Partial Additional Answer to Question 84-1:
According to page 224 of "The Last Days of Napoleon's Empire', by Henry Lachouque and translated by Lovett F. Edwards, Orion Press, New York, 1967, the strength of the 114th Seaborne Marines' was 1500 all ranks.
Question 86-1:
When the Kingdom of Holland was absorbed by France, did the various 'Honor Guard''units remain the same in organization and uniform, or were these changed as well? My question is based upon a painting by Wolfgang Tritt used as part of a 1982 calender (May), which shows a Kapitan of the Ehrengarde von Groningen, but labeled as the 'Royaume de Hollande', (Kingdom of Holland). But by 1811 this no longer existed.
Question 86-2:
Why didn't the British heavy cavalry adopt and wear the Cuirass as most of the European cavalry did?
Answer provided by Philip Haythornthwaite:
At the start of the Revolutionary Wars, one regiment, the Royal Horse Guards, was equipped with old and rusty cuirasses, probably old items drawn from their own regimental stores. A very short experience on campaign, ( according to the regimental history), proved these cuirasses to be 'more cumbersome than convenient', and they were deposited in store at Tournay.
The only other occasion when cuirasses were worn by a British unit was in 1814, when for ceremonial use the 2nd Life Guards received black-enamelled cuirasses with a decorative brass border, and bearing on the breast a large brass sun-burst ornament with a crowned Garter in the center. According to tradition, these were issued on the orders of the Prince Regent in honour of the visit of the Czar to London, (perhaps a deliberate attempt to copy the cuirasses of the Russian army: the Life Guards' other ranks' version was very similar to the Russian pattern, without the gilded-brass decoration); but, it was said in a fit of picque over the conduct of certain members of the Russian entourage, the Prince Regent ordered the new cuirasses to be abandoned, as they were almost immediately.
Why the British army never considered the introduction of cuirasses is another matter; probably simply because they were not thought to be worth the expense and weight. Another and equally plausible reason is found in an article entitled "British Cavalry on (sic, the Peninsula", by "An Officer of Dragoons", published in the United Service Journal in 1831 ( page 61).
The prevalent military theory which he quotes is: that of all types of cavalry, cuirassiers were the only ones who could never be 'employed on the outposts', i.e. they were a 'shock' weapon with only one function, the charge. As the British army was comparatively always short of cavalry, regiments with so specialised a role were not feasible. "Officer of Dragoons" states that in the Peninsular War, all British cavalry could perform any function, even the "heavies" being able to act as scouts and skirmishers, and quotes the case of the lst (Royal) Dragoons which, he says, were brigaded with a light cavalry regiment for a long period and did outpost duty just as well as the light cavalry.
(In this he is correct: from November, 1809 the Royals were brigaded with the 14th Light Dragoons, until 1811 when the 13th Light Dragoons joined the brigade; and thereafter with the 12 Light Dragoons until January, 1812).
At this time the Royals were given the nickname "Whitbread's Hussars" from their light cavalry duties and their black horses, which presumably resembled the dray-horses of Whitbread's brewery! This seems the reason why the formation of cuirassier regiments was never even contemplated by the British authorities at the time.
Question 86-3:
Can anyone help to identify this figure? The uniform is dark blue with pale buff facings. It is from a contemporary watercolour owned by Philip Haythornthwaite. Stylistically and from the paper it's painted on it is from the 1800-1810 period, but what it represents is not sure. The crimson cockade with white edge might be Naples and according to the owner 'he does have that kind of South-European look. Any information should be sent to the Senior Editor.
Question 86-4:
What was the standard horse color for the famous Russian Chevaliers-Garde?
Answer to Question 86-4:
According to an unpublished, yet authoritative source on Russian uniforms, etc., the horses of the Russian Chevaliers-Gardes were not of a uniform color. Instead, the color of horses were different for each squadrons and changed over the years as given below.
| Squadron | 1808 | 1810-1811 | 1812 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | bays, greys | bays | bays |
| 2nd | chestnuts & auburns | bays & blacks | chestnuts |
| 3rd | chestnuts, greys & auburns | chestnuts & browns | greys |
| 4th | chestnuts, greys & dark auburns | greys, bays, dark brown, auburns | blacks |
| 5th | bays & greys | dark browns & blacks | bays |
The source used got its data directly from the official regimental histories of the Russian cavalry.
Question 86-5:
How many spare gun carriages were usually carried in the field by the main antagonists of the Napoleonic Wars?
Partial Answer to Question 86-5:
A complete and exhaustive answer to such a complex question is impossible within the framework of this section. Furthermore, we have a very limited amount of data directly available and limited to the French army and allies troops, for the 1809 period (mostly excerpts from French official archives army returns called "Situations"):
(1) Excerpt from "Situation of the 2nd Army Corps as of 15 April 1809":
| Types of Guns | Total | Spare Carriages |
|---|---|---|
| 12-pdr | 4 | 1 |
| 8-pdr | 14 | 2 |
| 6in. howit. | 6 | 1 |
| 5in.4l.howit. | 4 | 2 |
| Totals | 28 | 6 |
(2) Excerpt from "Situation of the 4th Army Corps as of 17 April 1809":
The 4th Army Corps included 4 Divisions and artillery park:
| Types | 1st Div. | 2nd Div. | 3rd Div. | 4th Div. | Park | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-pdr | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 8 |
| 6-pdr | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | - | 32 |
| 24-pdr howit. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 8 |
| Totals | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | - | 48 |
| Spare Carriages | ||||||
| 12-pdr | - | - | - | 2(?) | 3 | 3 |
| 6-pdr | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 24-pdr howit. | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
(3) Baden artillery attached to St.Cyr Division "Situation as of April 17, 1809:
| Type of Equipement | Total | Spare carriages |
|---|---|---|
| 6-pdr | 8 | 2 |
| 24-pdr. howit. | 4 | 2 |
| Total | 12 | 4 |
(4) Excerpt from Wladyslaw de Fedorowicz's "1809, Campagne de Pologne". Plon, Paris, 1911, vol.I, pp.181-2: (courtesy of George Natziger)
ORGANIZATION OF AN ARTILLERY FORMATION OF THIRTY PIECES OF ORDNANCEE TO BE ATTACHED TO THE POLISH ARMY CORPS. (ORGANIZATION D'UN EQUIPAGE TRENTE BOUCHES A FEU, POUR ETRE ATTACHE AU CORPS WARMEE POLONAIS)
- As of 18 March 1809:
Ordnance with limbers:
12-pdr 6
6-pdr 18
field-howiters 6
Total = 30
Spare Carriages
12-pdr 1
6-pdr 4
field-howiters 3
Total = 8
(5) From Colonel H.C.B.Rogers' "Napoleon's Army", P. 79:
"In the 1809 campaign the artillery of the Imperial Guard had 48 pieces of ordnance, consisting of 12 12-pdr, 28 6-pdr, and 8 24-pdr howitzers. For these there were the following spare guns carriages: 14 12-pdr, 34 6-pdr, and 10 24-pdr..."
One may wonder why the Guard had so many spare gun carriages? It's well in excess of the approximate standard 25% which is, more or less, the average number of spare gun carriages we find in the official returns.
As a conclusion, it appears that the French army and most of the Allied troops had a ratio of spare carriages to guns fielded in the range of 20 to 25%.
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