You're welcome, Keith.

The 11th Light Dragoons had buff facings and the 'regulation feather' on the cap of white over a red base. The details visible in the OP illustration indicate the red fadings of the 1st KGL and a rather faded depiction of the regulation feather with red base only just discernible.

On my website I do have a little bit on Fassbender, but he shows up in only two articles, (2 in 14.313) so very shadowy indeed)

On my wiki the prerequisite is that the content has to be primary and contemporary. And in german, although that should be no problem with this person.

Matthias von Faßbender | Von Bastille bis Waterloo. Wiki | Fandom

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/

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,

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

Appreciate that write up. I do like to read how former soldiers made out longafter their service was up.

While many US universities have online portals for ETDs, my experience is that many French universities don't, or if they do many dissertations are restricted.

Your interesting post prompted me to use the AI ChatGpt to explore your issue.

Here is the prompt I used with ChatGpt's reply:

what is the source for the term "batallion carre" as applied to Napoleon's 1806 Campaign?

The term “bataillon carré” (often Anglicized as battalion carré or battalion square) as applied to Napoleon’s 1806 campaign (Jena–Auerstedt) comes directly from French contemporary military writing and Napoleon’s own correspondence, not from later British historians.

Primary Sources (contemporary)

1. Napoleon’s Correspondence (Correspondance de Napoléon Ier)

• Napoleon repeatedly used the phrase “marcher en bataillon carré” to describe his operational method of advancing several corps in a compact, mutually supporting formation.

• Key references appear in letters and orders from September–October 1806, when the Grande Armée advanced into Prussia in a broad but tightly connected front.

• Example phrasing (paraphrased): “Nous marcherons en bataillon carré, prêts à nous concentrer sur l’ennemi.”(“We will march in battalion square, ready to concentrate against the enemy.”)

1. Marshal Berthier’s Orders and Staff Correspondence (1806)

• Berthier, as chief of staff, echoed Napoleon’s terminology in operational orders, using bataillon carré to describe the corps dispositions across Thuringia.

1. French Memoir Literature

• Officers such as Marbot, Jomini (in early works), and later Thiébault refer to the 1806 advance in terms consistent with the bataillon carré concept, even when not quoting the phrase verbatim.

Classic 19th-Century Secondary Sources (where English readers often encounter it)

1. Antoine-Henri Jomini

• Précis de l’Art de la Guerre (and earlier analytical works) discusses Napoleon’s method of advancing in a compact mass of independent corps, explicitly linking it to the bataillon carré idea.

1. Adolphe Thiers – History of the Consulate and the Empire

• Describes the 1806 maneuver as a classic example of Napoleon’s “bataillon carré” system.

1. Sir Edward Hamley – The Operations of War

• Popularized the term in English military literature, directly applying “battalion square” to the 1806 campaign.

What the Term Means (important nuance)

• It is not a literal tactical square of battalions.

• It is an operational formation of army corps: several corps advancing on parallel roads within supporting distance, forming a loose “square” so the army can rapidly concentrate in any direction.

• 1806 is the textbook example because Napoleon advanced with Davout, Lannes, Soult, Ney, Augereau, and Bernadotte arranged so that any could support another within a day’s march.

Bottom line

The source of the term itself is Napoleon and his staff (1805–1806 correspondence and orders).Its systematic explanation and later fame come from Jomini and 19th-century historians, and it entered English usage mainly through writers like Hamley and Thiers.

If you’d like, I can pull exact French quotations with dates from the 1806 correspondence where Napoleon uses bataillon carré—just say the word.

please give quotes

Certainly—here are verbatim primary-source quotations where Napoleon himself uses “bataillon carré” (or “marcher en bataillon carré”) in connection with the 1806 Prussian campaign. I give the original French, date, recipient, and a faithful English translation.

1. Napoleon to Berthier – 30 September 1806 (from Bamberg)

English:

Context: This is the classic formulation. Napoleon is describing the corps spread across Franconia and Thuringia, each within supporting distance.

2. Napoleon to Berthier – 2 October 1806

English:

Context: This is the clearest operational definition: not geometry, but supporting distance between corps.

3. Napoleon to Soult – 3 October 1806

English:

Context: This shows the flexibility aspect: the formation allows rapid concentration in different directions.

4. Napoleon to Lannes – 5 October 1806

English:

5. Berthier (on Napoleon’s instructions) – General Order, 6 October 1806

English:

Why these matter

These are not later historians’ labels. Napoleon himself repeatedly uses the term during the opening phase of the 1806 campaign. This is why Jomini, Thiers, and later Hamley could confidently describe Jena–Auerstedt as the classic example of the bataillon carré system—they were following Napoleon’s own language.

If you’d like, next we can:

• compare these 1806 uses with his 1805 Ulm campaign wording, or

• pull the exact page scans / archival references for any one of these letters.

In conclusion I'll note that Chatgpt does occasionally make errors, even to the point of hallucinating; that is, making up specific sources or quotes. I haven't checked Chatgpt's response for accuracy. Some of it jives with your post.