Cornwallis
Sergeant
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K&C Hessian Officer figure BR062 - What rank? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Cornwallis
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theBaron
Major
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Good morning, M'Lud!
Hessian officers, like their Prussian counterparts, had few distinctions to separate individual ranks, as later evolved. They have distinctions, rather, that identified the corps of officers as a whole, whose members were all of equal worth. The cane, gorget and sash served that purpose, for one thing, and the cut and quality of material of their uniforms.
His boots indicate that he served on horseback, which would tend to identify officers from the rank of major or higher. A captain as company commander could possibly ride into action, but more often as not, captains and lieutenants would have served on foot, and would have worn shoes and gaiters.
His hat lace helps further place him as a general, in my opinion. I considered whether his hat lace could be a regimental distinction, but that would apply only to the Cassel guard regiments, and in that case, he'd also have brandebourgs on his lapels and pocket flaps. His telescope further marks him as an officer in charge of a larger unit, again, possibly a major in charge of a battalion, but he could be a colonel, commanding a regiment, or a general in command of a brigade or wing. He'd have a telescope, to help view his lines and otherwise observe the action.
Hope that helps, prost!
Brad
Hessian officers, like their Prussian counterparts, had few distinctions to separate individual ranks, as later evolved. They have distinctions, rather, that identified the corps of officers as a whole, whose members were all of equal worth. The cane, gorget and sash served that purpose, for one thing, and the cut and quality of material of their uniforms.
His boots indicate that he served on horseback, which would tend to identify officers from the rank of major or higher. A captain as company commander could possibly ride into action, but more often as not, captains and lieutenants would have served on foot, and would have worn shoes and gaiters.
His hat lace helps further place him as a general, in my opinion. I considered whether his hat lace could be a regimental distinction, but that would apply only to the Cassel guard regiments, and in that case, he'd also have brandebourgs on his lapels and pocket flaps. His telescope further marks him as an officer in charge of a larger unit, again, possibly a major in charge of a battalion, but he could be a colonel, commanding a regiment, or a general in command of a brigade or wing. He'd have a telescope, to help view his lines and otherwise observe the action.
Hope that helps, prost!
Brad
Cornwallis
Sergeant
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- Aug 6, 2008
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Brad, your a gentleman thank you for the detailed info, that is very useful. {sm4}
I was thinking of using him as Knyphausen but will rethink that one!
I was thinking of using him as Knyphausen but will rethink that one!
Larry Allen
2nd Lieutenant
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- Nov 5, 2007
- Messages
- 3,876
Thank you also, Brad.
That is incredible and detailed information.
Can you share what books or manuals you find this level of information that I can research and learn more myself? I have a couple dozen "history" books but nothing like that.
Thank you again
theBaron
Major
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- Mar 27, 2008
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Hi, Larry, sure-one is Christopher Duffy's "The Army of Frederick the Great", which, though it is a study of the Prussian army, provides a wealth of information about the rest of Europe's military as well.
On Revolutionary War uniforms, John Mollo's "Uniforms of the Revolutionary War" is an excellent reference, as is Mollo's "Uniforms of the Seven Years War."
Several Osprey volumes are very useful for the 18th century, in this case, "The British Army in North America", provides some details about the German units as well. Also the recent, "Frederick the Great's Allies" provides a nice look at the Hessian regiments serving in central Germany in the Seven Years War, and describes the reforms that the Landgraf implemented towards the end of that war, which maintained till the beginning of the French Revolutionary wars.
In German, a book that is particularly valuable is Karl Trenkle's "Nix Wie Weg-die Hessen komme!" ("Run Away! The Hessians are Coming!"). Trenkle (say, "trenk-leh") describes the history of the army of Hessen-Cassel, then the histories of each regiment in each arm of service, including the names of the Chefs or colonels-proprietor, from the Seven Years War until the old army was disbanded in the defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, but also notes about the later Imperial regiments that inherited their traditions. Illustrations are also provided, as what appear to be water-color sketches.
Pengel & Hurt's notebooks on the various armies in the Seven Years War are also valuable, though I find them hard to read, and they apparently cite most of their material from Friedrich Schirmer's "The Armies of the Combattant States in the Seven Years War", printed through the German Klio society in the early 80's, and also containing some assumptions or even errors, which Pengel & Hurt propagate, but which have since been clarified or corrected by newer info.
Two websites are also very useful. One is the French site Nec Pluribus Impar, http://vial.jean.free.fr/new_npi/, (which was the Sun King's motto, if I am not mistaken). It used to be updated/published monthly, but its editor cut back to quarterly updates a couple of years ago. But it has a great collection of illustrations and information about the armies in the wars in the 1730s through the Seven Years War.
The other website is the relatively newer Project SYW, at the Kronoskaf website: http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Main_Page. There is a lot of good information there, too, organized by state, with many contributions by members in Germany and France, with access to obscure original sources, and there are more updates all the time.
Those are some of my favorites, though I do have more hard copy in my library and in my Favorites list, but time and space prevent me from listing more.
Hope those help, prosit!
Brad
On Revolutionary War uniforms, John Mollo's "Uniforms of the Revolutionary War" is an excellent reference, as is Mollo's "Uniforms of the Seven Years War."
Several Osprey volumes are very useful for the 18th century, in this case, "The British Army in North America", provides some details about the German units as well. Also the recent, "Frederick the Great's Allies" provides a nice look at the Hessian regiments serving in central Germany in the Seven Years War, and describes the reforms that the Landgraf implemented towards the end of that war, which maintained till the beginning of the French Revolutionary wars.
In German, a book that is particularly valuable is Karl Trenkle's "Nix Wie Weg-die Hessen komme!" ("Run Away! The Hessians are Coming!"). Trenkle (say, "trenk-leh") describes the history of the army of Hessen-Cassel, then the histories of each regiment in each arm of service, including the names of the Chefs or colonels-proprietor, from the Seven Years War until the old army was disbanded in the defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, but also notes about the later Imperial regiments that inherited their traditions. Illustrations are also provided, as what appear to be water-color sketches.
Pengel & Hurt's notebooks on the various armies in the Seven Years War are also valuable, though I find them hard to read, and they apparently cite most of their material from Friedrich Schirmer's "The Armies of the Combattant States in the Seven Years War", printed through the German Klio society in the early 80's, and also containing some assumptions or even errors, which Pengel & Hurt propagate, but which have since been clarified or corrected by newer info.
Two websites are also very useful. One is the French site Nec Pluribus Impar, http://vial.jean.free.fr/new_npi/, (which was the Sun King's motto, if I am not mistaken). It used to be updated/published monthly, but its editor cut back to quarterly updates a couple of years ago. But it has a great collection of illustrations and information about the armies in the wars in the 1730s through the Seven Years War.
The other website is the relatively newer Project SYW, at the Kronoskaf website: http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Main_Page. There is a lot of good information there, too, organized by state, with many contributions by members in Germany and France, with access to obscure original sources, and there are more updates all the time.
Those are some of my favorites, though I do have more hard copy in my library and in my Favorites list, but time and space prevent me from listing more.
Hope those help, prosit!
Brad
Larry Allen
2nd Lieutenant
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2007
- Messages
- 3,876
HELP --- YES!!! Hummmm ........ my B'day is coming up so I m going to have to strategically drop that list of books on the floor so my wife can find it. Gee .. I hope the plan works
Thank you very much for the assist!!!
Larry
Thank you very much for the assist!!!
Larry