National dragoons (conscripts) depicted in 1704-1706 on a relief in Rosenborg castle (close ups are available at the bottom of this page).

The Danish cavalry had the same cut and colours on their coats as the infantry. But apart from the regular coat the cavalry man also had a buff coat made from elk skin and it was this clothing they usually wore in combat. From 1707 they also wore a black cuirass (although only with a front plate). Some regiments such as Livgarden til Hest (Horse Guards) and 1st Jyske had worn cuirasses even before 1707. Another difference from the infantry was that cavalry officers until 1708 (when it was forbidden) had reversed colours on their coats compared to the privates. If for example the privates had red coats with blue facings then the officers had blue coats with red facings.

The cavalry men's vests and breeches were normally made of yellowish leather. The hats had silver lace and an iron skull cap inside to protect the head. When the army shifted to red coats 1711 it was also decided that the saddle cloth should be red with edges in the same colour as the coat's lining.

Officers had as distinctions a sash and also silver and gold lace on their hat, saddle cloths and belts. Unlike the privates they were not armed with carbines.

The dragoons were considered to be mounted infantry and as such they did not have buff coats, cuirasses or a skull caps in the hat. On the other hand they ha grenadiers in their ranks which could have had special grenadier caps.

Livgarden til Hest
(Horse Guards)

1686-		-1707
Red coat with 60 silver buttons and yellow lining, red-yellow-striped velvet cuffs laced with gold and silver. Red cassock with 11 dozen (!) buttons covered with silver and aurora, yellow lining and collar, and on both sides the royal coat of arms embroidered in gold and silver. Hat with gold and silver lace, the king's gilded monogram and tassel. Belts covered with red velvet and gold and silver lace. Red shabraque and pistol covers with yellow fringes, embroidered edge and the royal monogram. The buff coat had red velvet cuffs and a wide gold and silver lace halo		In 1692 the buff coat had silver buttons and red cuffs with silver lace (had all gold lace disappeared by this time?). The cassock (not pictured above) had the royal coat of arms embroidered on both sides in 1699. In 1703 they had a tricorne hat with a black cockade.
1708-1710		1710-1721
Crimson coat with blue (bleumerant) lining, cuffs and collar. Silver lace on the collar. Two dozen pewter buttons and 44 "sløjfer" and two round lapels (all consisting of 20 ¼ elle of silver lace. Buff coat with blue cuffs, leather breeches, black neckcloth. Hat with silver lace and black cockade. Crimson coat with blue lining and blue collar with silver lace. Cartridge box lid covered with blue cloth and decorated with silver lace and silver embroidery Black painted cuirass edged with blue lining and decorated with the King's gilded monogram. Crimson shabraque edged with silver lace.		Madder red coat and cloak with blue lining. The coat would now have the same design as the rest of the army. Blue cuffs without silver lace. Madder red shabraque with camel hair edge (white according to Karsten Skjold Petersen but light blue according to Snorrason and Höglund). Cuirass with royal monogram.

Livregiment til Hest
(Life Regiment on Horse)

1699	1701-1714	1714-1722	Buff coat
Red coat with yellow cuffs and lining.	Was in Dutch service during the War of the Spanish Succession and had red coats when it returned to Denmark in 1714.	Red coat with yellow cuffs and lining.	Cuirasses decorated with the king's crowned monogram were issued in 1709.

Before 1699 the Livregiment had grey coats with red lining, but the uniform regulation from this year called for red coats with yellow lining. In 1710 were the NCOs issued coats edged with silver lace.

1. Sjællandske
(First Zealand)

2. Sjællandske
(Second Zealand)

		1701-1714
1695
Grey coat with purple cuffs and lining.		Was in Dutch service during the War of the Spanish Succession and was disbanded when it returned to Denmark in 1714.

