Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

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MNFS
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Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by MNFS » Sun Dec 16, 2012 9:02 pm

Hello All,

I wonder if you could help with Danish cavalry uniforms. I have seen on a PDF that many Danish Cavalry uniforms are pearl white/grey, but a number of models that I have seen painted have been a duck egg blue.

Do you know what is the correct colour?

Also do any of you know what the banners for Oldenborgske/Holstenske and the 2nd and 3rd Jyske regiments look like?

Best,

Mark
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by Rebel » Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:51 am

Mark,

ref coat colours I think the various sources are trying to recreate the sort of cloth known by the French as "gris-mêle". Basically it's a white cloth shot through with a greyish blue thread which generates the cloth referred to as "pale grey", "pearl grey", "light grey" or even "off white".....

I know the Austrian variant produced a yellowish tinge...


Mike.
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by Churchill » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:14 am

Ray.
Last edited by Churchill on Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Friedrich August I.
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by Friedrich August I. » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:31 am

Mark,

I concur with Ray in that matter, Dan Schorr will be the best resource.
You may try this link

http://web.archive.org/web/200702090450 ... DaCav.html

http://web.archive.org/web/200805060107 ... Part3.html

It leads you to Dan's former Website Northern Wars

Hope this helps,

Günter
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"Sort your filth out by yourself!" The King of Saxony Friedrich August III., at his abdication 1918, referred to the quarrels in the parliament and the squabbling within the provisional government.
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by danschorr » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:42 am

Mark,

Churchill pretty much covered the uniforms. You might also look at Robert Hall's Danish plates available from the Pike and Shot Society. The standards of the cavalry regiments in which you are interested are available on these plates.

Dan
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by MNFS » Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:56 am

Many Thanks guys for all the information and advice.

I see the LoA shop has banners for these Danish cavalry regiments - Juel/La Forest, Donop/Wurttemberg, Sehested.

Does anyone know the colour of the uniforms for these units?

Thanks again for all the help!

Best,

Mark
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by quindia » Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:55 pm

Dan went through the Danish units for us here!

The flags are my interpretation of the information given in that post...
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by MNFS » Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:57 pm

Thanks again!
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by Tacitus » Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:35 pm

Do not forget that the Danish cavalry wore buff coats in battle instead of the regular grey or red coats.
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by quindia » Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:42 pm

Never heard that before. I know they have buff waistcoats but I haven't seen any info about the buff coats. Could you tell me where to find that?
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by Tacitus » Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:03 pm

Karsten Skjold Petersen mentioned that in the book: Den Danske Hærs Uniformer i 1700-tallet (2005). The actual quote is "I kamp bar rytteren køllerten i stedet for kjolen" (= in battle the trooper wore the buff coat instead of the [cloth-] coat)

The information can also be found in the above mentioned PDF by Schorr/Snorrason, but now when I checked it I realised that the text is not as unambiguous as in Petersen's book:
The Tøjhus Accounts show that leather buff coats had colored cuffs, which were probably smaller than the cuffs on the uniform coat. In 1704 leather buff coats are mentioned with red plush cuffs and lace on the arms. The same is described in general in the papers from Ledreborg Estate in 1707. Particularly in the beginning of the 1700-1721 war, all were furnished with the so-called “buff coat”, a long overcoat of heavy elkskin. These were often furnished with long arms; but as a result of wear and tear or as a means of saving money, one can also find buff coats without arms.

On the battlefields where the Danish cavalry fought under Marlborough, the Danish buff coats were coveted booty items, since they offered excellent protection against sword cuts and shot. If the cavalryman wore a buff coat, the regular coat was not worn and the cuirass was worn over the buff coat.
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by quindia » Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:17 pm

Thanks... Maybe Dan will weigh in. We had a mild cuirass controversy here but no one has ever brought up the buff coats, though most of our discussions here have been 1690-ish of late...
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Re: Danish Cavalry Uniforms & Banners

Post by Friedrich August I. » Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:26 pm

quindia wrote:Thanks... Maybe Dan will weigh in. We had a mild cuirass controversy here but no one has ever brought up the buff coats, though most of our discussions here have been 1690-ish of late...
Clarence,

When I first saw Dan's "Notes on the Saxon Army" I also found the information that the Cavalry wore elkskin Kollar/Kamisol at first, adopted later a red coat to be worn over it but often used the Kamisol alone wearing over it only the Cuirasses frontplate with or without the rearplate. The elkskin was of buff colour and were in use from 1700 until the end of Augusts reign.

Hope that helps,
Günter
„Macht Euch Euren Dregg alleene“

"Sort your filth out by yourself!" The King of Saxony Friedrich August III., at his abdication 1918, referred to the quarrels in the parliament and the squabbling within the provisional government.
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