Impressions

The uniforms for the Waldeck 3rd Regiment were primarily reconstructed using archived records from Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, The Jassenboekje (the Military Coats Book) and the Drawings of Uniforms by Duncan Macalester Loup as shown in Military Uniforms in the Netherlands 1752-1800, research and publications by Bruce E. Burgoyne and Albert W. Harmaann, and various other period sources and surviving artifacts.

Photography by Shannon Taylor

Material Culture

Much of the Waldeckers’ original material culture has been lost, but the few surviving artifacts and depictions offer valuable insight.

Weapons

Infanteriegewehr - Gewehrfabrik Pistor, Schmalkalden um 1780. Weapon suppliers to the 3rd Regiment were Thomas Wilhem Pistor (1776 to 1782), Holland (1777 to 1780), and G.A. Ampfurt of Hameln (1777 to 1778). This musket, following after Dutch material culture, is a pristeen example of the musket style most commonly carried by Waldeck soldiers. The brass barrel bands seen here appear in most contemporary artwork of the 1st and 2nd Waldeck regiments.

This bayonet and barrel, attributed to the Waldeckers, were recovered from Mobile Bay and are on display at the History Museum of Mobile. Regrettably, corrosion has destroyed any maker’s marks that may have been present on these artifacts.

Notably, this barrel was pinned to the stock rather than fastened with barrel bands. An earlier-period Waldeck musket, featuring a barrel similar in design to the one recovered from Mobile Bay, is currently on display in the Fort Ticonderoga Online Collections.

The swords, or hangers, of the Waldeck 3rd Regiment were supplied by multiple makers during the war, including Thomas Wilhelm Pistor and Georg Conrad Schömckell. This is an infantry hanger from the 2nd Waldeck Regiment which is displayed at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. This style would have likely been identical to those used by the 3rd Regiment.

Accoutrements

There are no known surviving leather accoutrements from the Waldeck 3rd Regiment, nor from the 1st or 2nd Regiments.

This Waldeck 3rd Regiment belt buckle was found at Inwood Hill by William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton. The buckle pictured is an original which matches the description provided in a February 19, 1776 contract between Thomas Wilhelm Pistor and the Principality of Waldeck:

"Vierhundert Koppel-Schlösser nach dem letzten modell, gravirt F. mit dem Fürsten-Hüth" which roughly translates into English as "Four hundred belt buckles of the latest model, engraved with F. and the Princely crown."

Germanic cartridge boxes of the period typically followed the Prussian and Austrian thirty-round pattern. These boxes would have featured a decorative brass plate on the front, which the Waldeck 3rd Regiment commissioned from Goldschmieds Berges between 1779 and 1782.

The cartridge box shoulder slings were four inches wide and, in some cases, attached using buttons or buckles; this arrangement was seen on the Brunswick Cartridge Box held by the New Hampshire Historical Society. Most commonly, the sling was sewn directly to the rear of the cartridge box.

Uniforms

There are no known surviving uniforms from the Waldeck 3rd Regiment, or similar Waldeck regiments. However, our coat construction is based on a surviving regimental coat from the Infanterie-Regiment von Hardenbroeck located at the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin. This coat is likely the most similar surviving regimental to that worn by the Waldeckers.

Uniformrock für Mannschaften, Infanterie-Regiment von Hardenbroeck, Niederlande, 1788

Through the records held at the Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, we were able to reconstruct the materials used to outfit each musketeer. The same documents provide similar insight into the outfitting of officers, musicians, the artillery detachment, and other regimental positions. The units below are given in ells (length) and lots (weight), which were the standard measurements used at the time. These measurements were not standardized across the Holy Roman Empire and differed slightly from state to state. Unit conversions are based upon the Compendium der Münz, Maass, Gewichts und WechselcoursVerhältnisse sämmtlicher Staaten und Handelsstädte der Erde by Gustav Wagner, published 1855.

Consignation

Deren zu Montirung des Hochfürstlichen Waldeckischen 3ten Regiments erforderlichen Materialien und übrigen Bedürfniße.

1 Pfund = 32 Lot = 467 grams2 Fuß = 1 Elle = 68.5 cm

Several buttons found near Pensacola, Florida, have been attributed to the Waldeck 3rd Regiment. Some of these examples are illustrated in John T. Powell’s Military Collector & Historian article, German Military Buttons of the Period of the American War of Independence, 1776–1783:

Figure A.

Engine-turned example of button attributed to the 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment, found near Pensacola, Florida

Figure B.

Reverse of button attributed to the 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment, found near Pensacola, Florida

While there are no direct refences to Waldeck uniforms, we infer typical Germanic styles from those shown in The Uniforms of the Prussian Army under Frederick the Great from 1740 to 1786, by Daniel Hohrath. We also refer to the detailed depictions from Adolph Menzel (1815-1905) who published a number of drawings of late 18th century Prussian military uniforms in Die Armee Friedrich’s des Grossen in ihrer Uniformirung (c. 1851). The most compelling of these are the depictions of the accoutrements, hats, and smallclothes which are shown below.

Contemporary Artwork

Contemporary artwork offers additional insight into uniform details.

Officers

The only known depiction of a Waldeck 3rd Regiment soldier is this portrait of an officer, presumed to be Col. Johann von Hanxleden (c. 1776)

While the style varied by rank, officers were typically distinguished by a silver epaulette worn on the left shoulder, silver braid on the hat brim, and silver lace incorporated into sword knots and hat cords. However, the exact manner in which the metallic lace was worn is unknown.

Enlisted

There are no known paintings depicting an enlisted soldier of the Waldeck 3rd Regiment. However, details can be inferred from contemporary depictions of other Waldeck regiments, such as this grenadier of the 2nd Regiment. This painting comes from the Uniformen van de Nederlandsche Republiek 1782–1789 collection held by the Nationaal Militair Museum in the Netherlands.

The most notable contemporary depictions of Waldeck uniforms appear in Military Uniforms in the Netherlands 1752–1800, compiled by Joep van Hoof. This volume incorporates The Jassenboekje (the Military Coats Book) along with many illustrations by Duncan Macalester Loup, who served in the Dutch army and created highly detailed drawings of Dutch soldiers in the latter half of the eighteenth century. These depictions suggest that the Waldeck infantry maintained consistent regimental colors and button placements throughout the Revolutionary War period, with the main variation being the style of the cuffs. The illustration of the officer (believed to depict Colonel Hanxleden) shows a departure from the uniforms of the 1st and 2nd Regiments and appears instead to reflect the style of the later-formed 5th Waldeck Battalion.

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