This Pelzmütze (fur cap or busby) for enlisted men of the Königin-Husaren-Regiment (Queen's Hussar Regiment) of the Kingdom of Hanover is an exceptionally rare survival from a defunct German military tradition. Dating to circa 1850–1860, this headpiece embodies the proud regimental history of the Hanoverian hussars, a lineage stretching back to the Napoleonic Wars and extinguished with Prussia's annexation of Hanover in 1866.
From the King's German Legion to the Queen's Hussars
The story behind this cap begins decades before its manufacture. When French forces occupied the Electorate of Hanover in 1803, numerous Hanoverian soldiers fled to Britain, where they formed the King's German Legion (KGL) – one of the most effective formations in British service. The 2nd Hussars of the KGL fought at the Battle of Barrosa on 5 March 1811 during the Peninsular War, where they supported British forces in a fiercely contested engagement. This action on the Iberian Peninsula would become the defining tradition of the regiment that later inherited its legacy.
Following Napoleon's final defeat, the KGL was dissolved in 1815–1816, and its veterans were absorbed into the reconstituted Hanoverian Army. In 1833, all Hanoverian cavalry units were reorganized as dragoons, but in 1838, King Ernst August II of Hanover reestablished the hussar regiments, creating two units: the Garde-Husaren-Regiment and the Königin-Husaren-Regiment. The latter inherited the traditions of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as the Osnabrücker Hussars, and through them the heritage of the 2nd KGL Hussars. The regiment would exist from 1838 until 1866.
The Motto Band “Peninsula Barossa”
The silver motto band reading “Peninsula Barossa” on the front of this busby is a direct tribute to the regiment's Napoleonic-era participation in the Battle of Barrosa and the broader Peninsular War. This motto was first recorded in the “Beschreibung des Königreichs Hannover” (Description of the Kingdom of Hanover) of 1829, attributed to the Osnabrücker Hussars. It was officially confirmed for the Königin-Husaren-Regiment in the Hof- und Staats-Handbuch (Court and State Handbook) for the Kingdom of Hanover in 1847. The motto testifies to the regiment's deep attachment to its Anglo-Hanoverian heritage from the Napoleonic period.
The Pelzmütze as Hussar Headgear
In 1847, the Hanoverian hussar regiments received fur caps with red bags (Kolpak). This example is a tall busby of black bearskin in the characteristic cylindrical hussar form, complete with its firmly sewn red cloth bag. It retains the original white and yellow horsehair parade plume set in a silver socket secured by a screw, along with the white chin cord (Fangschnur). Curved silver scale chains are attached to lion-head rosettes, and a silver crown is applied separately above the motto band. The interior features a broad black leather sweatband, linen lining in the body, and light blue cloth lining in the top. The use of bearskin distinguishes this cap from the more common sealskin busbies worn by many other hussar regiments of the period.
The End of the Kingdom of Hanover in 1866
The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 – known in Germany as the Deutsch-Deutscher Krieg (German-German War) – sealed the fate of both the Kingdom of Hanover and its Königin-Husaren-Regiment. Hanover sided with Austria and achieved a tactical victory at the Battle of Langensalza on 27 June 1866. However, this success proved fleeting: surrounded by superior Prussian forces, the Hanoverian army was compelled to surrender shortly thereafter. Hanover was annexed by Prussia, and the Hanoverian Army ceased to exist.
On 27 September 1866, the two Hanoverian hussar regiments – the Garde-Husaren-Regiment and the Königin-Husaren-Regiment – were merged and incorporated into the Prussian Army as Husaren-Regiment (Hannoversches) Nr. 15. The new regiment was initially stationed in Düsseldorf, where it conducted its first review on 13 October 1866. In November 1867, it was officially renamed Hannoversches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 15.
The Legacy After 1866
The regiment went on to participate in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 and in 1871 was relocated to Wandsbek near Hamburg, where it became popularly known as the “Wandsbeker Husaren.” In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II appointed Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands as regimental chief, renaming the unit Husaren-Regiment “Königin Wilhelmina der Niederlande” (Hannoversches) Nr. 15. The following year, in 1899, the Kaiser authorized former KGL units to display battle honors including “Peninsula, Waterloo, El-Bodon, Barossa” on their equipment – a belated official recognition of the very tradition already emblazoned on this earlier Hanoverian busby. The regiment served through the First World War and was finally dissolved in 1919.
Provenance and Collector Significance
This Pelzmütze originates from Schloss Marienburg and was sold at the Sotheby's auction of the Royal House of Hanover in 2005. This distinguished provenance enhances the significance of what is already an extraordinarily rare piece. As one of very few surviving examples of Hanoverian military headgear from the period before Prussian annexation, this busby represents a tangible relic of a kingdom that vanished from the map in 1866, yet whose military traditions lived on through the Prussian and later German army for decades to come.
