Saxon Light Cavalry - Napoleonic Wars

While the Saxon infantry enjoyed a somewhat lukewarm martial reputation (perhaps unfairly), the Saxon cavalry arm was widely recognized as among the best in Europe. The oldest regiments had origins that dated back to the Thirty Years War! By 1800, the Saxon mounted arm consisted of nine regiments:

Garde du Corps:  4 Squadrons, 420 men
3 Heavy cavalry Regiments: 12 squadrons with 2,202 men
4 Chevauleger Regiments(some were called Dragoons): 16 squadrons, 2,936 men
1 Hussar Regiment: 8 squadrons, 1,065 men.

The Saxon Hussars were relatively late additions to the Army, raised in 1791. The original uniform was a white dolman with light blue collar and cuffs piped white, white pants, crimson and white "barrel sash", light blue pelisse with black fur and white lace and belts. The original headdress was a black mirliton with a light blue "wing", edged in white. The sabretache was light blue with white trim, and bore the crowned royal cipher in white and red.

In 1806 the hussars adopted the shako with white plumes and cords and plumes, and the dolman became light blue. Traditional black Hungarian boots with white lace and tassels were worn. The shabraque was light blue edged in white from the inception of the unit. NCO's were noted to have white fur trim on their pelisses.

The trumpeter's distinctions include a red dolman, light blue shako with a red plume, and  white and light blue trumpet cords.  Officers (seen alongside the trumpeter) substituted silver for white in all cords, lace, trim, etc, and had a black base to their plumes. 

Saxon Light Cavalry Regiments, 1800 - 1815

Regiment	Facing Color	Buttons
Prinz Clemens*	Light Green	Yellow
Prinz Albrecht	Dark Green	Yellow
Prinz Johann	Black#	Yellow
von Polenz	Light Blue	Yellow

*The Prinz Clemens regiment was converted to Uhlans in 1811; in 1813 their tunic changed to light blue with black facings piped in red. In 1815 the tunic changed again to red with light blue facings. Lance pennons white over green, but later red and white and red and green were reported.

# This regiment had the shoulder straps and turnbacks piped in light buff. 

The Prinz Johann and von Polenz regiments were disbanded in 1813.

Perhaps somewhat curiously, Red was the traditional color for the coats of the Saxon Light Cavalry/Dragoons. This certainly makes them stand out on the battlefields of Central Europe and Russia! GHat certainly makes them a treat to paint for us waragmers! 

This is the Prinz Johann Dragoons in their 1810 uniform, with their sharp looking black facings. I wasn't aware of the odd detail of the light buff piping to the shoulder straps and turnbacks when I painted them years ago. They carry yet another variety of the unique and attractive Saxon standards.  

The shabraque is red with a yellow edge, and a central stripe in the facing color. The Osprey and Nafziger says they were "in the facing color decorated with the electoral cipher". Other sources (see the post on the Saxon Line Infantry for listing) show something like the above, often with a wolves' tooth border of triangles in the facing color piped in white or yellow. I suspect from reviewing the many plates that the facing colored shabraques were associated with the pre 1810 uniforms, and the red ones with the later uniforms. Breeches were buff earlier, with white or light grey piped red as seen above noted later in the era. Prior to adopting the shako in 1810, a small bicorn was worn, decorated with a white or yellow lace edge, white cockade and plume. 

Unusually for German Cavalry, the trumpeter wears reversed colors - a black tunic faced in red, along with the red plume typical of German trumpeters of the era. The Osprey says the shako itself was red as well. I found no plates depicting that, however. As with the Infantry,. all the cavalry figures are vintage Minifigs.

This rather interesting map makes clear just how much territory the Kingdom of Saxony lost as a result of the Congress of Vienna. Also interesting is the combined territories of the Saxon Duchies. The red outlines are the borders of the constituent states of the modern German Federal Republic (Bundesrepublik Deutschland)