Black Brunswickers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A statue of Frederick William, located in Braunschweig.
A statue of Frederick William, located in Braunschweig.

The Black Brunswickers were a volunteer corps raised by German-born Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1771-1815) to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke was a harsh opponent of Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of his native Germany.[1] Formed in 1809 when war broke out between the First French Empire and the Austrian Empire, the corps initially comprised a mixed force, around 2300 strong, of infantry, cavalry and later supporting artillery.[1][2][3]

Distinctively attired in black broadcloth with a silvered death's head badge on their hats, the volunteers were nicknamed the Black Horde or the Black Legion; their more commonly-known title was the result of the Duke's temporary capture of the German city of Braunschweig (Brunswick) from the French in 1809. The Black Brunswickers earned themselves a fearsome reputation over the following decade, taking part in several significant battles including the pre-Waterloo engagement at Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815, where the Duke lost his life. However, recruiting, the replacement of casualties and finance had always been problematic, and the corps was disbanded in the early 1820s.

The exploits of the Brunswickers caught the British Victorian public imagination: an example of this can be found in John Everett Millais's painting The Black Brunswicker. Completed in 1860, the painting depicts a Brunswicker in his black uniform bidding goodbye to an unnamed woman.

Contents

[edit] Formation and early years

In 1806 the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Charles William Ferdinand, was fatally wounded during the Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. Following Prussia's defeat and the collapse of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleon, his duchy remained under French control. Rather than permit the Duke's heir, Frederick William, to succeed to his father's title, Napoleon seized the duchy and, in 1807, incorporated it into his newly-created model Kingdom of Westphalia ruled by his brother Jérôme. Two years later in 1809 the Fifth Coalition against Napoleon was formed between the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom. The dispossessed Frederick William, who had been a strenuous critic of French domination in Germany, seized this opportunity to seek Austrian help to raise an armed force. To finance this venture he mortgaged his principality in Oels. In its initial incarnation (dated to 25 July 1809), the 2300-strong 'free' corps consisted of two battalions of infantry, one Jäger battalion, a company of sharpshooters, and a mixed cavalry contingent including Hussars and Uhlans.[1][4]

Later that same year Frederick William led his "Schwarze Schar" (Black Horde) into Germany, and succeeded in briefly taking control of the city of Brunswick, earning his corps its epithet: the Black Brunswickers. He was soon driven out, but managed to flee with his troops to England where he joined his cousin and brother-in-law, the Prince-regent (later King George IV). During the next few years, the Brunswickers earned themselves a sound reputation through service with the British in the Peninsular Campaign. However, steady attrition in battles and skirmishes through Portugal and Spain, combined with a lack of political support and financial difficulties, led to a situation where the unit's imminent disbandment looked likely.[5]

[edit] Waterloo campaign

Following Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, and his subsequent retreat back into France, Frederick William was able to return to Brunswick in 1813 to reclaim his title. He also took the opportunity to replenish the ranks of his Black Brunswickers. Upon Napoleon's escape from Elba in 1815 he once more placed himself under the Duke of Wellington's command and joined the allied forces of the Seventh Coalition in Belgium. The "Brunswick Corps", as it is called in the order of battle for the Waterloo Campaign, formed up as a discrete division in the allied reserve. Its strength is given as 5376 men with 16 guns; composed of seven infantry battalions (one Guard, three Light and three Line) and both a horse and foot artillery battery. In addition, a regiment of Brunswicker Hussars and a single squadron of Uhlans were attached to the allied cavalry corps.[6]

The Brunswickers suffered only lightly during the Battle of Waterloo itself,[6] but had been heavily engaged a couple of days previously, on 16 June 1815, at the Battle of Quatre Bras.[7] There they suffered many losses,[2] including their commander Duke Frederick William,[3] who was struck by a stray musket ball which penetrated his hand, body and liver. He died at approximately 6:00 pm, within minutes of being shot.[8]

His final words, to his aide Major von Wachholtz, were:

Mein lieber Wachholtz, wo ist denn Olfermann? (My dear Wachholtz, where is Olfermann?)[8]

The battle at Quatre Bras is thought to be one of the most significant that the Brunswickers participated in, and it is this battle they are primarily remembered for.[9]

[edit] Uniform

The Black Brunswicker by John Everett Millais, painted in 1860
The Black Brunswicker by John Everett Millais, painted in 1860

The Brunswickers were awarded various nicknames by their contemporaries, including the Black Crows, the Black Legion and the Black Horde. However, although the uniforms of the individual units that comprised the corps were, as the names suggest, predominantly black, they varied in their details.

