Impressions

The uniforms for the Waldeck 3rd Regiment were reconstructed using archived documentation 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

Surviving Waldeck artifacts were painstakingly replicated:

Weapons

This bayonet and barrel were found in the Mobile Bay, and are on display at the History Museum of Mobile. Weapon suppliers to the regiment were Thomas Wilhem Pistor (1776 to 1782), Holland (1777 to 1780), and G.A. Ampfurt of Hameln (1777 to 1778).

Corrosion has destroyed any maker’s marks that may have been present on these artifacts. While they are entirely unique, they reflect similar design characteristics of other Dutch-German military arms of the period.

The hanger (sword) of the Waldeck 3rd Regiment was delivered by many different suppliers during the war, including Thomas Wilhelm Pistor and Georg Konrad Schmoeckell. This is an infantry hanger from the 2nd Waldeck Regiment which is displayed at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. This would have been very similar, or identical, to those used by the 3rd Regiment.

Accoutrements

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."

No waistbelt, cartridge box, or other leathers are known to have survived.

Uniforms

There are no known surviving uniforms from the Waldeck 3rd Regiment, or similar Waldeck regiments. However, we based our coat construction 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.

For smallclothes, we reference the known Germanic uniforms shown in The Uniforms of the Prussian Army under Frederick the Great from 1740 to 1786.

Contemporary Artwork

Contemporary artwork offers additional insight into uniform details; some examples are shown below.

Officers

Portrait of a Waldeck 3rd Regiment 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.

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