3. Sjællandske
(Third Zealand, 2. Sjællandske from 1714)

1. Jyske
(First Jutland)

The regiment had served in foreign auxiliary corps 1692-1699 and on their return received special permission to continue to wear the full cuirass they had acquired during this time. That is, cuirasses that covered both the front and the back as well as helmets and perhaps also protection on the arms and legs. Until at least the Scanian campaign of 1709-1710, the regiment seems to have distinguished itself by having extra armour judging by eyewitness reports. The English envoy Vrigny was present when the regiment was mustered on 21 June 1702 and described it as follows:

On the 21st the King inspected the cuirassier regiment belonging to Colonel Legard on a large plain where Kolding’s highest hill is located. This regiment is regarded as the most handsome in Denmark and returned home two years ago from Hungary. There the regiment took part in 9 campaigns without a pause. The regiment was clothed in cuirass over buff coats. Leather cuffs (that is uncoloured cuffs?) were embroidered with gold, likewise the gauntlets. Helmets were not worn because of the cold. Instead, the cavalrymen wore hats with a wide silver lace and a black cockade. I saw a few of the officers’ helmets with handsome feathers. These helmets were carried by the officers’ servants. It must be impressive when the whole regiment is attired in their armament and all with helmets. There are in all 6 companies each of 60 men, all clothed in buff coats with breastplate fastened with belts on the back. All of the belts are supplied with iron scales. Officers and non-commissioned officers wear the full cuirass. All had large moustaches. The horses were all of different colours, except for one company where all of the horses were black. As distinction the non-commissioned officers has silver embroidery, while officers had gold embroidery and feathers on the helmet.

In the spy report from the Malmö postmaster Carsten Olofsson on 10 December 1709, the First Jutland was the only cavalry regiment he called a "cuirassier regiment". The uniform was described only as "white livery". It was the only regiment that he did not mention the colour of cuffs and collar.

 2. Jyske
(Second Jutland)

1695	1701-1713
		1714-1721
Light grey coat with dark blue lining and cuffs.	Was in English service during the War of the Spanish Succession.	Red coat with cuffs and lining in feuille morte.

 3. Jyske
(Third Jutland)

1695	1714-1716		1716-1721
Grey coat, light brown cuffs and lining according to Skjold Petersen and feuille morte according to Snorrason.	Red coat with dark green cuffs and lining (according to m//1711, they should actually have blue regimental colour and an aurora-coloured stripe on the cuffs).		Red coat with light blue lining and light blue cuffs with two aurora coloured stripes (m/1716).

Was in English service during the War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1713.

 4. Jyske
(Fourth Jutland)

		1701-1714
1695
Grey coat with lining and turnout coloured isabella.		Was in Dutch service during the War of the Spanish Succession and disbanded on return to Denmark in 1714.

 5. Jyske
(Fifth Jutland, 4. Jyske from 1714)

1695	1701-1714
		1714-1722
Grey coat with yellow lining and cuffs.	Was in Dutch service during the War of the Spanish Succession.	Red coat with violet lining and violet cuffs with white lace.

 1. Fynske
(First Funen)

 2. Fynske
(Second Funen)

1695			m/1711 & m/1716
	1709
Light grey coat with orange lining and cuffs.	According to a Swedish spy report: "white coats and cloaks, blue cuffs and collars"		Red coat, green lining, green and aurora coloured cuffs.

There are different descriptions of what the m/1711 and m/1716 uniforms' cuffs looked like.

Holstein Cuirassier Regiment
(Oldenborgske until 1702)

1685 & 1695	1701-1713
		1714-1721
Light grey coat with red lining and cuffs.	Was in English service during the War of the Spanish Succession.	Red coat with steel grey lining and cuffs.

In 1699 the regiment is stated to have had grey coats and "otherwise like the Livregiment".

1700?	1701-1713
		1714-1721
Skjold Petersen, Snorrason and Höglund all mention that the uniform before 1714 is unknown, but Höglund writes that the regimental colour was possibly medium blue.	Was in English service during the War of the Spanish Succession.	Red coat with light green lining and cuffs.

