"Hessian Grenadier Questions" Topic

Fife & Drum is getting ready to sculpt its new Hessian figures and so I have a couple of questions :

1) do grenadier companies carry standards ( I'm guessing no) and do we need a grenadier standard bearer?

2) do grenadier officers wear mitres ( I'm guessing no, following the Prussian convention)?

3) in purchasing Hessian figures from any range/brand, do you prefer marching poses or firing line poses?

Any other suggestions or input are most welcome.

Cheers,

Fritz

I can't answer 1 and 2…

3) Except for dedicated skirmishers, I prefer marching poses. If there are firing poses, I like loading poses with them. This is my answer for 28mm AWI through 15mm Napoleonics.

Jagers, I would like firing poses, Grenadiers I would like marching poses.

Chalfant

Der Alte Fritz, you are correct grenadier companies did not carry standards and grenadier officers did not wear mitres.
My preference is for figures in firing line/combat poses.
My one issue with Perry's Hessian figures is that only the Musketeer Regiment Trumbach/Bose wore overalls, Hessian's fought the war in gaiters. Will there be more Hessian mounted officers to go along with that excellent General Knyphausen miniature. How do you plan to do the grenadier uniforms, with lapels or with out lapels?

You guess correctly on 1 & 2.
Except for the Rall REGIMENT which was not a converged battalion. They had the usual stand of colors. They also did not have lapels.

I prefer "march attack" pose for grenadiers. More dignified.

It always annoyed me when I dabbled briefly in 15mm SYW when you would get standard bearers in a grenadier pack. And they were produced by a supposed "expert" on the SYW.

I prefer either advancing poses with the weapon at an angle or if not then firing line. I do not like marching poses and would not purchase any if that is the only option.

Gaiters worn almost throughout the war, according to diaries of men at Yorktown; certainly worn in the Philadelphia campaign.

Cartridge boxes were BIG.

Grenadiers had fifers as well as drummers, and also included the zimmerman (pioneers) of their parent units.

Remember that grenadier sergeants wore gauntlets and kept their polearms (unlike the officers, who had fusils – and retained the hat, not the mitre cap).

The first battalion of converged grenadiers included the companies from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Garde Regiment. You might need to check this with Bob Sulentic, but I think these two companies had tassels on their buttonhole lace. Might be too much work for such a small distinction, but just so you are aware of it.

You will need figures without lapels for the fourth battalion of converged grenadiers, which were drawn from three of the four Garrison Regiments and the "grenadier-grenadier" company of Rall's regiment (which was drafted in because one of the Garrison regiments didn't create a grenadier company in time before they left for America).

Jim,

Your figures will be my first Hessians. I think marching would be my first choice, but I also like firing line. I know that is not a definitive answer, but I like both.

Matthew

I will be doing both firing and marching eventually. I'm just trying to decide which poses to work on and release first.

I could either do musketeers and grenadiers marching in one master mould, or I could put all musketeers marching and firing into one mould (and do the same for grenadiers in a future release).

The first option gets some of each into production the soonest and then in a subsequent mould I could do the other figures. The second option gives us broader coverage of a certain troop type all in one go.

Follow up questions:

1. So officers of musketeers and grenadiers would look the same and both carry fusils?

2. Same for the NCOs of musketeers and grenadiers – do they look the same, other than gauntlets for the grenadier NCO?

3. Do the musketeer NCO's also carry pole arms?

The figures will all have gaitors and the marching poses will look different from the ones used in the Minden range (more like a Stadden "march attack" pose).

Don't forget fusiliers!

Winston Smith,
Prussian Grenadier packs of the SYW need grenadiers standard bearers in mitres! Because the standard bearers of IR6 and IR15.III wore the mitre.

For poses, I like advancing and marching.

Follow up questions:

1. So officers of musketeers and grenadiers would look the same and both carry fusils?

Yes; grenadier officers did not wear moustaches.

2. Same for the NCOs of musketeers and grenadiers – do they look the same, other than gauntlets for the grenadier NCO?

Other than headgear, yes; and both would have gauntlets – sorry, I thought you only wanted to know about grenadiers in the original questions and I was just making sure you had them noted.

3. Do the musketeer NCO's also carry pole arms?

Yes, (fusilier and garrison NCOs, too); they were very attached to them – one guy recounts still carrying his in the field when he was seconded to an ad hoc light infantry unit (drawn from the ranks of the "line" regiments) in 1778.

The figures will all have gaitors and the marching poses will look different from the ones used in the Minden range (more like a Stadden "march attack" pose).

I think some sort of marching pose is required for these guys as they would have looked more formal in the field than pretty much anyone else.

Marching for me ! And on a ( sort of ) related topic, militia in marching poses would be a fantastic addition to the range.

Either marching or firing poses are fine with me. Advancing poses are also fine. However I am not interested in loading poses. If loading and firing poses are both made, I would hope that they are sold separately.