SJDonovan | 27 Nov 2015 9:16 a.m. PST |
I'm reading Olivier Bernier's biography of Lafayette and in it he says that when Lafayette arrived in Richmond in 1781 he had no cavalry so he set about requisitioning horses, saddles and boots in order to create a troop of light horse forty men strong. Presumably the men would have been given some sort of rudimentary uniform; does anyone know what it was? |
epturner | 27 Nov 2015 2:20 p.m. PST |
I will defer to SM and Historygamer, but one would suspect they would have been culled from the forces currently under his charge, so I would recommend looking at his OOB for 1781 and selecting uniforms from those units. Ad hoc units like that do give you a bit of free form play there. My two shillings worth. Eric |
historygamer | 27 Nov 2015 2:55 p.m. PST |
Other than the usual southern cavalry units, I didn't find any related to the Marquis. |
Winston Smith | 27 Nov 2015 4:03 p.m. PST |
As I recall, he brought over a load of uniforms, helmets and other swag when he returned. He had 2 flags for LI battalions too. So, maybe it came from that. The uniforms were in a few different color combinations. But for an ad hoc unit of 20-30 guys…. "Hey Randall! You and your guys are riding with the Frenchie today!" |
historygamer | 27 Nov 2015 4:53 p.m. PST |
No uniforms that I know of for cav, they were all for Lights, though I think some/all of them were left at the dock and never made it over. Cavalry was hard to equip and keep in the field. I suspect if he did something it might have been with militia or state troops, but nothing permanent – at least that I can find so far. |
Winston Smith | 27 Nov 2015 7:03 p.m. PST |
Among the French supplies that they sent over were uniforms. |
historygamer | 27 Nov 2015 7:26 p.m. PST |
I'm talking about the uniforms that he bought. The cavalry tended to wear jackets instead of coats, but I'm not sure where those came from. I have a book on Continental Cavalry on my shelf, but haven't read it yet. |
SJDonovan | 28 Nov 2015 3:13 a.m. PST |
Thanks chaps, I'm interested in researching the troops that fought under Lafayette throughout the war but the biographies of the Marquis that I've got just tend to talk in general troop numbers. Can anyone suggest a book that will give me more detailed orders of battle? |
Supercilius Maximus | 28 Nov 2015 4:29 p.m. PST |
I did post a reply (the first in fact) when this thread was launched, but it seems to have got lost in the ether. I must confess I had never heard of this "unit" and I suspect that what La Fayette actually did was to provide horses for some of his light infantry, in order for them to act as orderlies, scouts, etc. As such, any uniforms would have been those of their parent unit, as EPT points out. There are also accounts of Continentals (and occasionally Militia, too) "riding double" behind genuine dragoons in order to provide infantry support once the enemy were contacted. This happened at Spencer's Ordinary in June 1781, involving Continental light bobs and dragoons. If you want more detailed orbats, the two-volume work by the late Greg Novak is a perfect starting point. For more background and "local colour" in the smaller actions, the volumes by Patrick O'Kelley in the "Nothing but blood and slaughter" series are also very good. Sometimes, though, you may have to construct a timeline in order to understand exactly who was with whom, where, and for how long, as there was a lot of movement of smaller formations among the various commanders in the South. |
SJDonovan | 29 Nov 2015 1:07 a.m. PST |
Thanks SM, I will try to get hold of the books you recommend. |
MLCaras | 01 Dec 2015 7:41 p.m. PST |
Hey SJDonovan, There is a new book out titled "The Road to Yorktown" by John Maass. It deals with the period from Lafayette entering Virginia and ends with the Battle of Green Springs as the rest of the allied army is making its way into Virginia. It's a good read depicting the "dance" between Lafayette and Cornwallis. No real big battles until Spencer's Ordinary and the aforementioned Green Springs as Lafayette was trying to keep his smaller force intact. Concerning Lafayette's cavalry, it is described as thus: Lafayette had elements of Col Chas Armand Tuffin's 1st Partisan Corps (or Armand's Legion) of which only ten were fit for duty and the rest being "naked, unmounted, unarmed and fatigued to death". militia cavalry came and went but not in numbers that allowed for a robust cavalry arm. In addition 32 Continental Light Dragoons being refitted in the Shenandoah at that time under the command of Col Anthony W. White were redirected to Lafayette from their original objective or reinforcing Greene. Throughout this campaign Lafayette was under the duress of the British cavalry force (he estimated between 5-600 mounted on very fine Virginia horses), while his own never approached 100 and was less than half that usually, giving the British not only superior reconnaissance but a quick strike force that he could not out run or out maneuver. |
SJDonovan | 02 Dec 2015 2:32 a.m. PST |
Thanks MLCaras, That's great information. I'll definitely try to get hold of the John Maass book. It sounds like just what I am looking for. |
SJDonovan | 16 Dec 2015 9:36 a.m. PST |
I've started reading the John Maass book (and have asked Santa to bring me the Greg Novak books). According to Maass, when Lafayette was at Richmond his mounted troops consisted of a handful of cavalry from Armand's First Partisan Corps and thirty-two Continental Light Dragoons under Col. Anthony W. White (who were refitting in the Shenandoah Valley). Lafayette said of the men of Armand's First Partisan Corps "ten only are fit for duty"; the rest were "naked, unarmed, dismounted and fatigued to death", which suggests that their uniform was more notable by its absence than its presence. However, does anyone know what the men of Armand's Corps were supposed to be wearing? |
Bill N | 16 Dec 2015 1:11 p.m. PST |
The supposed uniform of Armand's Legion is available on several sites. It was supposed to be a blue regimental coat faced buff, buff waistcoat and breeches. The helmet was similar to the British Legion but with a buff turban. Whether they appeared that way in Virginia is something else. From the time it went south the Legion seemed to be constantly trying to rebuild itself, absorbing new recruits as well as the remnants of Pulaski's horse, and procuring new uniforms from Virginia sources in 1780-81 would probably have been a challenge. |
Supercilius Maximus | 16 Dec 2015 4:54 p.m. PST |
Throughout this campaign Lafayette was under the duress of the British cavalry force (he estimated between 5-600 mounted on very fine Virginia horses), while his own never approached 100 and was less than half that usually, giving the British not only superior reconnaissance but a quick strike force that he could not out run or out maneuver. Not read Maas's book, but La Fayette's estimate must have included mounted infantry to get to that figure. The British Legion never numbered more than 200 cavalry (and often less in this period), but occasionally had mounted infantry attached (including its own, until captured), as well as 20-25 troopers from the 17th LD; Simcoe's QRs had two troops of cavalry (one hussar, one LD) with about 100 in all. Several British infantry battalions formed mounted detachments in the South – 17th, 23rd, 63rd, 71st, 76th and 80th all spring instantly to mind. |
SJDonovan | 16 Dec 2015 5:50 p.m. PST |
Thanks guys, I suspect Lafayette's estimate of the opposition strength may have been somewhat inflated in order to emphasise the precariousness of his position and to stress his need for reinforcements. I didn't know British infantry formed mounted detachments. The 23rd have always been my favourite regiment (I've already got SYW and Napoleonic versions of them) and now I know they had a mounted arm I am going to have to have them too. So how many were there and what did they wear? |
Supercilius Maximus | 18 Dec 2015 9:35 p.m. PST |
It's not clear whether it was the light company (from one of the two Light Battalions that joined Cornwallis), or a picquet company formed from the main body of the battalion. It wasn't a large unit, from what I can see – unlike some of the other mounted infantry formations which involved up to an entire wing (half) in some cases. |