Chasseurs Britanniques The Chasseurs Britanniques was a battalion - sized corps of foreign volunteers , who fought for Great Britain during the Napoleonic Wars . The regiment was formed from the remnants of the Prince of Condé ' s Army after it was disbanded in 1800 . The regiment entered British service in 1800 and continued to fight for Great Britain until 1814 , when it was disbanded after Napoleon ' s first abdication and exile to Elba . Origin of the Chasseurs Britanniques . With the start of the French Revolution , French Royalist forces were raised to fight the French Revolutionary Armies . Mostly , these were made up of emigres returning to fight for the deposed monarch . Three small armies were formed . One of these , raised by the Prince of Conde , operated on the Upper Rhine . Initially operating with the Austrians , the Army of Conde served under Russia before entering British service . In British service . Initially , the Chasseurs were composed of French emigres . As the Napoleonic wars continued , the ranks of the Chasseurs were replenished mainly from deserters from the French Army . In British service , the Chasseurs Britanniques earned a reputation for fighting well in battle . However , they had an equal reputation for desertion , so much so that they could not be trusted to act as picquets when in camp . In 1813 alone , the Chasseurs had 224 deserters from a total strength of approximately 1 , 740 men . Within three years of joining Wellington ' s army , nearly half of the Chasseurs had deserted . After being accepted into British service , the royalists ' first chance in battle as the Chasseurs Britanniques came in 1801 during the Egyptian Campaign . Under the command of Colonel John Ramsey , they took part in the Siege of Alexandria . Following the Egyptian campaign , the Chasseurs were withdrawn , first to Malta and then to the Isle of Wight . In 1803 , while on the Isle of Wight , the Chasseurs Britanniques were brought back up to war - strength with another influx of emigres . From there , the Chasseurs were sent to Naples , before being withdrawn to Sicily with the rest of the British forces in 1806 . The Chasseurs were assigned to Major General John Stuart ' s expedition to Italy in 1806 . Although they were not present at the Battle of Maida , the Chasseurs took part in the capture of Reggio on 9 July 1806 , where they were able to entice 300 French prisoners to join their ranks . In 1810 , the Chasseurs Britanniques received orders to join Wellington ' s army in the Peninsula . Arriving in Lisbon in January 1811 , the Chasseurs joined Wellington ' s command in March . They served in the 2nd Brigade of the Seventh Division . As part of Wellington ' s Army , they saw action in many of the major engagements of Peninsular campaign from 1811 to 1814 , including the battles of Fuentes de Onoro , Ciudad Rodrigo , Salamanca and Vitoria , as well as the fighting in the Pyrenees . The Chasseur ' s final major battle was Orthez . They were then assigned to escort the Duke of Angoulême to Bordeaux , where they discovered that the city had turned Royalist and welcomed the Duke and his escort . While most of the Chasseurs served as line infantry under Wellington , a detachment of the Chasseurs Britanniques received orders to report to the ship of the line HMS " Ramillies " . The detachment was present aboard ship for the Battle of Fort McHenry , but does not appear to have been part of the landing which culminated in the Burning of Washington . With the end of hostilities after Napoleon ' s first abdication and exile to Elba , the Chasseurs Britanniques were withdrawn from France and brought back to Great Britain . The corps was disbanded on 5 October 1814 . Uniform and traditions . The Chasseurs Britanniques were originally uniformed in green coats with yellow facings , with grey trousers . Their equipment was all Russian in pattern as , prior to entering British service , the battalion had been in Russian service . The Chasseurs continued to wear this uniform until they were stationed on the Isle of Wight . There , the uniform was brought in line with the rest of the British Army . The green and yellow coats were replaced by red coats with light blue facings , and white trousers . Officers ' uniforms included silver lace , while the other ranks had blue and white piping . The uniform was topped off with a black shako with a plume . Grenadier companies wore white plumes , while the light companies had a green plume . The officers wore bicorne hats . As with many light infantry battalions , the Chasseurs had no colours .