League Of Augsburg - Fighting Talk

Friedrich August I. wrote:

toggy wrote:Arthur, do you have any info regarding colour of these knots, were they the same as the cuffs etc.

Cheers

Bob

I know I am no expert like most of the others here but may it be that the 'knots' are of the Lining/Lace color?

Yes Gunther, many sources show ribbons/knots in the button colour and they would usually be white as the overwhelming majority of French dragoons had tin buttons. But other regiments such as Asfeld/Hautefort or Montmain/Couterbonne had shoulder knots in the cuff colour (red for the former which also had gold buttonhole lace in 1698, green for the latter). Sources also show different ribbon colours for the same regiment : Le Roi is depicted with either red or white shoulder knots, while La Reine is shown with both blue or white ones. Ditto for Listenois which had either white or isabelle ribbons depending on which source you choose to believe.

One of the main sources for this is Le Mercure Galant, a late C17th periodical which frequently featured descriptions of the uniforms worn by French troops of the time. And some period pics also show French dragoons without shoulders knots at all.

Unlike their colleagues from the regiments of horse, French dragoons do not seem to have worn shoulder knots in the tinctures of their colonels' livery, though (if that did happen, it doesnt look that the practise was recorded).

So far, I've been using the words 'ribbons' and 'shoulder knots' pretty indiscriminately, but there actually was a slow evolution. Men wore bunches of ribbons on one or both shoulders in the 1660's and 1670's, and the ribbons gradually gave way to shoulder cords which ultimately took the shape of the aiguillette later worn by most cavalry troopers after 1715.

The French dragoons had their first outing yesterday in 3 Donnybrook games that I arranged with 'Toggy', the dragoons lovingly painted by Bob looked great and performed admirably in the first two games lending a hand to the overstretched British garrison in Tangiers. Unfortunately they died to a man in a hail of javelins in the 3rd game as did the rest of the British force except for the 'Hero' who was found lurking in the only house at the Oasis as his activation card had only come up once in the game.
Sadly neither Bob or myself had a camera to show the painted dragoons but I'm sure Barry will take some when he gets back from his travels.
Cheers
Dave

Back to the topic...

Are there any news on Mounted Dragoons?
The last thing I heard was a release date end of August '13 that was postponed...

I mean I have both hands full with finishing my Armies and so I canceled my order for Cuirassiers (to be used as Dragoons) after getting 'asked' by Bob and Barry to do so because the Mounted Dragoons will be released soon, but....?

Some intellegent answer please

Cheers,
Günter

Intel?
Intelligence?

perhaps

Intelligent... I doubt it

They are being worked on right now. I am grabbing as much of Clib's time as possible at the moment and there are plenty of sculpts on the go.
They are a priority but he is only one man and thus limited by what can be done. Please bear with us Gunter, they're coming

Barry,
Is there anything in the works for command for the French dismounted Dragoons? If not, what would you recommend from your line?

Thanks.

Hello Greg,

we have French command planned and they will be done hopefully in Q1 2014. In the meantime if you are desperate WLOA89 with fur caps/hats is a good stop gap as are the other dragoon officers in WLOA88. although French dragoons themselves did not wear hats I am fairly sure some of their officers would have found them more stylish than the stocking caps.

Barry,

Just looked at that set, that may do.

Thank you.

barr7430 wrote:although French dragoons themselves did not wear hats I am fairly sure some of their officers would have found them more stylish than the stocking caps.

Hi Barry

Surviving clothing contracts show that French dragoons were always issued with both stocking caps and broad brimmed hats, the latter being ultimately turned up in tricorn fashion.

According to Henri Choppin's Histoire Générale des Dragons, stocking caps were worn at reviews, while foraging and most probably during battles as Mlle de Montpensier remarked in her Memoirs that the cap gave dragoons 'an air of bravery that was not nearly as conspicuous in the other branches of service'. Hats were supposed to be worn off-duty and also presumably in foul weather as they would offer better protection from the rain.

Arthur,

this is extremely interesting info. Thanks for that. Opens up all sorts of options previously not available.

Glad you found that snippet of information useful, Barry.

That said, I'll still buy a couple of French dragoons regiments in stocking caps from you once you release the proper command pack

Only a matter of time Arthur!

Barry,

Any indication on when we can see the mounted dragoon codes?

Ta
Ben

Actually Ben, yes... now, pick yourself up off the floor!

Clib and i had a very long chat last week and agreed a way forward on the French Dragoon command and mounted dragoons. The reasons for the delay are many and slightly complex... all of them relevant and several intertwined.

Needless to say we will fill this gap in parallel with Russian GNW dollies and the finish of the Swedish infantry.

Well Huzzah! Cheers Barry and Clib.

Best
Ben

any updates on the mounted dragoons mr h