EXPLANATION OF THE NAME “ROUSSILLON”.
The
following particulars regarding the history of the Royal Roussillon Regiment of
the French Army were contributed to Vol.1, p. 23 of the Roussillon Gazette by the late Major-General J. C. Young, C.B., Colonel
of The Royal Sussex Regiment.
THE ROYAL RoussILLON REGIMENT.
The
corner of France which lies in the angle of the sea and the mountains on the
Spanish frontier at the eastern extremity of the Pyrenees is known on
modern maps as the Departément Orientales. Locally, one
seldom hears the name, however.
Historically,
and in the hearts and on the lips of the people, it is still Roussillon. This name it came by in 1659, when the Treaty
of the Pyrenees gave to the French that portion of the Spanish Province of
Catalonia lying north of the Pyrenees. Roussillon it remained until the
name-changing period following the French Revolution, when the present
political divisions, called departéments, replaced many of the old names of
provinces in France. In the records of regiments of the French Army, 1659-1900,
the history of the Royal Roussillon Regiment is given as follows:-
54th Regiment of Infantry of
the Line.
Battle honours
emblazoned on the colours:-
Alkamer, 1759. Austerlitz, 1805.
Friedland, 1807. Kabylie, 1857.
Originally
raised in 1657 from levies made in Roussillon and in Catalonia, it was known as
the Catalan-Mazarin Regiment. In 1661 it became the Royal Catalan Regiment, and
in 1667 the Royal Roussillon Regiment. In the year 1791 the territorial title
was replaced by a number, and the Roussillon Regiment appears today [1927] in the French Army List as the 54th
Regiment of Infantry of the Line.
Further information
courtesy of Richard Callaghan (Past
Curator, The Military Museum of Sussex)
Lineage
of the Royal Roussillon Regiment
By 1792, The Royal Roussillon Regiment was
split into 2 demi battalions, in common with the rest of the revolutionary
army, possibly in the 1777 army reforms. It recruited in the Roussillon area of
southern France as well as Catalonia, during the 17th century the part of the
Spanish province of Catalonia north of the Pyrenees was ceeded to France.
The Regiment Royal Roussillon was formed on
the 26th May 1657 by Joseph, Baron de
Caramany. It was reduced to two Battalions by 1792.
1er
Battalion, Regiment d’Infanterie de Ligne Royal Roussillon (Nr 54) [1792 title] became
the 46eme Regiment d’Infanterie de Ligne
[1] in 1804., being
disbanded post Waterloo in 1815.
The 2eme Battalion, Regiment d’Infanterie de Ligne
Royal Roussillon (Nr 54) [1792 title] became the
21ere Regiment d’Infanterie de Ligne [2] in 1804, being further
retitled Legion de L’Ardeche in 1815, 4eme
Regiment d’Infanterie Legere [3] in 1820, and 79eme Regiment d’Infanterie de Ligne [4] in 1854.
It will be seen from the above that the 54th
Line Regiment, which was formed after 1815, therefore has no connection with
the Royal Roussillon, and the 79th line was the only direct descendant unit.