Lot Essay
Brunswick-Oels Jagers (The Black Brunswickers)
The Brunswick Light Infantry was formed from the remnants of a Volunteer Army which, led by hard-fighting Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick and nephew of George III, cut its way through French dominated Wesphalia to Brake on the Frisian Coast and thence by ship to England. Reformed as Rifle and Hussar Regiments, whose black uniforms reproduced that of the Duke's former Standing Army, the units were taken into British service and landed at Lisbon on 8.10.1810.
However, as the War continued and the black-clad ranks were filled by deserters of all nationalities, the early promise faded. Professor Oman in Wellington's Army, London, 1913, writes: 'They were a motely crew, much given to desertion ... One great Court Martial in 1811 sat on ten Brunswick Oels deserters in a body, and ordered four to be shot and the rest to be flogged'. But he also adds '... the regiment was full of good shots and bold adventurers'.
The Brunswick Light Infantry was formed from the remnants of a Volunteer Army which, led by hard-fighting Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick and nephew of George III, cut its way through French dominated Wesphalia to Brake on the Frisian Coast and thence by ship to England. Reformed as Rifle and Hussar Regiments, whose black uniforms reproduced that of the Duke's former Standing Army, the units were taken into British service and landed at Lisbon on 8.10.1810.
However, as the War continued and the black-clad ranks were filled by deserters of all nationalities, the early promise faded. Professor Oman in Wellington's Army, London, 1913, writes: 'They were a motely crew, much given to desertion ... One great Court Martial in 1811 sat on ten Brunswick Oels deserters in a body, and ordered four to be shot and the rest to be flogged'. But he also adds '... the regiment was full of good shots and bold adventurers'.