"Light cavalry in the FIW?" Topic

I know that normally its said that no cavalry were involved in the FIW but in Rene Chartrands 'Tomahawk and Musket' he makes mention of a troop/company of 50 Pennsylvania Provincial Light Cavalry – aside from that and a description of their uniform (with leather caps sounding rather like Light Dragoons) there is no further mention of them in the book in terms of what they did etc. Does anyone know any more at all please?

I've found some reference now to them being sent forward to find that Fort Dusquene had been razed (in Nov 1758). And also to the presence of 200 French Cavalry at the Battle of Quebec/Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Again what I had previously read has never mentioned any cavalry being sent to New France from Europe, so where did they come from? Its rather interesting given the later use of cavalry (albeit to limited degree) in the AWI and then later wars, that so little potential use was made of them in the FIW (obviously all the problems of getting them there etc)

There were also some VA cavalry mentioned as part of Braddock's force. My guess is that they saw more use as courriers and LOC patrols than actual fighting troops.

And also to the presence of 200 French Cavalry at the Battle of Quebec/Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

According to the references I have read, the cavalry were with Bougainville and thus did not actually take part in the battle on the Plains.

Maybe this will help

I gather that prior to the American Revolution, most military authorities believed that the heavily forested land, few roads and, sparse open land restricted their use so much that they decided cavalry was impractical in North America. And so, there was very rare appearance of any cavalry during the French and Indian War. What little there was seems to have been restricted to some "light cavalry" duty such as scouting & courier assignments and as "mounted infantry" such as militia on horseback who rode to the scene of battle but dismounted once in order to fight.

One group was Captain Robert Stewarts mounted contingent of the Virginia Blues, who took part in General Braddock's ill fated attack on Fort Duquesne. They appear to have ridden at the front of the column and possibly because of the elevated position astride their horses suffered high losses. Beginning with 30 riders, only 5 survived. One of them assisted George Washington in moving the wounded Braddock from the heat of battle. They were variously called "Stewart's Light Horse", "Horse Rangers" and "Virginia Light Horse."

Among the French there was the "Corps de Cavalerie" which appears to be a creation of the late FIW and which consisted mostly of the mounted sons of the aristocracy and carried out mostly escort and courier duties.

There are others who know far more about this that I and who can add considerably to the accuracy of my faltering memory. I hope we can hear from some of them on this thread.

Regards,

Ray

The Light horse with Braddock were considered poor, and their swords were substandard, or so it was remarked. At best they were are the front of the column and made no recorded impression in the battle. I'd have to look at MacKellar's map to be sure.

I do not recall any horse with Forbes, but would not swear to it.

If Forbes had horse, like the ones with Braddock, they were provincials and probably not very well mounted or trained. There just wasn't time.

Horse were hard to secure, and even harder to keep fed in the forests and mountains of western PA. Not too many meadows existed then to graze them. The armies had to carry fodder for the pack and wagon horses. IIRC, Franklin and the colony of PA provided horses for Braddock's officers.

I'm not aware of any references as to what their hats were, so the leather one is new to me. Wonder where he got that? As I said, the equipment of the horse with Braddock was considered sub-standard.

The French cavalry at Quebec were used as scouts and couriers. They were a provincial force created from the city, IIRC. There is no account of them in any of the battles that I am aware of. They probably suffered the same problems as the American horse – poor mounts, lack of training. I seem to recall they had cool uniforms though.

The French Corps de Cavalerie was raised in Canada and missed the battle on the plains by an hour or two :

link

RAFM sells figures for the Corps de Cavalerie, I have 4 of them in my Franco-Canadian army.

I do recollect that, despite Hollywood, the native forces feared the mounted troops with Braddock. And I believe the unit continued its existence up to and into the American Revolution.

Thanks very much for that (esp re the French cavalry) – as said it does very much sound like a scouting/courier/mounted infantry role rather than the light dragoons of the AWI

I read somewhere that the colonies had some mounted units that would be available to ride quickly to any settlements that were under attack. They were used if the militia companies were called into action and had to leave the settlements unguarded.
I also read that the French Cav. was involved in some minor skirmishes along the frontier, but dismounted to fight in them. I can't remember where I read these accounts, but because of them, I formed some Militia mounted units and also painted up the French Corps De Cavalerie with both mounted and dismounted figures. I used French SYW Cav figures for the French Corps.

1)No charges. (darn it!)
2)Scouts with horses.
3)Mounted infantry who move faster than people afoot who get off to fight on foot.
4)Messengers.
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Would I allow charges? Yes for fun.
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Bon chance,
Bill

I am not aware that the cavalry with Braddock existed beyond that battle. I have never seen reference to any VA cavalry after that, only the two infantry regiments. I'm not aware of any mounted troops with Forbes either, but I'll look when I get a chance.

