The Armée des Émigrés (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: ''Army of the Émigrés'') were

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...

armies raised outside France by and out of

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s, with the aim of overthrowing the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

and restoring the monarchy. These were aided by royalist armies within France itself, such as the

Chouan Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...

s, and by allied countries such as

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. They fought, for example, at the sieges of Lyon and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. They were formed from: *Volunteers from the

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

, either descendants of the royal family, and other

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s who had fled France *Troops raised by the refugees through covert subsidies from other

European monarchies In the European history, monarchy was the prevalent form of government throughout the Middle Ages, only occasionally competing with communalism, notably in the case of the maritime republics and the Swiss Confederacy. In the early modern period ...

, or through their own means *Units of the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

which had also emigrated, such as the

Régiment de Saxe Hussards The Légion de Conflans (), later the Régiment de Saxe Hussards (), was a German-French Legion (formation), French legion formed during the War of the Austrian Succession. The legion would later serve in the Seven Years' War, but like the other ...

and the Irish Brigade Even

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

I said of them "True, they are paid by our enemies, but they were or should have been bound to the cause of their King. France gave death to their action, and tears to their courage. All devotion is heroic". 1802,

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, First Consul, decreed a general

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

for all but around a thousand of the '' Émigrés'', with the exception of commanders and those who held ranks in armies hostile to the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Main units

Armée de Condé

* Régiment de Mortemart

Armée des Princes

Raised in Germany in 1792, at

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, and commanded by marshals de Broglie and de Castries, under the aegis of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

's brothers, the comte de Provence and duc d'Artois. 10,000 strong, it returned to France beside the army of Brunswick and was dismissed on 24 November 1792, two months after the French victory at

Valmy Valmy () is a rural Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in the Grand Est Regions of France, region in Northeastern France. In 2020, it had a population of 282. Geography The town stands ...

Armée de Bourbon

The short-lived Armée de Bourbon was formed by French Émigrés in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, forming a small standing force of 2000 men, briefly participating in the

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenees, Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of History ...

. Remnants of the force remained in the

Spanish Royal Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed continuously ...

as the Regiment de Bourbon and other legionary formations until well after 1815, when King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

, after the Second Defeat of

, recalled them from Spanish service.

Other units

Légion des Pyrénées

* Creation: 1794 * Also known as: Légion royale des Pyrénées in May * Founder: Marquis de Saint-Simon * Commander: Marquis de Saint-Simon * Size: 600 infantrymen and a squadron of

hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s * Theatre of operations:

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

* Engagements:

Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry (; )BAIGORRI
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia < ...

(26 April 1794), heavy losses (17 prisoners guillotined); montagnes d’Arquinzun (10 July), heavy losses (30 to 50% of its effective strength); Port-Bidassoa (24 July), heavy losses covering the Spanish retreat (50 captured); Siege of Pamplona (November). * Operated within the Spanish army of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

* Sent to the front in 1795, then integrated into the Régiment de Bourbon

Légion de Panetier

* Creation: 1793 * Also known as: Légion de la Reine (''d'Espagne'') in June 1794 * Founder: Comte de Panetier (died January 1794) * Commander: Comte de Panetier, then Général de Santa-Clara * Size: 400; brought up to strength in June 1794 by the companies du Royal-Provence escaping from the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts and the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by forces of the French Re ...

and the companies du Royal Roussillon * Theatre of operations:

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

* Engagements: Defence of

Port-Vendres Port-Vendres (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department, southeastern France. A typical Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the Côte Vermei ...

(May 1794), evacuated by sea (to avoid being captured and guillotined); Zamora 5 January 1796 * Operating within the Spanish army * Amalgamated into the Régiment de Bourbon

Légion du Vallespir

* Creation: 1793 * Also known as: Bataillon de la frontière circa May 1793 * Founder: Spanish general Ricardos, Spanish soldiers under Émigré officers * Commander: * Size: * Theatre of operations: Defence of

Vallespir Vallespir (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca in Northern Catalonia, part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Geography The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders the comarques of Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà ...

, then defending

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

* Engagements: * Operating within the Spanish army * Several desertions to the légion de Panetier - Amalgamated into the Régiment de Bourbon

Royal Roussillon

* Creation: January 1794 at

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from émigrés, prisoners and deserters * Also known as: * Founder: Général Ricardos * Commander: * Size: 200 in June of 1794 (of which 129 were massacred by a mob since they were amusing themselves in their barracks on a procession day) * Theatre of operations: * Engagements: None * Subsumed into the Légion de Panetier (becoming the Légion de la Reine at that moment)

Régiment de Bourbon

* Creation: 1796 from the Légion de la Reine (ex-Légion de Panetier), the Bataillon de la frontière, and the Légion royale des Pyrénées * Also known as: Integrated into the Spanish army as number 47, then 37 * Founder: Marquis de Saint-Simon * Commander : Marquis de Saint-Simon * Size: 1600 (1808) * Theatre of operations: garrisoning

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca (province), Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky r ...

(1797) then

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

* Engagements: Siege of Girona (fell 9 December 1808, 300 captured); Rozas (1808) * Operating within the Spanish army * Still in existence in 1814; formed of foreign soldiers and Gardes Wallonnes, under number 41, then in 1860 became Spain's "53rd infantry regiment", known as ''El Emigrado''.

Notes

External links

Les forces armées de l'émigration française pendant la Révolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armee des Emigres 1792 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1814 disestablishments in Spain Military units and formations established in 1792 Military units and formations disestablished in 1814 Louis XVIII Military history of Trier French emigrants during the French Revolution