Troupes Légères, Fr. Light troops, or such as act in desultory warfare.
LEGION, in Roman antiquity, a body of foot, which consisted of ten cohorts, or 5000 men.
The exact number contained in a legion, was fixed by Romulus at 3000; though Plutarch assures us, that, after the reception of the Sabines into Rome, he increased it to 6000. The common number afterwards, in the first times of the free state, was 4000; but in the war with Hannibal, it rose to 5000; and after that, it is probable that it sunk again to 4200, which was the number in the time of Polybius.
In the age of Julius Cæsar, we do not find any legions exceeding the Polybian number of men; and he himself expressly speaks of two legions, that did not make above 7000 between them. (Commentar. lib. 5.)
The number of legions kept in pay together was different, according to the various times and occasions. During the free state, four legions were commonly fitted up every year, and divided between the consuls: yet in cases of necessity, we sometimes meet with no less than 16 or 18 in Livy.
Augustus maintained a standing army of 23 (or as some will have it) of 25 legions; but in aftertimes we seldom find so many.
They borrowed their names from the order in which they were raised, as prima, secunda, tertia, &c. but because it usually happened, that there were several primæ, secundæ, &c. in several places, upon that account they took a sort of surname besides, either from the emperors who first constituted them, as Augusta, Claudiana, Galbiana, Flavia, Ulpia, Trajana, Antoniana, or from the provinces which had been conquered chiefly by their valor, as Parthica, Scythica, Gallica, Arabica, &c. or from the names of the particular deities for whom their commanders had an especial honor, as Minervia and Appollinaris; or from the region where they had their quarters, as Cretensis, Cyrenaica, Britannica, &c. or sometimes upon account of the lesser accidents, as Adjutrix, Martia, Fulminatrix, Rapax, &c.
The whole Roman infantry, which was divided into four sorts, Velites, Hastati, Principes, and Triarii, consisted of Manipuli, Cohorts, and Legions. So that legion was considered as the largest establishment for foot soldiers. See Kennett’s Ant. of Rome, pages 190, 191.
Marshal Saxe has written at some length, respecting legion.
Legion, in a general acceptation of the term, signifies any large body of men. In a more confined one among the moderns, it applies to a specific number of horse and foot, who are distinguished by that name, and do duty with the rest of the army. Such for instance was the British legion which served in America; and of this description were the Polish and Belgic legions, that formed part of the French army in the early part of the revolution. The French armies now form corps d’armie, which are in fact legions; and of 20 to 30,000 men each.