Hi folks,
Following on from the excellent threads on Baker rifles supplied to the Portuguese and KGL infantry, and a recent discussion on a wargaming facebook page, I was wondering what the collective thought was as to how the three skirmisher companies of the Brunswick Oels Jager, attached to 4th and 5th Divisions, were armed.
Consensus among British historians seems to be an assumption that all three companies were armed with Baker rifles; however, my (admittedly wonky) schoolboy German has left me unable to find any reference to this re-equipping. My research suggests that one of these three companies was formed from the two companies of "scharfschutzen" of the 1809 Black Horde, and this was armed with rifles - either the original German ones issued to the units in Germany, or possibly replacement Bakers - whilst the other two companies were formed from the main body of the infantry (perhaps the much smaller third battalion, which had yellow facings?) and thus were musket-armed. I should add that I also cannot find any reference to the re-training that the extra two companies would have required in order to use rifles.
I have put this idea to the Brunswick re-enactment group via their website, and they seem to agree with my conclusions.
I would be interested in any thoughts anyone has to offer.
Kind regards,
Brendan
Some help, please! I am struggling to discover the identity of the two skirmisher companies attached to the 5th Division during the Peninsula campaigns, and in particular if they were drawn from the former personnel of the "Free Jager" Battalion of 1809. I think one of them may have been the 12th Company of the "Owls", but I'm not sure. Does anyone have, or can anyone at least direct me to, a full list of officers (infantry and cavalry) for the very start of the 1809 campaign so I can cross-reference? I have a list for the two-and-a-half battalions of Jager, which I assume has each rank listed in order of seniority (which would explain why Wacholtz replaced Prostler as OC of the rifle company in the Peninsula when the latter was wounded), but no indication as to who was in which company. Nothing I've found in Kortzfleisch so far indicates if the 1809 Jager companies were numbered, or if they were, whether the numbering was consecutive (ie 1st Bn 1-4, 2nd Bn 5-8, Free Bn 9&10).
Thanks,
Brendan
According to Otto Von Pivka's research, the Brunswicker were gifted Girardoni air rifles by the Austrians prior to their fighting withdrawal from Germany - have any of you come across any references to this?
Am also searching for any memoirs by the Brunswicker (besides Wacholtz & Frankenburg) if anyone has discovered any other material from them?
Best regards Ben
Having looked at inspection returns and regimental returns for the Brunswickers, it seems clear that the company with the 4th Division was the rifle armed Scharfschützen Kompanie and the two companies in the 5th were musket armed. You can read more in my chapter on the combined light companies of Wellington's army in 'Armies and Enemies of Napoleon': https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/armies-and-enemies-of-napoleon-1789-1815-proceedings-of-the-2021-helion-and-company-from-reason-to-revolution-conference.php
I had a look at Kortzfleisch, on page 140 he states that the Scharfschützen Kompanie retained their rifles and Hirschfänger white the rest received Britsh muskets and Bayonets - this was on Guernsey. According to my understanding those would be tradional German Jäger rifles and no Baker ones.