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Karl Friedrich Emil zu Dohna-Schlobitten

Does anyone know when this officer was promoted to Premier-Lieutenant and then Rittmeister in the Prussian army? I assume he was not made Major until he joined the Russian army in 1812? Also it is mentioned he attended the Kriegsschule Berlin in 1804. Does he remain an officer of the 6th Dragoons throughout these events?

Also he is mentioned as a POW after being wounded at Eylau. Was he held for long or did the end of hostilities effect his release within weeks?

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Chuck White

16 hours ago

You're welcome, Keith.

Keith Alexander

21 days ago

1st KGL Hussars in Spain

I have been confused by the various representations of their headwear but it seems to me that the busbee they wore in the Peninsula was a variation of the British Army light dragoons of that period i.e. a tall version of the busbee with a small semicircular leather flap at the front to cover the eyes from the sun. Knotel et.al appear to show a shorter round brown fur hat in use by 2nd and 3rd but I believe if so these were possibly a later introduction in common with the heavy dragoons becoming the light dragoons in 1815. However at this end of a long war I doubt there was much enthusiasm for uniform changes among auxiliary forces of the British Army. Thoughts, forumites?

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John Cook

Feb 05

I’m not sure if ‘busby’ is a Napoleonic term but I don’t think so. It is usually referred to as a fur cap. British Light Dragoons wore the Tarleton crested helmet, not the fur cap. Quite how KGL Light Dragoons were dressed prior to 1808 seems to be one of those ‘nobody knows’ questions. By c1808 the KGL light dragoon had become hussars and dressed accordingly, with a fur cap. The illustrations in Beamish’s 'History of the King's German Legion', executed by a member of 3rd Regiment, are perhaps the best known primary images and are largely the basis for many secondary renditions of the uniforms. British hussars wore two versions of the fur cap, the earlier one being some 5 inches taller than the later one. KGL hussars regiments seem to have received the earlier cap, at least initially. Those in the Beamish illustrations include a small peak, perhaps a local addition because the usual British hussar fur caps do not seem to have had one. See the article here which is as good a summary as any of what is known of KGL uniforms. https://thisreilluminatedschoolofmars.wordpress.com/the-dress-of-the-kings-german-legion-1-some-primary-sources/

paulmartinovich

23 days ago

skirmish on the Spanish coast

I am researching the life of Captain Sir Thomas Staines RN, who was involved in a minor skirmish with the French army on the coast of Catalonia in August 1808. An officer aboard his ship (the frigate Cyane) describes the events of August 14th and 15th, when Staines harassed a French column bound for Barcelona at the little town of Calella some 30 km east of the city. He describes the ship firing at French soldiers who returned artillery fire, and then a French 'colonel of cavalry' making a rude gesture towards the British offshore. According to the RN officer, Staines replied with a couple of warning shots, and then when the colonel did not move, sent a cannonball towards him, which wounded or perhaps even killed him.

Does anyone know the French units that were involved in this fracas, and the identity of the French colonel who was so…

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paulmartinovich

Feb 03

Thanks for this information Antonio...chasseur Maymat (or Meymat which looks to me like the spelling) seems a possibility. Were there any other French cavalry forces (dragoons or even cuiraissiers) operating on the Catalonian coast in mid-August 1808?

Jonathan North

29 days ago

Voltigeurs of the Guard

Can anyone tell me where the 2nd and 3rd Voltigeurs of the Guard were in 1812? I don't see them in Russia, at least not initially? I am looking for the whereabouts of Cambronne between January 1812 and January 1813, he was colonel of the 3e Voltigeurs de la Garde.

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Ian Brooks

Jan 28

Jonathan,

From a further look at Nafziger's OoBs the 3rd Voltigeurs were still with the Armee du Nord on 1 February 1813 (813BSXC), but do not feature in the return for 1 March (813CSXB).

Ian

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