"7YW "True" Chevauleger regiments" Topic

The Austrian Chevauleger (a German true light horse, light cavalry classification – not meaning here the heavy cavalry of the French by the same title) Regiment Lowenstein (#18) was formed in 1759 (?by doubling the sized of the parent heavy dragoon regiment?), and according to the Osprey Men-At-Arms Series book 271 – The Austrian Army, 1740-80: Cavalry – on page 22, adopted the black felt, false-fronted and peakless Casquet. These troops appear to have been much superior to the Nungarian Hussars of the era, who seem, to have lost their "punch."

Question: Does anyone know if this headgear is true, or did this casquet come into use only after the 7YW?

Funcken in Lace Wars (and the Sturm cigarette card series) shows Saxon Chevauleger Regiment Graf Bruhl also wearing this or a similar casquet. A truly unusual headgear for the era. The trooper holds a short musket, butt on the ground, with a wire appendage which appears to be used to connect the weapon to a snap on the wide crossbelt, suggesting that it would be carried, mounted, muzzle down.

Question: I collect 15mm Old Glory figures, with a small selection of Essex. Essex makes an Austrian Jager with this headgear (I painted 8 of them as the Jager detachment of Prussian Freikorps Battalion Le Noble (36 figures), and I am tempted to buy another pack of 8, and switch heads with some cavalry to make an 8-figure "squadron" of Bruhl or Lowenstein. If these regiments carried a carbine, muzzle down in a bucket, The French chevauleger figures seem best for this conversion (for example, Bill Protz used French Chevauleger figures in 28mm to do the Saxon Prince
Carl Chevauleger regiment). If it was more a musket, butt down muzzle up, the Hanoverian Dragoons might be a better figure to use. Any opinions?

Question: What to do with the headless Austrian Jagers!!

GdeP

While the French Household and Gendarmerie 'Chevau-Legers' were indeed (elite) heavy cavalry, the squadrons of 'chevau-legers' formed within regiments of Horse (a very short-lived experience, probably copying the British 'light squadrons') were *intended* to be light cavalry, on the same way as the squadrons of 'Chasseurs à cheval' attached to the regiments of Dragoons. For some reason only the later were a success, survived and became independent.

Jean-Louis

The "kasquet" or "casquet" helmet was indeed used during the SYW and is depicted in the Albertina Manuscript of drawings for each infantry and cavalry regiment of the period.

Jean-Louis: Do you know when this experiment was attempted? Was it during the 7YW? Do you have any idea of how such squadrons would be uniformed?

Thanks, again, Alte Fritz. I went into the internet and typed "Albertina Manuscript." Half way down the page, I found a link to The Miniatures Page for August, and your posting as follows:

A nice book for Austrian uniform data is "Die Osterreichische Armee Im Siebenjahrigen Krieg" by Lars-Holger Thummler (publisher: Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus). You can purchase a copy from the Berliner Bucherkabinett in Berlin, which is part of the same business as Berlin Zinnfiguren. This book has the "cartoonish" contemporary plates from the Albertina Manuscript.

Looks like a good book to but.

GdeP

1 Feb 1758 6 companies (3 sqns)raised & attached to DR31 Lowenstein, March 1759 increased to 10 sqns and made independent regiment of 5 sqns?.
not sure about headress

Feb 1760 5 dragoon regiments converted to chevaulegers, DR28 Sachsen-Gotha, DR31 St-Ignon, not sure who the other 3 were, these regiments stayed in their existing uniforms.

Info from Duffy's 'Maria Theresa'

GdP
the only indication I have (I never 'digged' the subject to any depth) is in the quoted Funcken, vol.2: "The 6 regiments of chevau-legers were created in 1779 by converging the chevau-lergers (5th squadron) of the regiments of cavalry, and disbanded in 1788."

No indication at all about the creation of the 'squadrons of chevau-legers' *within* the various regiments of cavalry. It is perhaps relevant to note that the Chasseurs à cheval became the 5th squadon of the regiments of Dragoons in 1776, then were converged in independant regiments in 1779, the same year as the creation of the regiments of Chevau-legers, which suggests a parallel & synchronous evolution. In that case, the 5th 'Chevau-legers' squadrons would have been created in the regiments of cavalry in 1776?
Anyway never encountered a reference to them in any text dealing with the SYW. If they were an imitation of the British 'light squadrons', the later appeared at the end of 1755, and would probably have been copied only *after* the war.

Regards,
Jean-Louis

I think Mollo has them at Kunersdorf- I'll check when I get home.

Rich

Ref the term British 'light squadrons'. I thought that the regiments of Dragoons each raised a troop of Light Dragoons. These Troops were then brigaded together when required.

Then there is also Burgoyne Light Horse and Elliots Light Horse that were the forerunners of the 16th and 17th Light Dragoons.

Lancashire Games do a Saxon Dragoon in Kaskett in 15mm.

