Russian cavalry 1806-7 via Robert Wilson

 Salvete Omnes,

long time ago I bought a book on the Russian Cossack irregular cavalry  during the Napoleonic wars, and looking for some information I checked whether this particular primary source -   Brief remarks on the character and composition of the Russian army, and a sketch of the campaigns in Poland in the years 1806 and 1807 -   cited in there was available on line.

A. V. Viskovatov - Istoricheskkoe opisanie Odezhdi i vooruzheniya Rossieskikh

Thankfully there are many sites where you can read or download to read this 1810 source by Robert T. Wilson. My favorite is world library Archive - here you can have the link.

Wiktor Mazurowski *- Friedland 

From this book I corralled for you general Wilson's remarks on the Russian regular cavalry from his book, describing the splendind qualities of the Russian army horses, comparing them with the period British horses when on campaign:

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*Wiktor Mazurowski (1859-1944) was a Polish painter of battles and war, educated in the atelier of Wojciech Gerson in Warsaw,  active  in Russian Poland and after 1918  in the independent Poland. In 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising 85 years old maestro Mazurowski was murdered, along with his wife Zofia, by the German SS unit. 

Valete

Napoleonic guard cavalry bridle - general Walther in Levebre's portrait

 Salvete Omnes,

number 13 is considered unlucky so I am  going to post another little thing this days -

and staying within the Napoleonic spirit why not to share this portrait by master portraitist of the era Robert Levebre. 

general Frédéric-Louis-Henri Walther (20 June 1761 - 24 November 1813) was a cavalryman  during the late Ancient Regime and later Revolutionary & Napoleonic wars, one of the most famous Napoleonic commanders and cavalry leaders of the era.

he enlisted in the Bercheny hussars in 1781, became officer in 1792, fought in the wars of the First and Second Coalition, and subsequently in the war of Third Coalition, Ulm campaign, and battle  of Hohenlindenm, 

Under the emperor he commanded 2nd  dragoon division at the battle of Austerlitz and was wounded there,  made commander of the Guards' grenadiers a Cheval(mounted grenadiers of the Imperial Guard)  in 1806, in the subsequent campaign of 1806-7 was in the forefront of the action, his command and he were among those 10,000 horsemen  that charged under Murat at Eylau. 

and so on, commanded and fought as cavalryman at many engagements, below as a colonel of the Guard grenadiers a Cheval regiment at Essling 1809 - painted by Victor Huen.  Commanded the guard cavalry at Wagram. Commanded the Guard's light cavalry during the tragic and epic  1812 campaign, During the 1813 campaigning general Walther was the commander of the Guard cavalry seeing action at all the major battles:  Lutzen, Dresden, 2nd Kulm, and Leipzig.   His last battle was to be Hanau in October 1813.  Thus Frederic-Louis  Walther served in the cavalry  more than 32 years as  cavalryman.  How many horses he could have had and ridden to their untimely end, God only knows, how many he loved and how many he cherished and treasured, we'll never know, unless we obtain a Time machine.   

and the bridle detail in this Robert Levebre's painting - horse appears to be of the high caste, noble breeding, Arabian perhaps? 

valete