Miltitz Cavalry
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised in 1704 for Count Erbach. In 1705, it became the property of Colonel von Boyneburg and, in 1738, of von Gräffendorf.
During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1713), the regiment took part in the Battle of Blenheim (August 13, 1704), in the siege of Toulon (1707) and in the Battle of Malplaquet (September 11, 1709).
During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the regiment was attached to an Austrian Corps serving in Saxony.
In 1749, von Miltitz became chef of the regiment.
At the beginning of the Seven Years' War, the regiment counted 360 men formed into 2 squadrons.
In 1760, the regiment was reorganized into a unit of 400 men.
During the Seven Years' War, the regimental inhabers were:
- from 1749: Major-General E.L. von Miltitz (retired in 1759)
- from 1759: Colonel C.A. von Oheimb
- from 1760 to 1763: Lieutenant-General V.A. von von Einsiedel
During the reforms of 1787, the regiment was amalgamated with the Leib Dragoons.
Service during the War
On July 26, 1757, during the French invasion of Hanover, the regiment took part in the Battle of Hastenbeck where one of its squadrons fought in the centre of the second line while the other was left in Hameln. This latter squadron consisted of recruits who had not received their mounts yet.
On May 26, 1758, the regiment was with the Corps of the Prince von Anhalt in the camp of Coesfeld. On May 31, this corps accompanied Ferdinand of Brunswick in his offensive on the west bank of the Rhine. On June 12, during the aborted attack on the French positions at Rheinberg, the regiment was in Spörcken's (second) column of attack under Major-General von Urff. On June 23, the regiment took part in the Battle of Krefeld where it was deployed on the right wing under the command of the Erbprinz (Hereditary Prince) of Brunswick.
In mid June 1759, the regiment was part of Wutginau's Corps which had taken position at Büren in Westphalia. On August 1, the regiment took part in the Battle of Minden where it was deployed in the second line of the 8th column under Lieutenant-General von Urff.
On July 31, 1760, the regiment took part in the Battle of Warburg where it was deployed in the fourth line of the cavalry right wing, behind Ossendorf. By September, it was attached to the main army. On October 16, it fought in the Battle of Clostercamp.
In July 1761, the regiment was part of Spörcken<s Corps. It remained at Herzfeld on the left bank of the Lippe and did not take part in the Battle of Vellinghausen.
On June 24, 1762, the regiment took part in the Battle of Wilhelmsthal, where it was attached to the 5th column under the Prince von Anhalt.
Uniform
By the 1740's the horse troopers did not wear a cuirass any more.
During the Seven Years War, the regiment used a temporary field sign of oak leaves. The use of the field sign was due to the French cavalry having regiments with similar coat and facing colours.
1756 Uniform
Privates
| Headgear | black tricorne laced yellow with oak leaves as a field sign and a black cockade fastened with a brass button | ||||||||||
| Neck stock | black | ||||||||||
| Coat | white with a brass button on each side in the small of the back
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| Waistcoat | white edged medium green | ||||||||||
| Breeches | pale straw | ||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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| Horse Furniture |
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Troopers were armed with a straight steel hilted sword, two pistols and a carbine. The carbine was slung from the shoulder belt on a swivel hook.
Officers
The officers had gold trim rather than yellow lace on their tricorne.
Musicians
Trumpeters wore reversed colours. They were usually mounted on white or grey horses.
The bugle cord was made of interwoven white and green braids. Any banner from the trumpet would use the same markings as those on the sabretache.
1761 Uniform
Privates
| Headgear | black tricorne laced yellow with oak leaves as a field sign and a black cockade fastened with a brass button | ||||||||||
| Neck stock | black | ||||||||||
| Coat | buff edged with a yellow braid decorated with 2 medium green stripes
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| Sash | medium green worn over the coat | ||||||||||
| Sabretache | medium green edged with a yellow braid with 2 medium green stripes; decorated with the crowned cipher "FL" | ||||||||||
| Waistcoat | medium green edged with a yellow braid decorated with 2 medium green stripes | ||||||||||
| Breeches | pale straw | ||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
| ||||||||||
| Horse Furniture |
|
Troopers were armed with a straight steel hilted sword, two pistols and a carbine. The carbine was slung from the shoulder belt on a swivel hook. The cuirass was introduced only in 1764, after the war.
Officers
The officers had gold trim rather than yellow lace on their tricorne.
Musicians
Trumpeters wore reversed colours. They were usually mounted on white or grey horses.
The bugle cord was made of interwoven white and green braids. Any banner from the trumpet would use the same markings as those on the sabretache.
Colours
The flag poles were red. The standards had golden fringe, a golden finial, red/white/blue cords with silver tassels. The regiment carried a white Leib (colonel) standard and a regimental standard.
Leib standard: white field; centre device consisting of the armed Hessian lion in gold.
Squadron standard: medium green (black in 1763) field; centre device consisting of the armed Hessian lion in gold.
Sources differ concerning the Hessian Lion: it is alternatively illustrated armed or unarmed; facing the pole or the opposite direction.
References
Henry, Mark: Hessian Army of the 7 Years War, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. VII No. 3
Pengel & Hurt: German States in the Seven Years War 1740 to 1762, Imperial Press
Rogge, Christian: The French & Allied Armies in Germany during the Seven Years War, Frankfurt, 2006
Trenkle, K.: Nix wie weg… die Hesse komme, Verlanganstalt Marburg
Witzel, Rudolf: Hessen Kassels Regimenter in der Allierten Armee 1762, bearb. u. hrsg. von Ingo Kroll, Norderstedt 2007, pp. 179-181
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
