In this article I would like to discuss the organisation and uniforms of a rather obscure and ephemeral army: the army of the United States of Belgium, better known as the Brabantine revolution.
Between 1789 and 1790, present - day Belgium (1) , had liberated itself from its Austrian overlords. This revolution started, like every other, for a wide variety of reasons but collapsed mainly through internal squabbling between progressive
and conservative forces. Regular forces were grossly underfed and under-equipped.
The leaders of the revolution preferred the use of volunteers from the countryside, led mostly by its clergy (!). It must however be said that the army (especially the part under the British colonel Koehler) was quite capable of standing up to, and on several occasions even defeating Austrian units.
One of the attractions of this army is the extraordinary variety of
colours worn by its soldiers. We find blue, black, red, green, grey and
yellow uniforms. White (the Austrian colour par excellence) was studiously
avoided.
Invasion
A group of volunteers around 2000 strong and organised by the more
progressive part of the opposition (the Vonckists), invaded the Austrian
Netherlands in October 1789. They had their base around Breda. Their leader
was general Jean Andre Van Der Meersch, a veteran of the French (in the
infantry regiment La Marck) and Austrian armies.
Realising that his forces were not capable of standing up to a regular
army in the field Van Der Meersch awaited the government forces inside the
small town of Turnhout. An Austrian force of two battalions of infantry, two
squadrons of cavalry, 4 companies of grenadiers and 4 artillery pieces arrived
and was thoroughly defeated on October the 27th.
Ghent was captured in November, followed by Brussels in December.
In January, the United States of Belgium was officially proclaimed. The
Austrian administration had, together with the remains of their troops, fled to
the most remote of the Belgian provinces and was reorganising itself in the
fortress of Luxembourg.
Considering everything won, the leaders of the revolution expended all
their energy in an internal power struggle which was won by an extremely
reactionary group under Henri Van Der Noot (the Statists).
Command of the army was now exercised by the Prussian Nicolas
Henri de Schoenfeldt, a former major general in the Hessian army. Most of
the period was spent in a series of small encounters. In July 1790 the Belgian
forces were greatly increased by the arrival of volunteers. The main army
under Schoenfeldt numbered 18391 men including 8112 volunteers, whilst a
smaller army under the British colonel Koehler had 5834 regulars and
6676 volunteers. These volunteers served only for a three week period. The
battle of Falmagne (22/11/1790) saw the final defeat of this ephemeral army
and also meant the end, for the time being, of an independent Belgium.
We can best turn to the opinion of the enemy for the quality of the
troops. The Austrian general de Baillet de Latour wrote: 'We can no longer
say that the enemy is worthless; their troops are well exercised; their
officers have tactical knowledge. Their charge yesterday was among the
best I have ever seen. The cavalry and infantry are well equipped'.
The army consisted of 11 regiments of foot. Each had three battalions, of
6 companies. Theoretical strength was 2820 men. There were also 4 regiments
of chasseurs (numbering 1000 men), 5 regiments of dragoons (counting 4
squadrons and also numbering 1000 men), artillery and Gendarmerie units and
some small detachments.
The basic uniform was similar to most other late 18th century uniforms
and consisted of:
(For each of the regiments you will find the name, the commanding officer,
the strength in May and September 1790 and a description of the uniform for
the parts that differ from the standard.)
Musicians do not seem to have worn dresses in reversed colours, as was frequent elsewhere. Drums were of brass with white cords and red, yellow and black triangles on top and bottom.
Flags
Each battalion was apparently provided with one flag. Unfortunately we
have only the description of a single flag: Regiment number 2 (Brabant) carried
a shield with the arms of the Duchy of Brabant (a golden lion on a black
field) surmounted by a ducal crown and all this on a yellow field. The border
was alternating black and red triangles.
If the other regiments followed a similar design we can suggest the
following:
The basic uniform here was: a black bicorne with a red, yellow and black cockade; green coat, vest and trousers; black belting; black gaiters.
Units of chasseurs were not provided with flags. Musicians used hunting horns.
