2nd Line Dragoons

There were only two Line Dragoon regiments in the French order of battle at Waterloo: the 2nd and 7th.  Many more were with Grouchy under Exelmans.

Kellerman

The 2nd and 7th Dragoons were in Kellerman's Corps and therefore took part in the charges of the Reserve Cavalry.  They were in L'Heritier's 11th Cavalry Division, brigaded together under Picquet.  Kellerman, the son of the victor of Valmy had distinguished himself in his own right at Marengo.  At Quatre Bras on the 16th he had continued to show the dash that had marked out his career to date and had to be rescued when his horse was shot beneath him.

Kellerman at Quatre Bras

Both regiments had red facings and would have worn the Bardin jacket.  There aren't many pictures showing dragoons in the Bardin uniform, perhaps because so many were in Spain until 1813 and 1814.

Jena

A number of manufacturers have made French Dragoons.  I've saved my Italieri figures for my Empress Dragoon regiment (already published) and so have used some of the others for this initial group of the 2nd Dragoons.  They consist of the new Zvezda Art of Battle set, a triumph of packaging over content - while the figures are nice, there are just so few of them! 

There are a couple of old Rose figures here - surprisingly nice given their age, some NapoleoN figures, a couple of the HAT set and some Art Miniaturen.  As I mentioned last week, I've been doing odds and sods and this is just a taster of the full unit. 

The front rank are mostly the Zvezda set

Some Hat and NapoleoN in the rear.  The three men firing their carbines are Zvezda - too many for a Waterloo diorama, and one wonders whether any French cavalry were cool enough to stop, take aim and fire within range of a British square doing the same, but with 200 musket balls coming the other way!

A Zvezda trumpeter with an AM figure on the rear right of the line.

This guidon feels more like a flag!

Something that has always puzzled me is whether Dragoon regiments had an elite company in bearskins by 1815.  These dragoons in Bardin jackets show what looks like a Farrier, but he could be from the elite company.