Une compagnie de la 2e legion sur les champs de mars

The 2nd Foreign Legion () was created by the King. On 29 June 1835

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

, the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

France 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 ...

ceded the Foreign Legion to Queen Isabella II of Spain. Subsequently, 4100 men which included foreigners in service of

and French officers passed accordingly into the ranks of the Spanish Army, which was in confrontation with the Carlists. Nevertheless, the campaign of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

required numerous troops; accordingly on 16 December 1835, the King signed a Royal Ordinance which created a New Legion.

Creation of the Second Legion

The format was first limited to one

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

. The others were later successively constituted, and only if they were required. All the dispositions of the Royal Ordinance of 10 March 1831 (date of creation of the 1831 Legion) were placed rigorously in application. The first battalion was immediately formed in Pau. On 3 February 1836 chef de bataillon (

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

) Marie Alphonse Bedeau was entrusted with command. One month later, the general staff headquarters of the battalion and the first two

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

were formed. Six other companies where formed later in June 1836.

New dissolution

However, in the following month of August, the battalion was licensed and the government proposed to the Officers, Sous-Officiers, and Legionnaires which formed the battalion to serve

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the ranks of the '' French Auxiliary Division'', called ex-Legion, which was fighting there for almost a year already. Those who refused were sent back to their foyers. Those which volunteered for service in Spain formed a new battalion which was directed on

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

under the orders of lieutenant-colonel Conrad.

Recreation and departure to Algeria

Despite the dismissal of the Foreign Legion, foreigners were still vibrant in their volunteerism at the corps of the French Army. Accordingly, new depot companies were created and in October 1836, a total of six companies were formed, rapidly followed by the formation of two more in November. This new battalion was placed under the commandment of chef de bataillon Marie-Alphonse Bedeau. On 5 December 1836 the battalion left Pau to embark on the ''Suffren'', at

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 ...

, making its way by sea to

. The battalion accordingly joined the 2nd Brigade of the Army of Africa, commanded by

général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

Négrier. The second battalion was formed in July 1837. The creation of three others were echeloned until 1840. Following the

seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

, in October 1837, during which the Legion battalion fought well, ''chef de battalion'' Bedeau was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and the formation of elite companies was authorized. To award these arms accomplishments, the Legion received on 7 June 1840 the flag, which was given in 1832 to the first

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...

Notes

* some material sourced from

Képi Blanc (publication) ''Képi Blanc'' is the monthly French (language), French magazine of the French Foreign Legion, Foreign Legion in the French Army. The press magazine is sold exclusively under membership subscription. The subscription fees are channeled to the '' ...

* some material sourced from Division histoire et patrimoine de la Légion étrangère {{French Foreign Legion navbox Units of the French Foreign Legion