There definitely was no mounted force to rescue the settlers during the F&I War. Horses were hard to come by. Read, "Breaking the Back Country" for further details on what it was like. There were not many settlers much beyond Carlisle, PA during the Forbes Campaign.

I can't answer for what was going on around the VA frontier though, which is outside of the Forbes and Braddock campaigns.

For the effectiveness of VA militia, read, "Soldiers When they Want to be" which really shows how ineffective the VA militia was. I love the story where they tracked down an Indian force that had hostages, and when the militia got close, helding a meeting and decided to go home.

Hey Bill:

Fort Fred? Really? 3 minute artillery rule. Used to be a really good site till they had to cut down all the white pine trees. Might see you there yet. :-)

I don't know if I buy that stuff about horses being rare. The Over the Mountain boys who fought Ferguson at Kings Mountain were all mounted. Rode to the battle and dismounted.

Boone and his militia were usually mounted when they set off after Indian raiders. These groups were from the same basic areas.

Bison were fairly common in the East until hunted out by whites. Bisonn are grazers so there must have been plenty of grass. The east was not one huge forest from the coast to the Mississippi. There were open areas of grass. Remember also that native Americans had been farming these areas for over a thousand years. There were several large farming cultures when the Spanish came through.

I don't know if I buy that stuff about horses being rare. The Over the Mountain boys who fought Ferguson at Kings Mountain were all mounted. Rode to the battle and dismounted.

Boone and his militia were usually mounted when they set off after Indian raiders. These groups were from the same basic areas.
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Maybe rare in terms of the era not the area? By the AWI there were enough horses for there to be of course various mounted units such as the British Legion as well as American units – on top of whatever horses the British regulars had

Apples to watermellon comparison, and about twenty-some years later.

VA was the most populate colony at the time. Braddock struggled to find horses and wagons for his campaign. Read, "Ill Starred General." He was coming up fron Alexandria, VA. Forbes struggled to find sufficient horses and wagons too, three years later, coming from the largest city, Philadelphia. Both had gold to pay for such needed things. Neither could find enough. Does that sound like there were a lot of horses to be had?

On top of that, any good horse soldier knows it takes a good amount of time to train a horse for battle. You don't just commandeer a horse from a farm, and ride into battle the next day. Horses do not like gun fire and usually will become unruly and bolt, if not trained over a long period of time. Cavalry is expensive to develop, expensive to maintain, and hard to keep properly fed and cared for during extended field time.

Doug – man, don't know where to start. Buffalo? Really? Can you site me a source on buffalo in western PA during the 1750s? :-) I'll take Washington's word instead. The first pasture land he found, coming over the mountains, was at Great Meadows (the name gives it away), where he built Fort Necessity. If you have ever been there, you'll also know that meadow is swampy. It was the best he could find for his starving horses. Boone? He was a young man during the F&I War. I think you are confusing his exploits in later years with this period.

Militia in PA and VA was not mounted. Again, read "Breaking the Back Country," "Soldiers When They Want to Be," and the Bouquet Papers. There are other good sources.

Indians did not generate large farm. They cultivated small plots for their own villages, not like the huge tobacco and wheat farms of the white planations of later years. The Indians did not live in the mountains of PA anyway. Some Indians had drifted back to the banks of the Allegheny River, and started some small villages, in the early 1750s. They were mixed tribes, and often refered to as Mingos. The Iroquios claimed sovereignty over them, but were relatively weak at this point in the history to enforce it. But, there were no tribes or settlements in the Appalachian mountains in Western PA, which is what this discussion is centered on.

Again, I go back to the post's topic, Cavalry in the FIW, and Western PA. Some of you are wandering all over the country and decades of time.

I used to work at the Fort Pitt Museum, if that makes me any more credible.

Nope. ;)

Even in the War of 1812 horses were only available at a premium price. The huge horsebreeding farms in the Southern States were only beginning to be established. For farming purposes a mule was more useful than a horse, indeed many cavalry units in the War of 1812 were mounted on mules.

For FIW purposes, I'm sure each state/colony had at least one mounted troop, for prestige if nothing else. How effective they were is a good question. They seem to have made only brief appearances. Probably privately owned horses!

The Canadian Corps de Cavalrie was more used. Mounted on short sturdy farm type horses, like 1680's dragoons. Not optimal for charging, but I'm sure they would drive off any irregular troops.

I'm planning a unit of them using the RAFM figures, which I've used for several European French light units ; a great figure for conversions!

Raising this post from the dead. :-)