La Legion Hanovrienne

by John Cook

BACKGROUND

The Legion Hanovrienne was created by General Mortier, Governor of Hanover, on 12th August 1803 following the French occupation of the state. It was established as a regiment of light infantry in two battalions and a regiment of chasseurs a cheval in four squadrons.

Desertion, sickness, and the consequences of campaigning in general, meant that neither the infantry nor cavalry elements ever realised their establishments.On 1 Oth March 1810 a Westphalian battalion was combined with the Legion Hanovrienne in an unsuccessful attempt to form the second battalion.

Indeed, the effects of the war in Spain were such that the Legion had to be disbanded on 11th August 1811 and the survivors of the infantry battalion distributed amongst other German speaking regiments of the French Army.

ORGANISATION

Infantry

By 15 January 1808, the single light infantry battalion, consisted of four companies of Chasseurs and one of Carabiniers. Total strength was 750 men, ten drummers and fifteen officers. A further 104 Chasseurs and two officers remained at the depot at La Rochelle.

Cavalry

Unlike the infantry, the Chasseurs a Cheval were never sent to Spain and served in the Italian and Austrian theatres exclusively. Only three of the proposed four squadrons were raised, organised after the French model.

UNIFORMS

Infantry

The uniform was similar in all but colour to that of the French light infantry and was produced initially from stores found in the magazines of the old Hanoverian Army. The original uniform consisted of a red coat with a white lining, a hat and trousers. It would seem likely that equipment was also found from Hanoverian stocks because it is recorded that only the Carabiniers were issued a sabre briquet and this being of Hanoverian origin. By early 1808, however, it appears that the Legion had been equipped more uniformly for by 8 March of that year, 861 shakos had been delivered and old Hanoverian equipment exchanged for French.

The uniform too underwent some changes at this time. The coat remained red but now had a dark blue lining. This colour appeared on collar, lapels, cuffs and turn backs; cuff flaps were red. Only the lapels and pockets in the tails were piped, in red and blue respectively. All buttons, bugle horns on the turnbacks, and rank insignia were white metal. Fringed epaulettes of white were worn by the chasseurs, green ones by the carabiniers. The shako had white or silver cords, white metal decorations including a lozenge shaped plaque. A green plume was worn, apparently by all ranks, without distinctive company pom-poms.

The waistcoat was white and the greatcoat grey. White breeches with long black gaiters replaced the trousers. Equipment was standard French pattern.

Cavalry

The uniform of the cavalry regiment was in the style of the French chasseurs a cheval and was probably as described above. One modern popular work, however, states that the coat lining was yellow and although I cannot discount this, the work in question is not reliable generally. It is possible that this is correct although I have found no authoritative statement to confirm it and I would welcome any further material on the subject.

DRAPEAUX, GUIDONS AND EAGLES

The infantry battalion received a single drapeau modele 1804 type Picot and the cavalry three guidons modele 1804 type Chaillot. It is worth pointing out here that there were two distinct designs for the modele 1804 'flags', an important point which does not seem to have been appreciated by any popular modern work I have ever seen on the subject.

The design of most drapeaux modele 1804 and all etenclards and guidons modele 1804 was the work of Mme Chaillot. The appearance should be familiar but briefly it consists of a white lozenge with red and blue angles.

The border of the lozenge consisted of rows of gold laurel, the leaves of which pointed upwards being separated where they touched the edge of the 'flag' by gold demi florets. In each corner was a gold wreath and ribbon device containing the unit designation, if one existed. The centre of the wreath depended upon the colour of the angle in which it was set, being red or blue. On the obverse the legend contained within the lozenge consisted, in the case of an infantry regiment, of the following words in gold (where X = the number of the regiment, bataillon or escadron).

L'EMPEREUR
DES FRANCAIS
AU Xme REGIMENT
D'INFANTERIE
DE LIGNE

and the following on the reverse

VALEUR
ET DISCIPLINE
Xme BATAILLON

The Picot design was confined to drapeaux modele 1804. It interpreted the laurel and corner wreaths in a slightly different style but was markedly different in several other particulars.

1. The laurel border to the central white lozenge. Each row was divided by a small rosette at the half way point and the leaves of each half row now so formed, pointed inwards towards this centre rosette.

2. The corner devices. These were laurel and ribbon wreaths as described but the centre of the wreaths, rather than being in the colour of the angle, were silver with gold unit designation.

3. The legend on the reverse. That of the obverse was identical to the type Chaillot, on the reverse, however, the same words were disposed differently.

VALEUR
ET
DISCIPLINE
Xme
BATAILLON

Drapeaux modele 1804 type Picot were only presented to the infanteric legere, artillerie a pied, artillerie de marine, veterans, legions de reserve, sapeurs, Pionniers Noirs, Legion du Midi, Tirailleurs du Po, pontonniers and Legion Hanovrienne.

The drapeau modele 1804 type Picot presented to the light infantry battalion of the Legion Hanovrienne was as described above with the following wording specific to the unit.

Obverse.

L'EMPEREUR
DES FRANCAIS,
A LA LEGION
HANOVRIENNE

Reverse.

VALEUR
ET
DISCIPLINE

The silver centres to the corner wreaths were blank. The staff to which the 'flag' was fixed, was painted the usual blue colour and fitted with a single gold spear point finial. Eagles were not presented.

I have not found any illustrations, or other authoritative descriptions, of the guidons model 1804 of the cavalry element, except that three were presented, one to each squadron. Since Picot's design was confined to drapeaux, it is reasonable to assume that these conformed to the normal Chaillot design described above with legends specific to the unit which were probably as follows.

Obverse as for the infantry element described above.

Reverse.

VALEUR
ET DISCIPLINE
1er (2me or 3me) ESCADRON

Hanoverian Army Sources

by Peter Hofschroer

I would suggest the following sources for this army:

1) Sichart, L. v. GESCHICHTE DER KOENIGLICH-HANNOVERSCHEN ARMEE Vol 5 1803 bis 1866 (Hannover 1898)

2) Schuetz von Brandis UEBERSICHT DER GESCHICHTE DER HANNOVERSCHEN ARMEE VON 1617-1866 (Hannover 1903)

These books may be available in the British Library, failing that the Goethe Institute in London may be able to obtain copies via interloan.