maciek72 | 06 Sep 2014 3:25 a.m. PST |
Numerous OOB's list 16th LD at Brandywine as 350 men strong. Were they all mounted at this time or divided (equally ?) into mounted and foot troops ? |
Bad Painter | 06 Sep 2014 6:52 a.m. PST |
I doubt they were all mounted as a lot of the British horses died on the voyage from New York to Head of Elk. Thomas McGuire's "The Philadelphia Campaign" cites several primary sources on the loss of horses by the British in transit. |
maciek72 | 06 Sep 2014 8:59 a.m. PST |
I tried to learn if they were organized as legions – with permanent mounted and foot components. |
Gnu2000 | 06 Sep 2014 9:31 a.m. PST |
We'll they had foot dragoons at Princeton and still had them at Monmouth. |
historygamer | 06 Sep 2014 12:23 p.m. PST |
Both cavalry regiments – 16th and 17th – were organized as Legions, so mix of mounted and foot. They had a hard time getting and keeping horses, hard time keeping them fed. The legion idea was all the rage as well. |
Supercilius Maximus | 06 Sep 2014 12:41 p.m. PST |
Mark Urban's book "Fusiliers" has a watercolour by an officer of the Guards showing the camp and picket lines of the 16th, so at least part of the regiment was mounted (a lot of horses were purchased locally after landing, and a number of Continental light dragoons deserted with their mounts). Each troop of light dragoons, about 30 strong, had a similar sized dismounted troop added to it in 1776; the 16th arrived in October with both mounted and dismounted divisions, along with the dismounted troops of the 17th (which had arrived in 1775). It is unclear whether each mounted and dismounted troop (nominally a single unit) acted together at troop, squadron, or regimental level – I would suggest squadron level from the way they are listed in orders of march/battle. |
maciek72 | 07 Sep 2014 5:32 a.m. PST |
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maciek72 | 14 Sep 2014 10:35 p.m. PST |
I consulted my copy of Greg Novak's collection of OOBs and it listed units "to join directly with Howe from the Great Britain": 16th LD – 472 all ranks & 463 horses 17th LD (augmentation) – 204 all ranks & 198 horses (from Book One, page 23) Now I'm confused – it seems that al least initially whole LD regiments were mounted. |
historygamer | 15 Sep 2014 5:48 a.m. PST |
Maybe, but those numbers could represent replacement horses. No doubt some died on the way over, and keeping any cavalry unit stocked with mounts (and fodder) was a constant problem during the war. By 1777 some of both units were definitely dismounted. Here is some info for the 17th: 17ld.blogspot.com and link |
Supercilius Maximus | 15 Sep 2014 12:10 p.m. PST |
Also bear in mind that there are horses and "horses" – some are for riding, some are for pulling. |