"Baden & Hesse-Darmstadt Volunteer/Landwher Units in 1813/4." Topic

Any information about Baden & Hesse-Darmstadt volunteer and Landwher will be greatly appreciated, or even pointers to relevant books etc. would be a great help.

Thanks in advance.

Osprey's Napoleon's German Allies(5): Hessen-Darmstadt & Hessen- Kassel (MAA 122) has nothing much. There is a period drawing of Hessen-Kassel landwehr of 1813 on p. 11: dark blue litewka, black belts, gray trousers, Prussian-style covered shako with a white cross; collar and Polish cuffs were crimson, black, or red, depending on the regiment.

Elting's Napoleonic Uniforms, Vol. III, has nothing on either group.

Funcken: nothing.

Nafziger, Armies of Germany and the Confederation of the Rhine, Vol. II, says the Baden LW was raised in Dec. 1813 and served until June 1814, most of them aiding the Prussians in various sieges. Nothing on their uniforms. I don't have vol. 1, which has Hessen-Darmstadt.

Knoetel, Uniforms of the World, has nothing on your LW.

I would guess the LW regiments dressed like Prussian LW.

Checked Vol 1 Nafziger. Nothing written except the Edict of 28 Dec 1813 raised a volunteer jager corps and the Order of 7 Jan 1814 raised a force of landwehr. No uniform details mentioned.

Some information on Napoleon series site. Link below.

link
The following information I think is on Hesse Kassel from the above link. I would question the quoted manpower numbers:

**************pasted from site……
The outstanding work "Die Achenbach-Bilderhandschrift 1813/14", published by Klaus Schäfer, Markus Gärtner, Alfred Umhey, Peter Wacker and Edmund Wagner, doesn't give a plate, but a page with remarks about the organisation and history of the Hessian-Darmstadt Landwehr.

The Landwehr was founded by decret of the 7th january 1814. All male Hessians, who didn't serve in regular troops or had other "society duties", were grouped into 3 classes:

1st class: all men aged 17 to 35; they should strengthen the regular troops

2nd class: all men aged 36 to 45; they should defend the country's borders

3rd class: all men aged 46 to 60; they should serve as a kind of security force within the borders of Hesse-Darmstadt

Organisation:

Until 1815 the Landwehr was organised into 3 "Provinzen" (regions), as well as the 3 (hessian) army corps.:

1st army corps: Provinz Starkenburg with 37.000 men (Commander: Justus Leonhard Freiherr von Follenius)

2nd army corps: Provinz Oberhessen with 47.000 men (Commander: Ludwig von Gall and Christian Zimmermann)

3rd army corps: Provinz Westfalen with 30.000 men (Commander: Friedrich Ferdinand Wilhelm Freiherr von Schäffer-Bernstein)

In total 114.000 men and 1.660 officers, who were organised in 45 regiments with 108 battalions and 492 companies. Some of the regiments had an own music corps!

Only combat: Siege of Mainz in February 1814

The Landwehr was dissolved on the 29th november 1819.

I hope, these informations are sufficient to get a first impression about these troops.

Nice regards
Markus Stein
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There is several Hesse Kassel landwehr plates in the NYPL. I know you are looking for Hesse Darmstadt information but the two states were generally linked 1814 onwards.
link

Hope this information helps somehow.

Michael aka WR