Abdul666lw:
re the French 'Chevaux-Legers' question, I think the mention of them in the original post refers to the fact that all the French line cavalry regiments were still formally known as Chevaux-Legers by the French military authorities until I think 1762, despite the fact that they had long since evolved into heavy battle cavalry.
As you correctly point out, most Gendarmerie companies also had a partner company known as Chevaux-Legers, though these too had also evolved into heavy cavalry by the time of the SYW.
The Chevaux-Legers of 1779 were actual light cavalry.

Hello, Saneffe:

Oh the pain! I have never heard of Lancashire Games! Thank you for this "heads up!"

I see that you are in the UK – Do you have their figures? How do they compare in size with Old Glory 15's?

I have been all through their website, but can't see the 15's to get a feel for their "look." The list of figures is intriguing, allowing more variety to the units I already have.

GdeP

Seneffe, you are right, for most of the 18th C. almost all French cavalry was officially called 'Cavalerie Legere'(Light Cavalry) -including the elite Carabiniers, and the Cuirassiers du Roi who proudly wore their full cuirass across the whole century.

This was to underline the 'junior' status of the 'normal' Heavy Cavalry vis. the 'Gendarmerie'which traced its ascency to the late 15th C. 'Companies d'Ordonnance'. Most of the Household Cavalry made the 'Grande Gendarmerie', and the 'Gendarmerie des Provinces' was the 'Petite Gendarmerie', brigaded with the Household. in both cases the most senior company was 'Scottish' -shades of Walter Scott's Quentin Durward.
Within the Corps, the only difference between the Gendarmes ans the Chevau-Legers was a matter of protocol. The Gendarmes were senior, as heirs of the 'gens d'armes', men-at-arms, who were initially the lance leaders and tactically equivalent to the noble knights; while the Chevau-Legers were 'only' the heirs of the mounted archers, initially some kind of retainers of the men-at-arms. On the battlefield any difference had disappeared by the late 16th C.

Now, precisely because 'Chevau-legers' had such a precise meaning in French terminology (and was laden with 'seniority'), I doubt the 'ordinary' heavy cavalrymen were called 'chevau-legers' before the nomenclature was changed (actualized) after the SYW. 'Cavalerie Legere' yes, 'Chevau-Legers' no. Of course this has all to mislead anyone, even francophone from birth!

Abdul666lw:
Thankyou for your very scholarly response. Chevau Leger was clearly a term with great significance for the men of those companies in the Gendarmerie and the even more illustrious company of the Maison du Roi, but I don't think its use was actually quite as limited as that.
Contemporary authorities such M. de la Chesnaye use the term Chevaux-Legers to describe line cavalrymen, pointing out the clear distinction between them and the Chevaux-Legers of the Gendarmerie and the Maison Rouge.
I also remember that the Count of Merode Westerloo, I think when describing the famous 'gunpowder affair' at Lille in 1708, used the terms 'Chevaux-Legers et Dragons' for the French troops involved, even though these were men of the line.
Cavalerie Legere was certainly also in use to describe the line cavalry regiments, but by no means exclusively. It seems to me that Cavalerie Legere was used as a more abstract term used to describe line cavalry as a class of troops.
You are quite right that all these terms can be misleading. After 20 years of struggling with English, French and German contemporary terminology- especially in my primary interest of 18th Century cavalry, my own knowledge and understanding is still very far from complete!

Paris Guard-
The Lancashire Games men and horses are slimmer, and perhaps taller, than OG; much slimmer than Essex.

On Saxony's "Chevaulegers" (they seem to have dropped the older French spelling early on):
- The cap sometimes seen on illustrations was a low-fronted grenadier cap, not quite the same thing as the Austrian Kaskett. It was worn by the grenadier company of (grey-coated) Regt. von Sybilski *before* it became von Brühl in 1748. Thus by the SYW (where Brühl and other Saxon cavalry fought a Kolin) the whole regiment would have worn hats.
- All Saxon cavalry (even the cuirassiers) seem to have carried their firearms muzzle up, so dragoons would indeed appear to be the closest match for chevaulegers.

Hello, Musketier:

Have you seen an illustration of the back of the Graf Bruhl kaskett? Is it totally enclosed by a cloth backing?

The only illustrations I have seen of Graf Bruhl dragoons are in Funcken's Lace Wars, book 2, page 84, which states the figure is for 1756; and in the Sturm Cigarette cards of WWII, I think by Knotel. I don't have access to those cards, but I wonder if anyone at TMP might check that for a date. It would make sense for the 7YW, as the Austrians went to their kasket about this time, and then after the war for other arms of service. I wonder if they were inspired by the Saxon headgear.

At any rate, the uniform and the mitre cap would make a very distinctive addition to the game board.

GdeP

Yes, a very distinctive figure – which is probably why Knötel chose to depict such a grenadier for 1756, and the Funckens later chose to copy it. Unfortunately, Wolfgang Friedrich in his "Die Uniformen der Kufürstlich-Sächsischen Armee 1683-1763" (1998) states clearly (p.21) that the grenadier company lost their caps for gold-laced hats when Graf Brühl took over as colonel-in-chief in 1748…

Still, he does illustrate the rear of the cap for the earlier period: It is shaped like the fusilier caps, i.e. a 'jockey' type headpiece and a false front, all light blue, with a horizontal band of the red-and-white lace that also frames the front. I can scan the plate for you if you wish.

