The 17th Light Dragoons were formed as an indirect consequence of General Wolfe's (fatal) victory at the Battle of Quebec in 1759. There is a good history of the Regiment (which became the 17th Lancers in 1823), here.
Their basic was red coats faced white (with lots of lace. The trumpeter wore reversed colors, in other words, white faced red..
The regiment famously sported a "deaths head" badge on their helmets; the successor regiment even today has "The Tots" (for Totenkopf) as a nickname. It saw almost all of its service in the Americas, and then later in the Napoleonic Wars, in India.
They certainly make a striking show!
There is an AWI re-enactor group for this unit, with tons more information and many great pictures!
The 17th was one of only 2 British cavalry regiments to fight in North America during the American Revolutionary War; they arrived in Boston in 1775, and only departed for Ireland after peace was negotiated in 1783.
The 17th fought at many of the major (and minor) battles of the Revolution, including the Battles of Long Island 1776, White Plains 1776, Ridgefield (Connecticut) 1777, the battles around Philadelphia in 1778, and the fighting in the Carolinas in 1779 - 1780.
I still have fond memories of the Raid on Danbury game we did in the early eighties. We had a light Dragoon unit on each side, if I recall.
ReplyDeleteI remember that game as well. Recently, John Spiess and HMGHS Next Gen did a youth game of the Battle of Ridgefield game at the Ridgefield Public Library: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1690888367740921/posts/3208104949352581
DeleteSuper looking unit, very nice work on them.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donnie!
DeleteVery smart. All that lacing is a bit painful, even on Perry sculpts where it is nicely raised.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lawrence! Compared with Napoleonic uniforms and their piping, easier to paint, I think! :-)
DeleteFantastic mounted addition to the collection.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Richard!
DeleteNice work! An old wargaming pal's uncle served in the successor to that regiment - 17th/21st Lancers (a merger of two regiments). Subsequently merged with the 16th/5th Lancers, and that more recently combined with 9th/12th Lancers! So 6 regiments in the 1880s became 1 in 2015!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris! Considering how relatively small the British military was in 1775. the fact that 4 units from have become amalgamated to form a single unit is pretty telling. The latest number I could find was around 67,000; the last time it was that small was 1803! Of course in 1775 it was tiny - estimated at under 30,000. Obviously, as a percentage of population, it must be far smaller now than even back then!
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