"Hesse Cassel Uniform Questions" Topic

I have a few questions/clarifications about Hesse Cassel uniforms. Sources tend to agree on most points. However… So here we go.

Pom Poms: Sources agree that Musketeer pom poms are the color of the regiment's facing. Are the grenadier companies pom poms treated the same as musketeers. Many of the depictions of grenadier show white or buff pom poms. The 1783-84 prints of HC troops show some of the grenadiers with pompoms of colors not white/buff or matching their facing colors.

Sargent's pom poms were white or white with black? Is this the same for grenadiers

"Regimental Metal"

Each unit buttons were either Pewter/sliver or Brass/gold. Were the sergeants's and officer's hat lace match the "regimental metal"?

Did the cypher on the cartridge box match "regimental metal" or was it always one color?

Neck stocks, red or black?

Miter cloth: Was it the same as the regimental facing of were their variants as depicted in the 1783-84 plates?

Sources. Katcher, Mollo, Smith Troiani, von Donop website, various websites, Fat Wally's most excellent paint miniatures.

Still scratching your heads?

I think the von Donop webite has the most complete information on the internet about Hesse Kassel troops, including the neck stocks question, colour of "metal" lace/buttons/etc, and the colour of the cloth on the mitre caps (for this last, go to the pages of the individual grenadier battalions).

The uniforms of the Hesse Hanau and Brunswick contingents can be found in the article about German troops in the Saratoga campaign on the Perry Miniatures website:-

link

I think sergeants had halved (or possibly quartered) black and white pom-poms; fairly sure the cartridge box "furniture" was always brass, but open to correction.

Sir,
Thanx for the link to the Perry site. Never would of thought to look there. There are a few nuggets of info for HC contained within. The color plates on the von Donop are as close to the source as I'm going to get. What I"m going to do when the books don't agree on a particular detail is refer to them. thanx again for your input on a tough subject, C

"Hessian Bob" (Robert Sulentic) is a frequent poster on here, so I suspect he may come along eventually. If not, he owns the Donop website, so posting the question on there may also produce more info.

Unfortunately, the two well-known series of paintings of HC troops were both done post-AWI, in the 1783-86 period (the other one has the grenadiers in the later fur caps). As such, they both obviously cover only the later regimental titles, not the original ones of the 1776 units.

All NCO's pompoms (and sword knots) are in the livery of Hesse Cassel, that is, white and red. Pompoms are white with a red center. (Black and white is the livery of the Hohenzollerns, which is why the Prussians are colored that way).

Colors of pompoms actually could vary--for example, the facings of von Donop are buff, but the pompoms are actually yellow.

All NCO lace is gold.

Neck stocks varied. We think all the fusiliers had black neck stocks, like the Prussians, but everybody else had red. That said, by 1784 they all appear black. Go figure.

Go with the colors of the miter caps in the '84 pictures.

We think the cartridge box plates were standard for most regiments, (and brass), but some may have been different, the Erbprinz, because, well, he's the Erbprinz, and possibly the Leib regiment because well, it's the Leib regiment.

Couple of follow up Questions (for Hessian Bob in particular) re AWI Donop Regiment

Musketeer hat lace: yellow, buff or white?
Confirm musketeer pom poms – yellow (not buff) – and this is for both the pom pom at the top of the cocked hat and the fringes at the two sides (if that's the right way to describe them).