Hello, Musketier: I am sorry I took so long to get back to you, and thank you for this wonderful information.

You note that this figure is a grenadier of the one company in the regiment. I understand that the regiment Graf Bruhl at Kolin numbered about 400 men, as did the other two Saxon light horse regiments. By Kolin, would the grenadier company have disappeared? If not, and they were at 4 squadrons, my use of 1 figure for 15 men would have a squadron at about 6 figures, 3 as grenadiers. I would certainly be easy to convert 3 Prussian Fusilier heads to this figure, the "myhtical" grenadier company of the regiment. I have the (Belgian) Volontaires de Clermont on the French side with a very incorrect headgear that I must convert with "greenstuff" or epoxy, and will be doing another volunteer battalion as "Volontaires de la Mythique" in Brown faced red, as was La Morliere in the WAS, but with helmets of steel wrapped in scarlet cloth. A few mytical units add spice to life! If you can scan in that picture of the von Sybilski grenadier, I would appreciate it!

GdeP

GdeP,unfortunately I don't have a website to post the picture on, so where should I email it to?

I know you work in 15mm, but for collectors of 28s salvation may be nigh, as Eureka is prepared to produce a Brühl figure if demand is sufficient…

Hello, Musketier:

I am at rsmowery@sbcglobal.net in Paris (Texas, y'all!).

Years ago I built a 30mm Stadden and Willie French army for Spain 1808-12, and British, Portuguese and Spanish as oppostion. I just don't like the new 28mm figures, but also went heavily into 15mm and the 7YW in the 1970's. I have 1,000 French by Freikorps, some Minifigs. The only ones I can use with Old Glory 15's are my 36-man Essex battalion of Tour du Pin – it has a very well-defined collar to paint red!

GdeP

GdP, it's really too bad you don't have a website!

" I have the (Belgian) Volontaires de Clermont on the French side with a very incorrect headgear that I must convert with "greenstuff" or epoxy, and will be doing another volunteer battalion as "Volontaires de la Mythique" in Brown faced red, as was La Morliere in the WAS, but with helmets of steel wrapped in scarlet cloth. A few mytical units add spice to life!"
I wholeheartedly support the last sentence since I read C. Grant's "The Wargame" more than 30 years ago! tinyurl.com/2yvtse
tinyurl.com/3d22fr

So, please take pics of the 'Volontaires de Clermont with a very incorrect headgear' before converting them: everybody and his brother, with all the documents now available in printed form or on the web, can paint accurately any historical unit. But among the 6 billions+ humans on Earth, only YOU painted these 'Volontaires de Montclère', and can paint the "Volontaires de la Mythique", your own, totally unique, 'brainchild'.

Now, what about opening your personal blog? It's free and *easy*: with time and a litle practice (you can always edit your previous posts to correct / improve them), even one as totally computer-challenged and cyber-illiterate as I am could do it:
link

Thus you could share your creations -historically accurate or mythical- with all those interested.
Cheers,
Jean-Louis

A postsciptum for GdP (and any other interested, of course!):
Since you already intent to paint a mythical unit, what about, in the Good Old (School Wargaming) tradition of Grant and Young, designing your own Lace Wars mythical Duchy or Electorate?
A few dozens of such already are known on the web:
TMP link
(indeed I have now 46 links to such 18th C. Imagi-Nations on my blog:
tinyurl.com/yokjv2

Then you can develop the genealogy of the ruling family, the Court plot, involve your Country in a campaign… No need to do, or even aim at from the start, something as complex as Tony Bath's 'Hyboria' or H. Hyde's 'Wars of Falstenian Succession'.

As soon as you have a name for your Country and a few preliminary ideas about its features, you could do worse than join the 'Emperor vs Elector' collective blog I presented here some time ago:
TMP link
and which brings together Lace Wars 'mythical rulers' from several continents in an enjoyable interplay:
TMP link

No need to have a blog of your own -but then you could post photos of your painted minis (original rather than historical, preferably: e.g. these 'erroneous' "Volontaires de Clermont") as an illustration of some diplomatic missive or 'State Proclamation'.
Believe me, "it works": I joined EvE as soon as I had a name for 'my Imagi-Nation', before having my own blog.

Cheers,
Jean-Louis

"The Austrian Chevauleger (a German true light horse, light cavalry classification – not meaning here the heavy cavalry of the French by the same title) Regiment Lowenstein (#18) was formed in 1759 (?by doubling the sized of the parent heavy dragoon regiment?), and according to the Osprey Men-At-Arms Series book 271 – The Austrian Army, 1740-80: Cavalry – on page 22, adopted the black felt, false-fronted and peakless Casquet. These troops appear to have been much superior to the Nungarian Hussars of the era, who seem, to have lost their "punch."

Question: Does anyone know if this headgear is true, or did this casquet come into use only after the 7YW?"

No, when they were first established, the C/L wore the flattened-front tricorne. The kaskett was only used from 1767.

"What to do with the headless Austrian Jagers!!" These units wore varying styles of the Corsehut – a peasant's wide-brimmed hat turned up on one side.