Prussian Garrison Regiment XIII
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Origin and History
The unit was initially raised in 1713 to garrison Minden. The Garnison Regiment Nr. XIII was officially formed in 1743. It consisted of a single battalion, including 1 grenadier coy, and served as garrison in Minden until 1756. Its grenadiers were part of the garrison of Magdeburg.
In May 1756, the single battalion of the regiment, to the exception of its grenadier company, was integrated into the newly formed Erbprinz von Hessen-Cassel Fusiliers (IR48).
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was under the command of:
- since July 1 1755 till May 1756: Colonel von Salmuth
Service during the War
For the history of this regiment during the Seven Years War, please refer to the regiment Erbprinz von Hessen-Cassel Fusiliers which was originally formed from Garrison Regiment XIII.
N.B.: During the war the grenadiers from the wing grenadier company were put together with the grenadiers of Garrison Regiment IX and IR45 von Dossow Fusiliers, forming the Standing Grenadier Battalion Nr. II (45/G-XIII/G-IX Ingersleben) (please refer to this article for the details of the service of the grenadiers during the war).
Uniform
This regiment wore a uniform similar to the ones of Garnison Regiment Nr. IX.
As was the case for most garrison regiments, the musketeers and grenadiers of this regiment wore different uniforms. The present article describes the uniform of the musketeers. For the uniform of the grenadiers, please refer to the article dedicated to the Standing Grenadier Battalion Nr. II (45/G-XIII/G-IX Ingersleben).
Privates
Headgear |
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Neck stock | black | ||||||||||||
Coat | Prussian blue lined red with 6 brass buttons on both sides on the chest, 2 brass buttons at the waist on the right side and 3 brass buttons on each side to fasten the skirts forming the turnbacks
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Waistcoat | Prussian blue | ||||||||||||
Breeches | Prussian blue | ||||||||||||
Gaiters | black | ||||||||||||
Leather Equipment |
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Privates were armed with a short musket and a bayonet.
NCOs
NCOs wore uniforms similar to those of the privates with the following distinctions:
- tricorne with wide gold lace and a black and white quartered pompom
- gold laced cuffs
- no shoulder straps
- yellowish leather gloves
- black and white sabre tassel
NCOs were armed with a sabre and a white light half-pike measuring 7,5 Rhenish feet (2.37 m.).
NCOs also carried wooden canes (normally attached to a button at the top of the right front while carrying the half-pike).
Officers
Uniforms of officers were very similar to those of the privates with the following exceptions:
- black tricorne wearing a thin golden lace and 2 black and white tassels (1 in each lateral corne of the tricorne) (officers always wore tricornes notwithstanding if they were commanding musketeers, fusiliers or grenadiers)
- no shoulder strap on the coat
- no turnbacks on the coat
- black and silver sash around the waist
- a silver and gold gorget
Officers carried white spontoons measuring 7 ½ Rhenish feet (2.36 m.)and an officer stick.
Musicians
Drummers wore uniforms similar to those of privates but were distinguished by white swallow nests at the shoulders.
Drummers carried a side-arm.
The drum pattern had ???.
Colours
Colonel flag (Leibfahne): White field. Centre device consisting of a golden “FR” cipher surrounded by golden palm leaves and surmounted by a gold crown. Grenades in gold.
Regimental flags (Kompaniefahnen): Dark orange field. Centre device consisting of a golden “FR” cipher surrounded by golden palm leaves and surmounted by a gold crown. Grenades in gold.
N.B. the reverses of all colours were mirror images of the obverses
![]() Colonel Colour - Source: Richard Couture from a template by Not By Appointment |
![]() Regimental Colour - Source: Richard Couture from a template by Not By Appointment |
References
Bleckwenn, Hans: Die friderizianischen Uniformen 1756-1783, Bd. II., Infanterie II, Osnabrück 1984
Duffy, Christopher: Friedrich der Große und seine Armee, Stuttgart, 2. Auflage 1983
Engelmann, Joachim and Günter Dorn: Die Infanterie-Regimenter Friedrich des Grossen, Podzun-Pallas, 2000, pp. 146-147
Grosser Generalstab Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung II: Die Kriege Friedrichs des Grossen, Part 3 Der siebenjährige Krieg 1756-1763, Vol. 1 Pirna und Lobositz, Berlin, 1901, App. 1
Guddat, Martin: Die Infanterie Friedrichs des Großen, Herford 1986
Haythornthwaite, Philip: Frederick the Great (2), Men-at Arms-Series No. 240, Osprey
Horvath, Carl Christian: Friedrichs II. König von Preussen Armee-Montirungen, Potsdam 1789. Vierte Sammlung
Merta, Klaus-Peter: Das Heerwesen in Brandenburg und Preußen von 1640 bis 1806 - Die Uniformierung, Berlin 1991
Acknowledgments
Martina Hager for the initial version of this article.