Sjællandske Infantry
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised in April 1628, but elements already existed since 1614.
From 1689 to 1697, one battalion (six companies) was in English pay.
By the time of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment counted three battalions for a total of 18 musketeer companies and 1 grenadier company.
From 1701 to 1713, thirteen companies formed in two battalions were in Dutch pay (maintained by the Province of Zeeland). These battalions were at times designated as regiments.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the proprietors of the regiment were:
- from 1696: Georg Christoph von Puttkammer
- from 1706: Laurence du Boysset
- from 1714: D. E. Zepelin
The first battalion in Dutch pay was under the command of:
- from 1701: Georg Christoph von Puttkammer
- from 20 September 1704: Friederich Philip von Donop
- from 13 July 1711: François d'Aspremont
The second battalion in Dutch pay was under the command of:
- from 14 July 1702: Andreas von Harboe
- from 20 September 1704: Hans Christopher Schönfeldt
- from 26 June 1706: Laurence du Boysset
The third battalion in Austrian pay was under the command of:
- from 1701: Johan Mohrstein (killed in action at the Battle of Luzzara in August 1702)
Service during the War
Battalion in Austrian Pay
In 1700, the third battalion went to Saxony.
In 1701, the third battalion (7 coys) of the regiment was attached to the Danish Contingent taken in Austrian pay. In March, this contingent was in Saxony but had already been ordered to join the Imperial army assembling in Tyrol for the planned invasion of Northern Italy. By mid-November, the contingent had reached Bolzano. The regiment took its winter-quarters along the left bank of the Mincio in front of Goito and Mantua.
In 1702, the third battalion took part in the Campaign in Northern Italy. On 15 August, it fought at the Battle of Luzzara.
On 1 March 1703, the battalion was combined with the remnants of the III./Jyske Infantry and a third of the batallion of the Marine Regiment to form the new 3rd Danske Infanterieregiment under Herman Fredrik Boyneburg.
Battalions in Dutch Pay
In October 1701, two battalions (12 coys) embarked at Glüchstadt and were transported to Northern Holland.
In 1702, these battalions took part in the siege and capture of Liège.
In mid-March 1704, after settling the problem with pay arrears, these battalions were posted in Southern Brabant. In July, they were ordered to join Marlborough's Army in Bavaria. Upon their arrival, they were assigned to the army of Prince Eugène de Savoie and stationed at Heidelberg. On 13 August, they took part in the Battle of Blenheim. In the autumn, they took part in the sieges of Trarbach and Saarburg. They took up their winter-quarters between the Moselle and the Rhine.
At the end of May 1706, these battalions joined Marlborouh's Army and took part in the Battle of Ramillies. They were present at the ensuing sieges of Antwerp, Ostend, Menin, Ath, Dendermonde and Oudenarde.
In 1709, these battalions took part in the siege of Tournai. On 11 September, they fought in the Battle of Malplaquet.
In 1714, these battalions returned to Denmark.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
| ||||||||||||
| Neck stock | white | ||||||||||||
| Coat | double-breasted grey-white coat with 22 pewter buttons (11 on each side) and 1 pewter button on each side in the small of the back. In the first years of the war, all buttonholes were usually trimmed in the distinctive colour of the regiment.
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | dark blue with pewter buttons | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | dark blue during the early years of the war and gradually standardized to red | ||||||||||||
| Stockings | dark blue fastened under the knee with a natural leather strap | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | the use of gaiters generalized much later but they were already used in 1700 where red gaiters are reported | ||||||||||||
| Overcoat | grey-white with dark blue lining and a dark blue collar | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
|
Soldiers were armed with a flintlock musket, a small bayonet and a sword (fusiliers) or a sabre (grenadiers). Grenadiers were also armed with hand grenades and with a small axe.
N.B.: by 1707 brass buttons had replaced the pewter buttons of the earlier uniform
NCOs
NCOs were probably distinguished from privates by a silver lace on the hat and by silver edging on the cuffs.
NCOs carried a cane whose characteristics indicated the precise rank of each NCO.
NCOs also carried a halberd and a sword. They had no musket, to the exception of grenadier NCOs who were armed as the privates.
Officers
Uniforms of officers differed from those of the privates and NCOs by the finer material used. They were not standardized across the entire army but seems to have been similar within a regiment. Buttons were silver-plated and silver embroideries decorated the coat, cuffs and pocket flaps. Their coat could be single or double-breasted.
The hats of officers were often edged with a red or white plumetis.
Officers usually wore a wig.
Officers wore a gorget and a silken sash of the distinctive colour of their regiment. Those serving in Dutch pay wore an orange sash across the shoulder.
Officers carried a cane whose characteristics indicated the precise rank of each officer; a pike and a sword. Officers of the grenadier companies carried a musket instead of a pike.
In the field, pistols of various forms were carried by officers who often carried two of them when dismounted.
Musicians
Drummers usually wore coats similar to those of privates but richly decorated with braids on the sleeves and body (without swallow nests). Braids were usually of the metal colour of the regiment. The shell of the drum was of painted woods and decorated with the regimental arms or the King's double monogram.
Colours
no information found yet
References
Martinsson, Örjan: Danish Infantry Uniforms 1700-1730 in Tacitus.nu
Snorasson, Torstein and Søren Henriksen: Danish Uniforms 1699-1712, in Chakoten, translated and published by Dan Schorr in 2008
Vaupell, O. F.: Den Danske Haers Historie, Copenhagen 1876 , pp. 589, 623, 639
Wikipedia – Danish Auxiliary Corps in Anglo-Dutch service 1701–1714
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
Acknowledgements
Wienand Drenth and Jörg Meier for additional information on this regiment.