  • Infantry units wore a black pole skirt, simply trimmed and designed; either black or grey linen trousers; and black shoes with spats (usually dark grey in hue). They wore a Shako on their heads, sometimes adorned with a feather, and carried a bayonet sheath, bags for food and the like, and a form of military backpack for other essential supplies.
  • Cavalry were garbed in a black, light blue collared Dolman with black trousers designed for horse mounting and riding. Similarly to the infantry, cavalry wore a dark Shako. They carried various other leather accessories and effects suited for equestrian activities.
  • Artillerymen wore similar clothing to the cavalry: mostly black in colour with Collets and black trousers. They were additionally equipped with a standard Hussar sword should they have need to defend their guns.[10]

There are a number of speculative theories on the origin of the Brunswickers' dark and seemingly grim choice of garb. It has been suggested that black was chosen to mourn Duke Frederick William's late father; as a sign of respect for the Duke; or in mourning for the Duke's occupied homeland.[11]

[edit] Inspired art

The Black Brunswicker (1860), by John Everett Millais was inspired in part by the exploits of the Brunswickers[2] and in part by the contrasts of black broadcloth and pearl-white satin in a moment of tender conflict.[12]

In a letter to his wife, Effie Gray, Millais described his inspiration for the work:

My subject appears to me, too, most fortunate, and Russell (the war correspondent of Times) thinks it first-rate… I have it all in my mind's eye and feel confident that it will be a prodigious success. The costume and incident are so powerful that I am astonished it has never been touched upon before. Russell was quite struck with it, and he is the best man for knowing the public taste. Nothing could be kinder than his interest, and he is to set about getting all the information that is required.[2]

Millais reduced the presence of Napoleon to an engraving after David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps, which is framed on the damask-hung wall, which "perplexed the critics with the possible intricacies of cross purposes and rival jealousies" according to the reviewer from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine.[12]

The artwork took an estimated three months to paint, and it was greatly admired at the time. It was also bought for the highest price Millais had ever received from dealer and publisher Ernest Gambart - the lucrative sum of 100 guineas.[2] Later, in 1898, William Hesketh Lever purchased the work for his private collection.[2] Charles Dickens' daughter was used as a model for the woman seen in the picture.[2]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ a b c Osprey Publishing. Retrieved on 7 April, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lady Lever Art Gallery - artwork of the month. Retrieved on 7 April, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Infoplease.com. Retrieved on 7 April, 2007.
  4. ^ von Kortzfleisch, Gustav (1894 (1999)). Des Herzogs Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig Zug durch Norddeutschland im Jahre 1809. Berlin: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3764812164. 
  5. ^ von Pivka, Otto (1992). Napoleon's German Allies: Vol 1 (Men-at-arms). Osprey, 48. ISBN 978-0850452112. 
  6. ^ a b Allied order of battle: Wellington's Army (1815) (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  7. ^ von Pivka, Otto (1985). Brunswick Troops, 1809-15. Osprey, 48. ISBN 978-0850456134. 
  8. ^ a b von Pivka, Otto (1973). The Black Brunswickers. Osprey. ISBN 978-0850451467.  (page 23)
  9. ^ Hazlitt, William (2001 (first publ 1852)). The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte. Adamant Media Corporation, 443. ISBN 978-1402195242. 
  10. ^ Spehr, Louis Ferdinand (1861). Friedrich Wilhelm, Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Oels. Braunschweig: Meyer. 
  11. ^ Scott, Walter (2007 (first publ 1816)). Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk. unknown, 524. ISBN 978-0548085721. 
  12. ^ a b The Royal Academy and Other Exhibitions (HTML). Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 88.537 (Excerpt, pp79-84) (July 1860). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
Languages