Geschiedenis 24 over 1672

 

 

Quite I while ago I posted a link to an old TV programma, amd after overcoming some technical problems I can repost the video here.  

Schwartzenberg

 

As I have noticed that most of the interest now goes into the facebook page on 1672, I decided it was time to post something here again.

The above plate is one of a series of plates from the collection of Gustave de Ridder, a French collectioneur of military artwork. These plates can be found in the BNF in Paris, the Anne Brown Collection in the USA and the Dutch Army Museum. 

 This one, showing an ensign of the Frisian Schwartzenberg Regiment according to the text, looks like a copy of another plate made for the dutch miitary historian ten Raa. The plates were made late 19th century/early 20th century by a Czech or Austrian  historian called Norbert Robitcheck "after earlier plates", so are not originals. (Info from the late Dr Jean Belaubre and Yves Roumegoux). Dr Belaubre was a firm believer in the authenticity of the depicted uniform colours and flags but I still have my doubts.

I this case the Schwartzenberg zu Hohelandsberg banner is depicted wrong as it is turned 90 degrees. You can take a look at Andre Buwalda's website here, for more info on the family. 

I also have great doubts about the yellow/black and red/white parts and the Frisian lion is a bit different than the Holland lion. It might be Robitcheck took his info from German Adelsbuche where indeed a very old Bavarian (!) Schwarzenberg Wappen is decribed with black, red and gold. (On google books a lot of Adelsbuche and German heraldry books can be found).  Robitcheck did the same trick with the Beveren flag, in which he mashed up the heraldry of the German Bevern and the Dutch Beveren.

So I am not convinced about the authenticity of the flag.

Mauritshuis Collection

 

This is an undated painting by the Dutch inventor and painter Jan van der Heyden of the city of Veere, probably 17th century, from the Mauritshuis Collection. This Collection is not accessible through the website of the Mauritshuis but through euopeana.eu  (just search with "mauritshuis" and "painting").

Maurits is the dutch equivalent of Maurice, and in this case it's Maurice "The Brazilian", who made his fortune in Brazil, at a certain time a dutch colony. Maurice also had a carreer in the Dutch Army.

Guard of the Witt

 

 

Yesterday we talked about William III's guard but it is not quite known that from early 1672 Cornelis de Witt, also had a guard of 50 men, dressed in red coats with yellow lining.

They are depicted here on a "schoolplate". There are other sources like papers who describe them as well, but my source is HSL V, p.314 esp. note 24.

William III's Guard

 

 

 

From the Hollandsche Mercurius, 1672 nr 5, a description of the Guard of William III. I presume this is his Horse Guard, as the troops are equipped with "casacken" in blue with the Prince's cypher and initials.

Latest developments

As most of the 1672 related activity is posted in Facebook or twitter, this blog is not as often updated as we like to do. Some important updates are:

- Helion and company have published a series on the Franco Dutch wars, with information on regiments, uniforms and wars and batlles and the like. Check them out here

- Several organisations in the Netherlands plan big events around 1672 in the year 2022.  Coordination is done here.

- Our own research is a "still going on" project. We are not full-time historians and we are also dependant on input from our readers of course.

28 augustus 2019

Today is August 28th, and we people of Groningen are celebrating the lifting of the siege of the city of Groningen in 1672.

There's a fair going on, a horse show, and some re-enactors are moving around the city.

Dutch Blue Guard 1701

German historian Klaus Roider was kind enough to share a find he made in the Neurenberg Archives (!) on the dutch Blue Guards. Their uniforms are reported as being in "full blue", the sword belt in gold, the cartridge (?) pouch embroided in gold as well.

A report from 1701 by Gottfried Jahnus von Eberstatt.

Mr Roider is the author on a book on Frankish troops in the late 17th century, which you can buy here:

https://www.amazon.de/fr%C3%A4nkischen-Kreistr…/…/3945706157

De Garde van Willem III ~ William III's Guard

De redactie kreeg de ingeving eens te kijken in het Marineblad van 1917, waar een referentie stond naar onder andere Colonel Decker, maar ook naar het uniform van de Garde van Stadhouder Willem III. Na enig speurwerk werd de bron, van het artikel gevonden, zijnde het nieuwsblad "De Oprechte Haerlemmer Courant" van 10 januari 1673, welke meldt dat de compagnieën van de Garde "blauwe rokken" droegen. Dit vermoeden hadden we la, maar het wordt nu bevestigd!

