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Re: Re: Re: Polish Lancers

Ken-I may not be understanding your comment, so I apologize in advance if I misunderstood you.

There were several units of Polish Lancers in the French army. In the line the first started as the lancers in the Polish legion in the revolutionary armies. After service in various armies they were supposedly recalled to the French army as the Lancer regiment of the Vistula Legion around 1806-7. The regiment was later integrated into the French army as the 7th Lancer regiment. A second polish lancer regiment was raised from cadres supplied by the 7th Lancers, and became the 8th Lancer regiment. A ninth regiment was raised from German troops, and of course the first six regiments of line lancers were French troops.

In the Guard the Polish light horse was raised in 1806-7 and was later armed with lances. When the hussars of the Dutch guard were incorporated into Napoleon's guard, the Polish regiment was renumbered the 1st Lancer regiment and the Dutch regiment was numbered the second. A third regiment of guard lancers was raised in Poland in 1812 and was mostly wiped out in the Russian campaign, the survivors joining the first lancer regiment.

I believe I read somewhere where at lease one guard lancer trumpeteer at Waterloo wore the full dress white coat.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Polish Lancers

Bill, in regard to the full white dress, Haythornthwaite says that British eye witnesses stated that the trumpeters and some officers of the Polish squadron wore the white full dress uniforms with crimson facings, but he states this must be considered extrememly unlikely. I don't know which eye witnesses he is quoting.