The basic uniform here was: a black bicorne with a red, yellow and black cockade; a green coat; buff vest and breeches; black boots; belting in natural colours; saddle cloth was red with a yellow border.
Two small units also formed part of the regular army. They were:
2). Dragoons of Schoenfeldt. (6) . wore
a black bicorne; medium blue coat, trousers and facings, yellow lace, red and
yellow hussar belt; yellow sabretache with a red border and a black shield; blue
saddle cloth with a red border; yellow metal buttons
Musicians were issued with trumpets. Cavalry guidons carried a yellow lion,
with, in one paw, a cross and, in his other paw, a sword, on a red field. The
border had small triangles in the colours red, yellow and black.
The uniform consisted of a black bicorne with a red, yellow and black
cockade; a grey coat, vest and trousers: black facings, turnbacks and collar;
white belts; yellow metal buttons. Total strength of the artillery was
about 800 men. Artillery pieces were rather plentiful after the capture of
the Austrian fortress of Antwerp.
A specific light piece (the so- called 'amusette liegeoise') was introduced
as an infantry support piece by Koehler, (7)
commander in chief of the
artillery.
(1) Except for the independent principality of
Liege which had its own revolution at more or less the same time.
The Army
At right, a typical infantry soldier of the Brabantine revolution. He can represent almost all units with the exception of the Chasseurs de Marneffe who wore a Corsican hat instead of a bicorne. His hair is cut short but he is not issued with a wig. Officers and cavalry wore wigs. Moustaches were forbidden but were obligatory for hussars. This was apparently done in commemoration of one of the Belgian regiments in Austrian service (the Dragons de Latour). As a special honour, this unit was allowed by Imperial Decree, not to wear moustaches. Only black gaiters were issued during the period of the revolution.
Infantry
a black bicorne with a red, yellow and black cockade;
a dark blue coat with different coloured facings;
a white vest and trousers;
white leather belting;
white (for summer) or black (for winter) gaiters and black shoes.
All units carried similar flags but for the central shield. These central
motifs were (in heraldic terms):
For the regiments coming from the County of Flanders: (nos.4, 6, 7, 8), a
black lion rampant on a golden field, under a countal crown.
For the regiments coming from the Duchy of Brabant: (Nrs. 2, 5), the
flag as described above.
For the regiment coming from the County of Namur: (nr.1), a black lion
rampant on a golden field, a red bend under a countal crown.
For the regiment coming from the Tournaisis: (nr.3), a silver tower on a
golden field, a blue chief with 3 golden fleur de list
For the regiment coming from the County of Hainaut (nr.9), quarterly
1 +2 a black lion rampant, 3 + 4 a red lion rampant.
For the Liege regiment: (Nr. 9), a golden perron (= a pillar on 3 steps) on
a red field.Chasseurs
Cavalry
1). Hussars of Tongerloo. (5) The head-
dress is not known but was probably an Austrian style peakless shako sporting
a red, yellow and black cockade. The pelisse was green with black or white fur;
brown dolman and trousers, black boots; red facings; yellow lace and a red and
yellow belt and yellow metal buttons.
Artillery
Footnotes
(2) Probably the most successful unit of the army
It consisted of volunteers who had been rejected elsewhere because of their small size and was
named after the colour of its uniform. Its commander Dumonceau became a Marshal in the Kingdom
of Holland under Louis Napoleon and a French General de Division.
(3) This regiment was raised and equipped to give
the impression of British support. As Colonel Bath did not get permission to recruit in England only veny few of its soldiers were actually British.
(4) This regiment was raised by the abbey of
Tongerloo from its tenants.
(5) Also raised by the rather war-loving abbot of
Tongerloo!
(6) Nicolas Henri de Schoenfeldt. This Prussian
was allegedly active on behalf of the
Prussian government.
(7) George Frederick Kuhler had been ADC to
General Elliot during the siege of Gibraltar. In February 1790 he became commander in chief of the artil)ery where he introduced English carriages and drill.
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