Of all of the mounted regiments organized for the Imperial Guard of Napoleon the least known, perhaps due to their short life span were the three regiments of Scout Lancers, known officially is ECLAIREURS. Raised by the Imperial Decree dated December 9th, 1813 the Second Regiment, nicknamed the Scout Dragoons were attached for administrative purposes to the Dragons de l'Emperatrice, but uniformed as the Chasseur a Cheval de Ligne in 1813/14. The regiment was to consist of four squadrons, each of two hundred fifty officers and men. According to D.H. Hagger; Recruitment seems to have been fairly brisk, considering the difficulties besetting the French Amy at that time, for by the 23rd January, 1814, 1,200 men had already been incorporated into the regiment and enlistments were terminated on the 1st February with recruit No. 1302. Original plans called for half the regiment to be ready by January 1st 1814, while the remainder would be prepared on January 30th. Recruits were taken from nearly one thousand Imperial postillions ( a man who rides one ofthe horses drawing a carriage; an outrider) the former Garde Imperiale du Roi Joseph, Lanciers- Gendarmes, and men in, the cavalry depots at Metz, assigned to the 5eme Dragons. While men were available, equipment of all manner and uniform material was lacking. Colonel Hoffmayer had to appeal to the various departments for uniforms and to the cavalry depot of the Berg Lancers for their mounts. This latter unit had been dissolved after the Battle of Leipzig the previous October with the remainder of the men going over to the Prussians. By January 1st, neither breeches nor cloaks had been obtained. However, by February 15th, the unit was in the field for the campaign of France. Part of the regiment "some two hundred fifty- three strong" were part of Baron Edouard de Colbert's 1st Cavalry Division, which, in addition to the Scouts, number one hundred fifty-five Polish cavalry, two hundred sixty-two Dutch Guard Lancers and three hundred twenty-two Chasseurs and Mamalukes. On their way to join Marshall Mortierts Corps at Rocourt, they had captured and burned a Prussian baggage train taking over four hundred prisoners. On February 22nd they were ordered to Chateau-Thierry then to La Ferte, where on the 27th, they joined forces with Marshal Marmont. The following day they were engaged against Russian Horse Artillery and infantry with supporting cavalry at Gue, pushing back the enemy horse as far as Etrepilly. In action again on March 2nd against a Prussian force along the Ourcq river, they forced them to retreat on La Ferte-Milon. At the Battle of Craonne they were part of the left flank and were able to hit the Cossack and Russian Hussars in the rear and routed them in great disorder. The following morning they marched with the Guard towards Laon. Along with the 3rd Scouts they were badly mauled at Arcis-Sur-Auhe by an overwhelming force of Russians, Bavarians, Austrians and Wurttenbergers, losing some of their number as prisoners. Additional marching and countermarching marked the rest of their active duty. With the fall of the Emperor, they were broken up and assigned to the line cavalry. Footnotes: 1. The exact date that they were created varies also. For example, in Anatomy of Glory, on page 327 the statement is made that they were authorized on December 3rd, 1813 but created on December 29th. Tradition, number 75, page 21, says they were raised by the decree of December 9th, as does L'Uniformes ET LES ARMES DES Soldats DU Premier Empire, Volume 2, page 46. However Michael Haed in French Napoleonic Lancer Regiments page 7, states they were raised in 1812. This last statement is most likely a misprint and was supposed to have been 1813. Finally, D.H. Hager in the 2nd Eclaireurs of the Guard (Military Modelling, May, 1977, page 307), lists December 4th, 1813. 2. Hagger D.H. "The 2nd Eclaireurs of the Guard". Military Modelling, May 1977, Page 307. On The Reliability of Data: According to the Funcken's book "both the First and Second Regiments of the Eclaireurs a Cheval had an Old Guard and Young Guard section. This differs from most other sources that 1st an Old Guard section only in the First Regiment. Secondly Funcken states that they never were employed in the role for which they were raised, scouting. However in Haggers article cited above it is stated that the squadrons of the 2eme Regiment were distributed among the following line regiments. 1st Squadron : 2nd Hussars 2nd Squadron : 5th Hussars 3rd Squadron : 2nd Chasseur a Cheval Hagger makes no mention of the Fourth Squadron. DOCUMENTATION 1. Brown, Anne Anatomy of Glory" Brown University Press, Rhode Island, 1961. 2. Funcken, Fred and Liliane "Arms and Uniforms, The Napoleonic Wars". Volume II, Pages 46 and 49. 1973. 3. Head, Michael G. "French Napoleonic Lancer Regiments" Almark Publications London, 1971 4. Tradition, The Journal of the International Society of Military Collectors, Number 75, Pages 21-23 The French Imperial Guard, Part II. Eclaireurs by P.J. Hoyert, 5. Military Modelling, May, 1977, "The 2nd Eclaireurs of the Guard", by D.H. Hagger. Illustrations The two pen and ink drawings that accompany this short articles were done by staff artist Jeannette Danel. This first (on the front cover) shows a trooper of the regiment in the middle of March 1814. The condition of his mount reflects the amount of action marching and drill that has already been conducted. The second figure is a dismounted trooper whose horse has been placed hors de combat. His uniform is torn, and he has lost his shako, that wouldn't have fit over his bandaged head. Thus he might have appeared for his final muster at the end of the First Empire. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 20 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1977 by Emperor's Headquarters This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com