Torstein Snorrason writes that an officer in the regiment with the rank of cornet wore a buff coat with gold and silver lace and cuirass. The shabraque had gold lacce. But the cornets did not have a sash as a sign of dignity, unlike the staff officers who had gold-embroidered silk ones.

"Hungarian" Cuirassier Regiment
(Was actually named after its colonels, 1709-1717 it was Dewitz)

		m/1711	m/1716
1709
Light grey coat with blue lining and cuffs.		Red coat with steel grey lining and steel grey cuffs with white lace.	Red coat with yellow lining and yellow cuffs with light blue stripes.

According to Torstein Snorrason, the enlistment patent from 1701 is said to have determined that the regiment would have grey-white coats and cloaks with blue lining and blue cuffs, as well as leather vests and leather breeches. But the enlistment patent does not remain in original, but this information comes from a specification from 1709.

Lars-Eric Höglund writes on the other hand the regiment had in 1709 "red coat with steel green collar ". This information probably comes from Vaupell and "steel green" is with him a common misspelling for "steel grey" which is due to the fact that the publishers had difficulty reading his handwriting. The year also appears to be a mix-up with the above-mentioned enlistment patent and the 1711 regulation stipulating that the regiment was to have red coats with steel gray lining and steel grey facings with white lace along the buttons.

Both Höglund and Schorr say that the regulation from 1716 prescribes a red coat with blue lining and yellow cuffs with a blue stripe. Although Höglund also mentions that there is other information which says that the coat had a yellow collar and lining. Karsten Skjold Petersen also stated in the book from 2005 that the lining was either blue or yellow, but in the book from 2014 he only writes that the lining was yellow. Unlike the others who only indicate one stripe on each cuff, Skjold Petersen has written that the cuffs had two stripes. He phrased it vaguely in the first book about the time period that the cuffs looked like that ("?-1722-?") but more specifically in the second book ("1716-1734"). The plate from 1716, however, shows only one stripe.

Brockdorff's Cuirassier regiment

1710		m/1711
Grey-white coat, leather vest, leather breeches and cuirass		Red coat with violet lining and violet cuffs with white lace.

This regiment was raised in 1710 and disbanded due to poor conduct during the Battle of Gadebusch in 1712. It is very doubtful if the m/1711 uniform was issued. However for the uniform issued in 1710 the regimental colour is not mentioned so I have only guessed it was the same colour as m/1711.

Livregiment Dragoner
(Life Dragoon Regiment)

About the life dragoons, Höglund writes (without specifying the year) that they had hats with silver lace and black cockades. Their coat was crimson with white cuffs and lining. The grenadiers had fur caps with the front flap embroidered in silver.

The postmaster Carsten Olofsson in Malmö reported in 1709 that the life dragoons, which he called Rodsten's dragoon regiment, had "Red coats and cloaks with white cuffs and collars".

This was originally two dragoon regiments under the command of Rodsten and Juel which were leased to the Emperor in 1701 and in 1703 merged into one regiment after they had suffered heavy losses in northern Italy. It then fought in Hungary until it returned to Denmark in 1709 under Bülow's command. While in foreign service it was given Austrian equipment (which it kept even after returning home) and the recruitment was done on location so that it consisted almost exclusively of Hungarians and Germans. The regiment was disbanded in 1714 and the majority of the men were put into the Württemberg Dragoon Regiment. At this time, the Danish proportion of privates in the Hungarian dragoon regiment was still as low as 4% (the average for Danish cavalry regiments was 29%).

Since the regiment was mostly Hungarian, Torstein Snorrason has made the assumption that the regiment wore traditional Hungarian caps instead of the tricorne hats that I have depicted them wearing. Torstein Snorrason also argues that the regiment had red coats with blue cuffs in Danish service by referring to the postmaster's report from 1709 as well as an epitaph on von Pottendorf who fell in 1711 and who is depicted in a red coat and with red pistol covers with gold fringe. Light blue cavalry standards and dragoon colours are also visible in the image (the dragoon regiment claimed the rank of a cavalry regiment). Höglund mentions that the company colours were stated in 1712 to have been light blue with stars.

