Letters on French Hussars, "Out of Print" Prints, and The Wrong Marchfeld

Help with the French Hussars

In Napoleon #3, we ran a feature on the French Hussars that listed a service record of the fourteen Hussar regiments. Our research had several gaps that two of our readers have graciously attempted to answer.

My references differ in some cases quite significantly from your chart during the Revolutionary period. Based upon my reading of Georges Six's Dictionnaire Biographique des Generaux et Amiral Francais de la Revolution et Empire, Coutanceau's L'Armee du Nord (1794), and George Nafziger's orders of battle, the major differences I note below. I won't mention 1792, as regiments were split, and so much confusion caused by Dumouriez's swapping of the armies of the north and center that anything could be the case.

3rd Hussars: After service on the Rhine, in 1795, it was with Nord in garrison in the occupation of Holland under chef de brigade La Houssaye. In 1796, it joined the Armee du Sambre-et-Meuse with Beurnonville, where it stayed until 1797.

4th Hussars: In 1796 and 1797 it appears to be still with Sambre-et-Meuse. The regiment served at Neresheim. In 1798 it served in Ney's brigade of the Armee du Mayence.

5th Hussars: Served in the defense of Bentheim in 1794. My sources say it was with Sambre-et-Meuse in 1796-97.

6th Hussars: In 1793, although it started with du Nord, by May it was serving in the Ardennes, then in the Rhine by December before moving back to du Nord for the 1794 campaign. Under chef de brigade Delaroche, it moved to the Armee de l'Ouest at the end of 1795, then the Sambre-et-Meuse late 1796-97. In 1799, it was quite definitely in Italy serving at Magnano and Novi against Suvarov.

7th Hussars: Served with the Armee du Rhin under Colonel LaMouthe from June 1792. None of my sources list it with du Nord this year.

9th Hussars: In 1795, it served along the Cherbourg coast, and fought against the Chouans [counter-revolutionaries] in Brittany.

10th Hussars: In October 1799, the regiment was stationed with the reserves assembled for the Armee d'Italie.

11th Hussars: Raised June 1793 from the cavalry of the Legion d'Allemagne serving in the Vendee, only later transferring to the Rhine. In 1794, references indicate that it served both on the Rhine and the Pyrenees as well as having a detachment in the Vendee. In September 1795, the entire regiment was in the Vendee under chef de brigade Avice. This same officer took the regiment to join the Rhin-et-Moselle where it served at the siege of Kehl in November.

13th Hussars: Originally raised in 1792 from the Legion franche de Cavalerie des Americains et du Midi, it served in du Nord until renamed the 13th Chassuers in February of 1793. A replacement 13th Hussars were raised 1 September 1795 from the Hussards des Alpes and served under chef de brigade Landrieux in the Armee d'Italie until being disbanded in 1796.

1st and 7th Hussars

In Napoleon #2, p.38, the reference to cavalry, General Stengel mentions the 1st and 7th Hussars. I believe this should be the 1st and 7(bis).

In 1796, the 7th Hussars were reduced from six to four squadrons (15 March) with its depot at Besancon. Under Marisy, the regiment fought under General Moreau with the Rhin-et-Moselle. Engagements included Kork (28 June), Ettingen (10 July), Bopfingen (5 August), Neubors (14 September), Elbingen (5 October), Villingen (8 October) and Kehl (4 November). Hussar Serret received a fusil d'honneur for saving Marisy at Bopfingen; he gave him his horse after Marisy's was killed. Serret took three wounds in the action.

[This citation proves that the regiment proper was not in Italy, but rather that a seperate detached unit, referred to as 7(bis), was with the young Bonaparte.]

Let me also compliment your use of artist James Lancia. I am delighted at his works. He seems to be able to capture the men's expressions, the unforms as worn in battle, the horse, and the accoutrements. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

[Chris is a French Hussar expert and re-enactor].

Obtaining "Out-of Print" Prints

My main reason for writing, while I enjoyed Calvin Hurd's article on uniform-ology sources (and heartily concur with his recommendations of the works of Rousselot and Albert Rigondaud) he is in error when he states that these two series are out of print.

Rousselot's prints are available for 50 francs each from:

Le Cimier
38 rue Ginoux
73015 Paris France

Most of Albert Rigondaud's Le Plumet series of plates are also available for about 50 francs each from:

M. A. Rigondaud
Le Plumet
Louannec
22700 Perros-Guirec
France

The Wrong Marchfeld

Kudos on yet another fine issue of Napoleon magazine (issue #3/May 1996) which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Some nit-picking is in order however, concerning the "featured excerpt" from James Arnold's Napoleon Conquers Austria. While I appreciate his attempt to draw a parallel with the great dynastic battle five centuries earlier (Rudolf von Hapsburg's defeat of Premysl Ottokar II of Bohemia) he appears to have plunged in far over his head on this one. Although apparently also known as the "Marchfeld", the site of the 1809 battle, was not, in fact, the same as the 13th Century battle of the same name. That battle occurred some thirty kilometers away to the northeast, on the banks of the March river, around the village of Durnkrut (whence its more proper name). Moreover, it did not, as attested by Arnold, occur in 1277, but rather on 26 August 1278.

For further reading, see Sir Charles Oman's A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages, volume 1 (London, 1924) or Dr. Kurt Pebal's Die Schlacht bei Durnkrut am 26.August 1278 (Vienna, 1978).