Dragoon. Dragoons were technically mounted infantry who moved rapidly from place to place on horseback and were also able to fight on foot. Also called light horse, they were armed with sabers, horse pistols, and carbines and were used extensively by both sides for scouting, communication, and skirmishing.
Fusilier. A name originally given to men who guarded the artillery train and were armed with fusils, or light muskets. By 1775, the name and headgear—miter caps similar to those of the grenadiers but not as high—distinguished them, but they were armed the same as regular regiments. The Hessian forces had fusilier regiments, and the British had two fusilier regiments in America: the 21st Royal North British (Scots) Fusiliers and the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
Grenadier. Grenadiers in the British Army were usually the tallest and strongest men in the regiment, five feet, ten inches or taller, and each regiment had one company of them. The name comes from their original function of throwing hand grenades, which required tall, strong men. Their caps were originally of cloth and miter-shaped to facilitate grenade throwing. By 1750, grenades were no longer used, but the distinction remained. The British grenadiers wore bearskin caps just over a foot tall, and they retained a flaming grenade as a badge. On campaign, the grenadier companies were taken away from their regiments and formed into grenadier battalions.
German (Hessian) grenadiers were modeled on the Prussian Army, chosen for merit rather than height only. They wore metal miter caps of polished brass or tin, depending on the regiment, and were distinguished by mustaches blackened with blackball paste wax and sharpened into points.
Jäger. German sharpshooters who were equipped with short, large-caliber rifles accurate to 200 or more yards. The British often used the French word chasseur—both words mean “hunter”—to describe these light troops, who were dressed in green uniforms with red facings.
Light Horse. See Dragoon.
Light Infantry. Troops who were lightly equipped and highly mobile. The British Army introduced them during the French and Indian War, when the Howe brothers, George Augustus and William, survivors of Braddock's Defeat, pioneered the concept. In the 1760s, the British Army incorporated a light company in each regiment. They were able to fan out and use partisan tactics or fight in line like regulars. On campaign, they were taken from their regiments and formed into battalions, as were the grenadiers.
Regiment. “A body of men, either horse, foot, or artillery, commanded by a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major: each regiment of foot is divided into companies, but the number of companies differ; though in England our regiments are generally 10 companies, one of which is always grenadiers…. Each regiment has a chaplain, quartermaster, adjutant, and surgeon.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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