This regiment required a fair amount of historical detective work. No surviving evidence has been found regarding the uniform of the Régiment de Cordes; only its history is documented. Consequently, the reconstruction had to begin with that historical record.
The regiment was raised by François de La Tour du Pin, Comte de Choisinet, on 7 May 1702. From 1705 until 1710 it was commanded by an officer named de Cordes. French regiments, however, generally followed the well-established practice of retaining their existing uniform even when the proprietary colonel changed. The same principle applied to the ordonnance colours, which likewise remained unchanged. This convention was widespread and, in most cases, faithfully observed.
Moreover, it is difficult to imagine that, in the midst of a major war, the appointment of a new colonel would have required an entirely new set of uniforms to be manufactured and transported through insecure military theatres. Such a process would have been not only impractical but, in many cases, virtually impossible.
Fortunately, I was able to locate a portrait of an otherwise unidentified Marquis de La Tour du Pin wearing his uniform. The most significant detail is that the cuffs are blue, whereas the red coat, being a court livery and indicative of rank, has no uniformological value. Incidentally, the colour of the cuffs was itself a characteristic that generally remained unchanged from one generation to the next within the family.
There can be no doubt that the portrait belongs to the La Tour du Pin family, as the family's coat of arms is clearly visible in the painting (see detail the collar of the dog).
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| Regiment de Cordes |
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| Drapeau d'Ordonnance |
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| Drapeau Colonel |
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