4th (Saxon Duchies) Rheinbund-Regiment

There is a slight conflict in my information regarding the 4th Regiment, and I don't think it can be satisfactorily resolved without input from other readers. The 4th was made up of contingents from five minor Saxon states: namely Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Hilderburghausen, and Saxe-Weimar. The conflict is in how they were organised into three battalions.

The initial organisation details I was given for the regiment placed them like this:

1st Btn: Saxe-Weimar & Saxe-Hilderburghausen
2nd Btn: Saxe-Coburg
3rd Btn: Saxe-Gotha & Saxe-Meiningen

Now, although this looks very reasonable and tidy, Tim Franklin's version differs in the arrangement of the men of the last three states (as well as placing the troops of the first two states in the 3rd Battalion, but I'm not going to get pedantic about that):

1st Btn:

Saxe-Coburg,
one light company;
Saxe-Meiningen,
one grenadier company
four musketeer companies.

2nd Btn:

Saxe-Coburg,
one light company;
Saxe-Gotha,
one grenadier company
two musketeer companies;
Saxe-Meiningen,
two musketeer companies.

Saxe-Hilderburghausen,
one musketeer company;
Saxe-Weimar,
five musketeer companies.

To me, this version seems more realistic, with the Saxe-Coburgers performing the specific function of light infantry in the first two battalions at a total strength of just two companies. In the first version, the Saxe-Coburg was able to provide an entire battalion on its own, a feat I don't think was possible. Admittedly the only evidence I have to back up that conclusion is that the Saxe-Coburg troops were attired in the fashion of light infantry (see the section on uniforms below), whereas their colleagues were dressed in a style similar to their French line counterparts. It's not much to go on, I admit, but until someone tells me otherwise I think I'll go along with it.

Whilst the details above make no mention of elites in the 3rd Battalion, the uniform details do, with both carabiniers and a light company being mentioned. I suggest the fact that they weren't mentioned above is an oversight, and that, since the entire regiment was supposed to have been organised along French lines, the elites for the 3rd Battalion did exist and should be included. So there. Now for the easy stuff.

5th (Anhalt Lippe) Rheinbund-Regiment

This formation was made up of two battalions, the first from Anhalt, the second from Lippe. The former consisted of six companies from the Anhalt principalities of Dessau, Bernberg and Kothern. The latter was made up of 5 companies from Lippe-Detmold with a strength of 500 men, and one company from Schaumberg-Lippe of about 150 men.

6th (Schwarzburg, Reuss Waldeck) Rheinbund-Regiment

The 1st Battalion (Schwarzburg) was made up of four companies of around 175 men each, split equally between Sonderhausen and Rudelstadt. The 2nd Battalion (Reuss Waldeck) consisted of three companies from Waldeck totalling 400 men, and three companies from Reuss totalling 450 men.

Many of the above units provided troops for the Prince's Battalion which served in Spain separate from the Rheinbund-Regiments. Lippe, Reuss and Waldeck, and Schwarzenburg all supplied two companies each. Unfortunately, this battalion is a unit of which I have absolutely no knowledge, so I'll have to leave it to another reader to fill in the gaps there.

Confederation of the Rhine Continued

Introduction
Deployment
Uniform and Flags

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