Hi to all on PF ,
A day off from work today and what better way of spending it than to be on PF and do some reviews .......................
A while back there was a boxer called Mohammed Ali .....who at many interviews said ..... "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" and what better phrase to apply also to the recent release from Linjo:
3rd New Jersy Cavalry or "The Butterflies"
So before we look in detail at the model itself its that time of the day for a small bit of history about this renowned and flamboyant unit ...so sit up straight and pay attention :
The New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry, was recruited originally as the I st United States Hussars, and used both titles during the war. New Jersey's state Quartermaster General sought approval for a distinctive uniform from the U.S. Army's Quartermaster General's office in late November of 1863, "to encourage recruiting."
This uniform was very similar in cut to the United States cavalry," it would cost about $3 more than the regulation cavalry uniform because of its extra trimmings and decorations, The extra cost was to be passed on to the recruits. By the end of November the federal Quartermaster granted approval.
Regimental headquarters was established at Camp Bayard, near Trenton. From January through March of 1864, recruits flocked to become Hussars, not just mere cavalrymen, and on April 5, 1864 the regiment, completely mounted and equipped, rode from New Jersey to join the 9th Corps under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. With 47 officers and 1131 enlisted men the regiment passed through the District of Columbia, where they were reviewed by President Lincoln himself and their bright uniforrns attracted immediate attention from the newspapers.
Their uniforms were featured in a woodcut in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper soon after the unit began recruiting. In that account it was described as "a showy attractive one, based on ... the Austrian Hussars." In a history of the 3rd's Company H, the uniform was more precisely described:
... privates wore pantaloons of sky-blue cloth with yellow stripes. Jackets were dark blue with a profusion of yellow cords across the breast and on the front of the collar on an orange-- colored ground. Three rows of large, burnished bell buttons adorned the breast with a braiding of cord. On the seams of the back and sleeves there was an elegant braiding of cord. Offi cer.v' uniform were still gayer with gold cord and trappings.
The men also received unusual caps. Of dark blue and braided in yellow about the band, the bodies of the caps tilted sideways, to the left. On the front of the enlisted caps was a wreath encircling the numeral 3. Made without visors, the caps offered scant protection from the elements and in photos are frequently seen replaced with more orthodox forage caps and other headgear. An additional distinctive item of clothing in the regiment was a yellow-lined sky-blue talma issued in lieu of the overcoat. The talma closed with three cloth tabs rather than buttons and featured a tasseled hood.
Naturally the colorful uniform immediately earned the regiment a nickname; for the duration of their service they were popularly and appropriately called "The Butterflies!"
Armed initially with three types of breech loading carbines -- Sharps, Joslyn and Burnside -- the Hussars were ready for war. Sidearms included Whitney and Colt revolvers, and their Colonel, Andrew Morrison, was wisely ignored when he requested that the 3rd be armed only with the saber. In November of 1864 the regiment received Spencer repeating carbines.
The Spencers were much needed, for these Hussars were not parade ground soldiers. Transferred in May to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, the 3rd New Jersey saw duty in the Shenandoah Valley. In September, along with the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, the regiment captured the entire 8th South Carolina Infantry Regiment. The 3rd's list of battle honors includes Winchester, Cedar Creek, Five Forks, Saylor's Creek and Appomattox. When the Hussars mustered out in June of 1865, they had lost three officers and forty-seven enlisted men killed or mortally wounded and two officers and 105 men to disease.
There is reference to a "butterfly" flag being carried in addition to the state colour .
Other units had been formed during the war which called themselves hussars, but it seems that only the 3rd New Jersey was a full regiment and dressed as hussars. The unit had proudly carried out the light cavalry traditions of the European hussars and proved that these particular Butterflies had a sting!
Continued in next post:
Nap
A day off from work today and what better way of spending it than to be on PF and do some reviews .......................
A while back there was a boxer called Mohammed Ali .....who at many interviews said ..... "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" and what better phrase to apply also to the recent release from Linjo:
3rd New Jersy Cavalry or "The Butterflies"
So before we look in detail at the model itself its that time of the day for a small bit of history about this renowned and flamboyant unit ...so sit up straight and pay attention :
The New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry, was recruited originally as the I st United States Hussars, and used both titles during the war. New Jersey's state Quartermaster General sought approval for a distinctive uniform from the U.S. Army's Quartermaster General's office in late November of 1863, "to encourage recruiting."
This uniform was very similar in cut to the United States cavalry," it would cost about $3 more than the regulation cavalry uniform because of its extra trimmings and decorations, The extra cost was to be passed on to the recruits. By the end of November the federal Quartermaster granted approval.
Regimental headquarters was established at Camp Bayard, near Trenton. From January through March of 1864, recruits flocked to become Hussars, not just mere cavalrymen, and on April 5, 1864 the regiment, completely mounted and equipped, rode from New Jersey to join the 9th Corps under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. With 47 officers and 1131 enlisted men the regiment passed through the District of Columbia, where they were reviewed by President Lincoln himself and their bright uniforrns attracted immediate attention from the newspapers.
Their uniforms were featured in a woodcut in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper soon after the unit began recruiting. In that account it was described as "a showy attractive one, based on ... the Austrian Hussars." In a history of the 3rd's Company H, the uniform was more precisely described:
... privates wore pantaloons of sky-blue cloth with yellow stripes. Jackets were dark blue with a profusion of yellow cords across the breast and on the front of the collar on an orange-- colored ground. Three rows of large, burnished bell buttons adorned the breast with a braiding of cord. On the seams of the back and sleeves there was an elegant braiding of cord. Offi cer.v' uniform were still gayer with gold cord and trappings.
The men also received unusual caps. Of dark blue and braided in yellow about the band, the bodies of the caps tilted sideways, to the left. On the front of the enlisted caps was a wreath encircling the numeral 3. Made without visors, the caps offered scant protection from the elements and in photos are frequently seen replaced with more orthodox forage caps and other headgear. An additional distinctive item of clothing in the regiment was a yellow-lined sky-blue talma issued in lieu of the overcoat. The talma closed with three cloth tabs rather than buttons and featured a tasseled hood.
Naturally the colorful uniform immediately earned the regiment a nickname; for the duration of their service they were popularly and appropriately called "The Butterflies!"
Armed initially with three types of breech loading carbines -- Sharps, Joslyn and Burnside -- the Hussars were ready for war. Sidearms included Whitney and Colt revolvers, and their Colonel, Andrew Morrison, was wisely ignored when he requested that the 3rd be armed only with the saber. In November of 1864 the regiment received Spencer repeating carbines.
The Spencers were much needed, for these Hussars were not parade ground soldiers. Transferred in May to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, the 3rd New Jersey saw duty in the Shenandoah Valley. In September, along with the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, the regiment captured the entire 8th South Carolina Infantry Regiment. The 3rd's list of battle honors includes Winchester, Cedar Creek, Five Forks, Saylor's Creek and Appomattox. When the Hussars mustered out in June of 1865, they had lost three officers and forty-seven enlisted men killed or mortally wounded and two officers and 105 men to disease.
There is reference to a "butterfly" flag being carried in addition to the state colour .
Other units had been formed during the war which called themselves hussars, but it seems that only the 3rd New Jersey was a full regiment and dressed as hussars. The unit had proudly carried out the light cavalry traditions of the European hussars and proved that these particular Butterflies had a sting!
Continued in next post:
Nap
!!!) . With this amount of packing there is no chance whatsoever of any piece being received damaged .
