"Officers of 11th "French" hussars." Topic

Is it true that the elite company of the 11th (ex Hollondais) French husssars wore white colpaks, except the trumpeters who may have worn black? Officers and men with white colpaks?

GdeP

That seems to be the case.i did not do any primary source research on these guys, but it is quoted and shown in the Knötel plates (in Elting's great collection) And in the book L'Epopee napoleonienne by Hourtoulle with a very nice illustration by Jack Girbal. They also quote the regulation of 1810. I have my elite company of this regiment in white colback (and also the colonel Collaert) and they look great.
I would certainly recommend it as it makes them stand out just a little more.

Rousselot also showed them with a blue line running down the middle of the white sections of the barrel sash, utilizing scartlet, white, blue.

It would make a great Guard Hussar Regiment for an Imaginations Army!

I wonder if the officers of the non-elite companies wore a black colpak when allowed.

GdeP

The 11th were Dutch, and had a unique uniform and horrible battle record. All their fur was white, including pelisses. Their shabraques were all officer style – cloth with pointed back ends (this is why they are so hard to convert). I would call their uniform color royal blue, but some may disagree in favor of French dark blue.

Rigo planche on the 11e regiment – note the officers in black coplpack (I assume they are from the ordinary companies).

The guy in the left rear seems to have brown fur on his pelisse. What's up with that?

NCO?

Stress a guess. But Sheepskin shabraque and slightly plainer rig…plus what I recall from Imperial Guard.

NCO would be my guess, as well.

This regiment had the long-tailed wool shabraque when in Dutch service, but lambs wool edged scarlet as the 11th "French" hussars, according to Hourtoulle noted above. They should be easy to do from any basic French Hussar casting of the mid-war period. I don't know if they survived to wear the cylindrical shako. That would be great if scarlet! But would probably actually have been black.

I also recall that their pelisses were lined scarlet, where every other French hussar regiment used white.

GdeP

I like to paint my "French" light cavalry for the Peninsular War in squadrons of 6 figures – 1:20 as about 120 men. I only do units that served in Spain.

But my lancers are all 8 figures, so I can have 4 lancers in the first rank for gaming with officer, trumpeter and two men with carbines instead of lances in the second rank.

It is tempting to do "regiments" of several squadrons, but in uniforms of different years.

Picture the 5th Hussars, 1808-10 shako, white pelisse; and then another squadron with scarlet shako of the end of the war. Any possibility of a mirliton for this unit, pre-1807, and before the Peninsular War?

GdeP

For the 5th – picture of bugler in mirliton (pre-1803): link

Shako thereafter:

These guys are my favorite French Hussar regiment. Can't beat that white pelisse! My sources say that the center company plume was black (I think), but I really like the white tipped blue plume.

Histoire & Collections "La Cavalerie Legere du Premier Empire" – chapters on Hussars by Rigo page 37 shows a hussar of the 2nd Company in parade uniform 1803-04 – he has a blue pompom with a blue plume topped with white.

>>NCO?
>>Stress a guess. But Sheepskin shabraque and slightly plainer >>rig…plus what I recall from Imperial Guard.

As per the standard/ suggested regs- whites/ foxfur for officers; greys for NCO's; darkest for OR…

"regiments" of several squadrons, but in uniforms of different years.

That idea is pure unalloyed genius. Why did I never think of that!?!

Yes, I agree – good idea for mixed eras or years. The 5th Hussars had a limited service in Spain (my focus) so I wanted to do a squadron of 6 in the 1815 era Cylindrical shako, to go with a squadron of the lancers of Berg (8) in their early conversion (1808'ish) from rose shako with white bands, white plume, otherwise lancer uniform; a 1st squadron of the 3rd Hussars (6) in classic 1808-10 style; and a squadron of the 7th Chasseurs (rose) in the early swallow-tailed habit – truly handsome. Quite a range of years.

Why not? The Colonel's new wife wants to stable her new stud and so he's had to order the QM to empty out the back-barn.

Who knew all of those old uniforms had been stashed there?