of individual taste).   

[Zozimus]

Thank you also for this very useful information, only a little of which I already had gleaned from the internet.  The Hall book I will be investigating, probably as an early Christmas treat. I have seen a print online of the Spanish Irlanda regiment with yellow facings so I'm tempted to think that these were a carry-over from French service.

I was attracted to Warlord because, as I hadn't wargamed for many years and had no figures, they seemed to be suitable as far as cost was concerned compared with metal figures.  They are certainly generic but, as my painting skills haven't improved over the years but my eyesight has worsened, they are probably suitable for what I can do.  More variety in the range would be useful but I suppose that period isn't as 'sexy' as the Second World War, or the Korean War, or even Napoleonics so they won't receive the attention.  I have some Ebor artillery figures and I'm very pleased with them and will have another look at Front Rank too.

Thanks again for your help