Carignan-Salières Regiment

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Carignan-Salières Regiment


caption=Carignan-Salières Regimental Soldier
countryNew France
allegiance=
type=
branch=
dates=1659 to 1794
specialization=Land combat
command_structure=
size=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto=
colors=Red, Blue, and White
march=
mascot=
battles= Throughout New France and Europe
notable_commanders=Tracy, Contrecoeur, St. Ours
anniversaries=

The Carignan-Salières Regiment was a French military unit formed by merging the Carignan Regiment and the Salières Regiment in 1659. The regiment began their existence in combat against the Ottoman Empire before being reorganized to consist of twenty-four companies before being sent to Canada in 1665. They were led by the new Governor, Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle, and Lieutenant General Alexander de Prouville, Sieur de Tracy. Approximately 1200 men arrived in the middle of 1665.cite web|publisher=CBC History|title=Arrival of the Carignan-Salières regiment|url=http://history.cbc.ca/history/?MIval=EpContent.html&series_id=1&episode_id=2&chapter_id=7&page_id=1&lang=E|accessdate=2007-12-14] They were welcomed as saviors, particularly by Marie de l'Incarnation (Guyart), head of a local convent, who wrote of their arrival:

"The ships have all arrived, bringing us the rest of the army, along with the most eminent persons whom the king has sent to the aid of the country," she wrote." They feared they would all perish in the storms they braved on their voyage...we are helping them to understand that this is a holy war, where the only things that matter are the glory of God and the salvation of souls." [cite web|last=Disse|first=Dorothy|title=Other Women's Voices: Marie de l'Incarnation /Marie Guyart (1599-1672)|url=http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/incarnat.html|accessdate=2007-12-14]

Their service in New France began when a third of them were ordered to build new forts along the Richelieu River, the principal route of the Iroquois marauders. The leader of the men, the Marquis de Salières, recognized that little could be accomplished without more carpenters, skilled craftsman, or basic necessities such as shoes and cooking equipment. After building 3 forts and preparing to stay over in them throughout the winter, orders came from Governor de Courcelle that the men must make an offensive against the Iroquois. De Salières thought this was quite impossible, stating in his memoirs that:

"When I understood and saw the state our soldiers were in for this enterprise, I saw all things ill disposed, the soldiers having no snowshoes, very few axes, a single blanket, no equipment for the ice and having only one pair of moccasins and stockings. When I saw all this, I said to the captains that it would require one of God's miracles for any good to come of this. Some of them replied that M. le gouverneur did as he pleased and took advice from no one."

During the expedition, not one Iroquois was found, and many of the men died due to the harsh conditions. This bitter setback was countered by the events which followed in the autumn of 1666. The regiment was ordered to continue into the territory of the Iroquois, and they found their fortifications abandoned. It turned out that the Iroquois had suffered greatly under a smallpox epidemic, and wished to engage in peace talks with the French. A treaty was signed that succeeded in keeping peace for twenty years.

Despite the lack of an Iroquois threat, King Louis XIV decided that it was better to offer the men of the regiment an opportunity to stay in New France to help increase the population. This offer was particularly beneficial to such men as Pierre de Sorel, Antoine Pécaudy de Contrecoeur, and François Jarret de Verchères, who were granted large seigneuries in New France. Most of the leaders of the regiment still have their names as towns or cities in Canada today.

Although the majority of the regiment returned to France in 1668, about 450 remained behind to settle in Canada. These men were highly encouraged to marry, and most of them did, to newly arriving women for the colony, known as Filles du Roi. After various renamings, the regiment was split in 1794. [cite web|publisher=La Société des Filles du roi et soldats du Carignan|title=The Carignan-Salières Regiment|url=http://www.fillesduroi.org/Regiment/regiment.html|accessdate=2007-12-14]

ee also

* Vincent Basset Du Tartre

List of Ships Carrying the Regiments, 1665

This is a list of ships that carried the Carignan-Salières Regiment from France to New France in 1665.

References

External links

* [http://www.habitant.org/carignan.htm Regimental Lineage Chart by John P. DuLong, PhD]
* [http://www.fillesduroi.org/Regiment/regiment.html List of members of the Carignan-Salières Regiment]