When the Danish Government took consecutively possession off the St. Thomas Island (1666) until then in the hands of pirates, the St. Jan Island (1684) and t he St. Croix, which was bought from France in 1733, it did so both in order to offer ports to Danish vessels bringing goods from Africa and to establish a market place for Negro slaves brought by then from the hinterland of the Danish Guinea (Ghana of today) and therefore limited its military activities to building of a few small forts for warding off eventual pirate attacks, each fort being furnished with several guns for the purpose.

Since the acquired territories promised possibilities for establishment of plantations, Danish colonists soon flocked to the islands which in due course became prosperous. No trouble being experienced at first, the garrison was kept at minimum level till in T733 a large batch of new slaves arrived to the St. Jan Island which belonged to a warlike tribe which was sold into slavery by their Negro enemies of another tribe which captured it.

This goup, about 2,000 men strong, took advantage of the fact that the island garrison counted only nine men whom they attacked killing eight, but the remaining man escaped and alarmed the St.Thomas garrison. The commander on St. Thomas, seeing the numerical weakness of his troops asked the neighbouring British Governors for help which arrived in the form of some British troops who were reluctant to take any action and left soon, so that the French were to be asked for assistance which came in the form of a company off infantry that hunted all the Negroes down in cooperation with Danish troops, the operation lasting for several months. During that time, the mutinous blacks killed 76 colonists and troops, burning down most estates on the island.

Because of this experience it was decided to reinforce the islands, so that at once each fortress was allotted from thirty to forty officers and other ranks, but this probably was deemed insufficient and thus these numbers were increased. By 1764, there were 300 effectives spread in four infantry companies with a few gunners added. In view to economize on officers pay, the number of companies was reduced to three in 1779, one of these being stationed in Christianstead on St. Croix, the second in Frederiksted on the same island and the remaining one was divided between the islands of St. Thomas and St. Jan.

Besides of being intended for the defence of the four forts in case of a Negro rising the garrisons had yet to man the gun batteries in order to prevent privateers from running into the harbors. For additional protection against home and external troubles, there were moreover formed a volunteer militia of white settlers and a corps of emancipated Negros. According to a report submitted to the King of Denmark on May 1st 1792, he above described development of the West Indian garrisons was traced and it was further recommended that the number of companies should be reduced to two, one to number 168 effectives including officers, NCOs and military judges who should be divided between Chritiansvaen and Frederiksfort on St. Croix and the other to count 119 effectives distributed to both St. Thomas and St. Jan islands, the latter two islands to have a common commander residing on St. Jan while the St. Croix Commander was to be the Commander-in-Chief of the whole Danish West Indies force.

Apart of the infantrymen of whose both companies consisted the company garrisoning St. Croix was to have allotted a Chief Gunner with four artillery n.c.o.'s while another Chief Gunner allotted to the smaller company had to satisfy himself with two.

When Denmark later became Napoleon's ally this arrangement proved itself as absolutely insufficient to oppose the British Caribbean Forces who occupied the islands twice. The first time was in 1801 and they left shortly afterwards. The second time was 1807, when they stayed until 1814 and then returned the islands to Denmark. Denmark set the garrison at 290 exclusive of settler foot and cavalry militias, free Negro infantry, and volunteer artillery units (unknown numbers).

These fores were too slight to prevent the Negro rioting when the King announced in 1864 that all Negro children born on or after the Queen's birthday would be free, followed by the rest of the population over the next 12 years--the Negros wanted to be free immediately. Promised aid from Spanish troops arrived too late and the governor declared all Negros to be free.

After this debacle, all militias were disbanded and regular troops were re-organized in 1851 to be three companies comprising three company commanders, six first lieutenants, six non-commissioned lieutenants (?), one depot officer, two military prosecutors, two senior and two assistant surgeons, and 521 NCOs, privates, and musicians.

These troops were also to be trained as mounted policement and for servicing the guns of the three garrisoned forts. Danish Army Officers had to be appointed whenever there appeared any vacancies on the condition of their staying in the West Indies for four years while other ranks consisted of volunteers from among the troops serving in Denmark. The thus reorganised force had to suppress Negro riots staged for enforcement of higher wages in 1878 during whose many estates were destroyed and lots of Negroes killed on St. Thomas until peace was restored and sixteen Negroes were executed under martial law, the Danish casualties amounted to two soldiers killed only. The garrison must have been evidently later reorganised once more for in 1907 when the military force in the West Indies was being disbanded in order to be replaced by the Colonial Gendarmery and the so-called Kings Militia it comprised two companies of infantry of about 300 effectives each with some artillery and mounted units

In respect to weapons, the Danish West Indies troops passed through practically each stage of their development from the latter part of the 17th century onwards to the almost contemporary one, being consecutively armed with matchlock muskets and pikes, flintlock and percussion muskets, Remington 1867 single shot rifles with French type bayonets and finally with the Kragorgensen 1889-model repeating rifles.

As regards artillery pieces not only those belonging to all these periods were supplied, but even the most unusual oddities. Unlike other Continental Armies the Danish Army experimented since the early post-Napeleonic period with every conceivable type of firearm, both Danish and foreign, presumed to deliver large volume of fire, these unrewarding efforts being conducted with perseverance right to the advent of modern machine guns. Consequently the Danish West Indies garrisons became dumping grounds for weapons of this kind declared useless in Denmark and in turn were supplied with the ill--fated Loebnitz espingoles of the 1864 War, the ten-barreled Palmcrantlz-Winborg 1872 machine guns, the French-invented Montigny mitrailleuses of the 1870-71 War fame, and the 37mm Hotchkiss revolving machine guns, the last mentioned weapons having at least shown some very limited merit.

Danish Colonial Troops in the West Indies 1666-1917

Army Period, 1666-1907
Constabulary Period: 1907-1917
Descriptions of some Danish Colonial uniforms