Napoleonic cavalry came in three famous flavours. Hussars were light cavalry in braided dolmans and fur trimmed pelisses, built for scouting and raids. Dragoons were medium cavalry, mostly in green coats, who could fight mounted or on foot with a musket. Lancers carried the lance and wore jackets with a coloured plastron panel across the chest. Same battlefield, three completely different coats.
Three troopers, side by side
BRAID, FACINGS OR PLASTRON: THE JACKET NAMES THE TROOPER
Hussars: the peacocks of the battlefield
Modelled on Hungarian light horse, hussars scouted, screened and raided, and dressed louder than anyone else in the army: a braided dolman jacket, a fur trimmed pelisse slung from the left shoulder, tight breeches and a tall busby or shako. Every European army fielded them, each regiment in its own colours. The full story of the style is in our hussar jacket guide.
OUR RED WOOL HUSSAR PELISSE · GOLD FROGGING, FUR TRIM
Dragoons: the all-rounders
Dragoons began as mounted infantry and kept the habit: they rode to battle but could dismount and fight with the musket. French dragoons wore green coats with regimental facing colours on lapels and cuffs, a brass helmet with a horsehair mane, and sturdier, plainer tailoring than the hussars. In the British service, heavy dragoons rode in red.
Lancers: the plastron and the lance
Lancers carried a nine foot lance and wore the most distinctive jacket of the three: the kurtka, with a broad coloured plastron panel buttoned across the chest, topped by the square crowned czapka cap. The style came from Poland and spread through the French, British, Prussian and Russian armies. By the Napoleonic era, lancers were unarmoured light cavalry whose reach on the charge made them feared by infantry and cavalry alike.
BLACK WOOL DOLMAN · THE LIGHT CAVALRYMAN'S JACKET
Choosing your impression
For reenactment or costume, the hussar gives maximum flash, the dragoon gives the classic soldier look with easier kit, and the lancer gives the rarest and most striking silhouette. We handmake all three families in wool, cut to your measurements. Start with the Hussar Jackets collection or the full Napoleonic range, and see the wider picture in the complete Napoleonic uniforms guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a hussar and a dragoon?
Hussars were pure light cavalry in braided dolmans; dragoons were medium cavalry in plainer coats who could also fight dismounted with a musket.
What is a plastron?
The broad contrasting panel buttoned across the front of a lancer's jacket, usually in the regiment's facing colour.
Can you make dragoon and lancer jackets too?
Yes. Alongside our hussar range, dragoon coats and lancer kurtkas are available as custom commissions from a reference image.
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