 Württemberg-Oels Dragoon Regiment

1701	1702	1703-1714	1714-1721
The enlistment patent states blue coat with red cuffs.	The English envoy Vrigny described the uniform as "white with yellow cuffs".	Was in English and Dutch service during the War of the Spanish Succession.	Red coat with cuffs and lining in aurora (m/1716).

Torstein Snorrason believes that Vrigny misunderstood the name of the regiment he saw in 1702 and was in fact describing Prince Carl's infantry regiment which was also stationed in Holstein. Lars-Eric Höglund has made the interpretation that the white/yellow coats were a temporary uniform that was worn before they got the regular uniform.

Sjælland-Fynske landragoner
(Zealand-Funen National Dragoons)

1704	1707
		m/1711 & m/1716
Light grey "vadmal" coat with blue lining and cuffs. Leather vest and leather trousers. Hat with lace. According to Snorrason, the shabraques seem to have been red.	The national dragoons were to have a blue coat with cuffs and collar in the regimental colour. Yellow buttons and edged buttonholes. Hat with lace and black cockade. White neckcloth, blue cloak and leather breeches. A Swedish spy report from 1709 states "blue coats and cloaks, as well as white cuffs and collars".	Red coat with light green lining and light green and red cuffs. Converted to an enlisted cuirassier regiment on 9 March 1711. The uniform regulation of 24 October 1711 states that the regiment already had the m/1711 uniform. It may therefore have been issued when the regiment was converted to cuirassiers.

Jyske landdragoner
(Jutland National Dragoons)

1704	1707
		m/1711 & m/1716
Light grey "vadmal" coat with red cuffs. Leather vest and leather trousers. Hat with lace. According to Snorrason, the shabraques seems to have been blue.	The national dragoons were to have a blue coat with cuffs and collar in the regimental colour. Yellow buttons and edged buttonholes. Hat with lace and black cockade. White neckcloth, blue cloak and leather breeches.	Red coat with light blue lining and light blue and black cuffs. Converted to an enlisted cuirassier regiment on 15 December 1710 and then received new hats with silver lace.

National Dragoons Raised in 1717
(disbanded in 1730)

If nothing else is stated, the uniform information comes from Karsten Skjold Petersen's book from 2014. Höglund's information is identical to that found in Otto Vaupell's book (in that, however, no year is stated).

According to a regulation of January 1718, the dragoons were henceforth to wear only single-breasted coats. They would also replace the leather vest by re-sewing the old coat into a vest in the future. However, the newly raised national dragoons seem to have been given leather vests when the first uniforms were issued. Because just one month after the regulation was declared, it was decided that East Sjællandske should have leather vests. A new regulation from 1721 only mentions the lace and not the cockade on the hat which may indicate that it had been abolished. Depictions of the national dragoons' coats from 1730 reveal that they had shoulder cords similar to the life dragoons.

Contemporary Depictions of National Dragoons 1704-1706

National dragoon officer, depicted 1704-1706 on a relief on the roof of the long hall in Rosenborg castle

Private national dragoon, depicted 1704-1706 on a relief on the roof of the long hall in Rosenborg castle

Höglund, Lars-Eric – Sallnäs, Åke. Stora nordiska kriget 1700-1721, II. Karlstad (2003)
Schorr, Daniel. Danish-Norwegian uniforms 1709-1720. *
Skjold Petersen, Karsten. Den danske hærs uniformer i 1700-tallet. Copenhagen (2005)
Skjold Petersen, Karsten. Kongens klæder. Copenhagen (2014)
Snorrason, Torstein. Bülow's "Ungarske (Hungarian)" Dragoon Regiment ca. 1710. *
Snorrason, Torstein. Danish Uniforms 1699-1712. *
Vaupell, Otto. Den danske hærs historie til nutiden og den norske hærs historie indtil 1814. Copenhagen (1872-1876)

* = articles published in 2008 on the now defunct website www.northernwars.com