Volunteer Jaegers

Notes from Calpe Miniatures: "These troops were all volunteer riflemen attached to line formations. Most regular line battalions had a company of these troops attached to them. They were generally young men from the professional or wealthy classes. As such, they were expected to provide their own equipment and uniform. The result of this was a proliferation of personalised equipment and uniform items that make these units particularly interesting. I have come across many illustrations of these troops, none bear a "standard uniform". Some of the uniform features might seem over ornate for an infantry soldier but these formations were considered to be training cadres for the line officers and NCOs of the future. The common features are as follows:

They all wore a dark green coat based on the kollet with facings in the same colour as that of the parent formation (i.e. if they were attached to a Pomeranian unit they had white facings).

They wore covered shakos on campaign.

The principal differences were as follows:

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Many volunteers had a second cartridge pouch attached to the front of the belt (the belly pouch).

Some wore breeches tucked into marching boots, others wore trousers, often with a red stripe running down each outer seam.

Some men wore shakos in the Austrian style with peaks front and back.

Some formations preferred Swedish cuffs (round), others chose the Brandenburg cuffs (with flaps).

I like to add a company or two of volunteers to each line regiment. When putting these together I use all the different styles within the company to reflect the personal uniform preferences of the men. The only unifying theme I maintain is whether the jackets have cuff flaps or not. This varied from company to company, even within the same regiment.

Note: these figures have two variants. The ones with the (b) code have cuff flaps the others have round cuffs."