~

The editors, in their continuing search in 17th century sources, were researching a lead, found in Het Marineblad, 1917 about uniforms of the Stadholder. After some digging we found the source, being the Harlem (the real one, in the Province of Holland) "true Newspaper", or in Dutch "De oprechte Haerlemse Courant" from, 10th januari 1673, in which 8 companies of the Guard are described wearing "blauwe rokken", being blue coats. We always had the idea that the Guards uniforms were blue, but this is a nice confirmation.

Helperlinie Groningen

Link to a video file

Above a link to the video file by local TV, in the Helperline, an extra defense line that was build to protect the town of Groningen from the south. The white building is built on a place where there used to be a hill with gallows, which was in 1672 the headquarters of Bishop van Galen.

D' ontroerde Leeuw ~ The distressed Lion

"In January 1671 a certain High German Prince, wrote to one of the Dutch Princesses that he was amazed about the silence in Holland about France's preparations for war" 

 These are the first swords and the title page of the second edition of a book series called "The distressed Lion", which gives in detail in Dutch a review of what happeneid in the Dutch Republic in the period from 1671 up to around 1675.

There's also a an English version but I haven't found it online yet. The author is Johannes Grybius and the printer is Steven Swart. Maybe one of our readers can hjelp mout?

These books are great, the author is very good informed and his writings are incredible detailed.

This is the link for the book!

Congress on 1672

On September the 22nd in the Royal Dutch Library, The Hague, a congress is held on the year 1672, organised by the Studygroup "The Friends of de Witt". Among the speakers 1672 experts Luc Panhuysen and Judith Brouwer.

Arjan Nobel speaks on French terror on the countryside, and there is a lecture on Romeyn de Hooghe.

(costs around 15 euro's, depending on membership)

LINK HERE!

De verdediging van Friesland in 1672 en 1673

This is a great book on the fights in the tree Northern Provinces in 1672 and 1673, available free on great Delpher website. It delas with the Frisian Water Defence line, troop strengths, strategy
and gives a lot of praise to Colonel Aylva.


Click here!

Franse Schans

It's very warm and dry in the Netherlands now, and in the news in the past days were drone images showing very interesting archeological sites.

It was reported that the French Sconce was visible near Groenlo (or Grolle to the most of you), but it turned out to be that already in 2003 this Sconce was visible from the air. The fortress is from the 1620's and yes there's also an English Sconce near Grolle.

More info on the fortress line around Grolle here

 

1701 Orders and regulations book

A year 1700 book on orders and regulations for the Army of King William III. March orders, musket fire, clothing, penal stuff and the like. Of interest the musket orders, which seem to be quite old as they imply a matchlock musket.


https://books.google.nl/books?id=dKZaAAAAcAAJ&dq=Recueil+Des+Ordonnances+Militaires+De+Sa+Majest%C3%A9+Britannique&hl=nl&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Reenactment wigs

There are some celebrations planned to commemorate the year 1672, and I am busy with a 1672 outfit. Of course you need a wig, and the above one comes from a Chech wig maker. Original wigs are a bit pricey to say the least, and real hair or fur ones are quite expensive.

Bourtange

If you haven't been at the Fortress of Bourtange, you have to do with pictures and movies like this one. And yes, it really looks this was, there are several museums, also dealing with 1672 and every year there's a re-enactment of either a 80 years war battle or a Napoleonic one.



Film!!

Captured Flags! "Les Triomphes de Louis le Grand"

On Gallica you can find a copy of the book that describes the various flags that were captured by the French during Louis XIV reign (there is also a Louis XV version).

It doesn't contain a description,of the flags so you have to have either the excellent Robert Hall CD, or the earlier works by Dr Jean Belaubre.

 I can tell you though that the second flag above belogs to regiment Aylva, and was captured at Seneffe.

Naarden movie

There was a time that dutch national TV had some very mellow programs on history, like this one on the fortress city of Naarden. A lot more of them on youtube. Check for "Ontdek je plekje".

22 februari/February 1672

On this day in 1672, one of the shops/workplace of map maker Johan Blaeu, at the Gravenstraat in Amsterdam, goes up in flames. Fortunately his other shops were saved.

Above a Blaeu map of the city of Groningen, with the 'new' fortifications. The city walls were kept intact until deep in the 19th century, when they were considered obsolete. The walls were torn down, the ditches were filled, and only from abiove you canb see where once the proud walls were standing. The many city gates were demolished, except for one, which is now in the Rijksmuseum collection.