Detroit Yager Guards

[Bill52]

Does anyone know what a “Roman” helmet is? One of the Detroit militia companies that would have joined with the Active State Guard in defense of Detroit if the British had intervened during the Civil War was The Yager Guards, renamed the Detroit Yagers in 1862. Another description mentions the helmets having a long feather. If this helps they were a German-American company who wore rifle green jackets and blue pants. If anyone is interested the other Detroit militia company that would have helped defend Detroit was the Brother Jonathan Zouaves who wore blue jackets trimmed with red, red pants and red caps trimmed with blue.

William T. Carr

Company of Military Historians

[Benedict]

Re: Detroit Yager Guards

Not sure if this helps, but:
If they fashioned themselves after German "Jäger" (light infantry) units of the time (cf. the use of green jackets and the name "Yager"), then the only kind of helmet that comes to my mind is the spiked helmet a.k.a. Pickelhaube, introduced in the Prussian army in the 1840s, that would remotely resemble a Roman helmet ... Although, as an aside, the Prussian Jäger adopted a chako during the time of the American Civil War (at least during the wars of unification they had made the transition from Pickelhaube to Tschako). And Pickelhauben were not worn with feathers but with horsehair tails for parade purposes.

[markj]

Re: Detroit Yager Guards

How about a cuirassier helmet? Looks a bit "Roman" to me. Here's a French example that just happened to be captured by the Germans and put to a different use.

http://www.trocadero.com/101antiques/items/600475/item600475store.html

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Benedict]

Re: Detroit Yager Guards

Of course helmets like this Kürassierhelm or the so-called "Raupenhelm" (famous during the French Revolutionary Wars and worn by Bavarian soldiers until after the 1871 unification) might also be an option, but still no feathers. With the "mohawk" down the helmet, they look kind of Roman (officer) too, though.

A Bavarian Raupenhelm from the time of the Napoleonic Wars:

http://www.napoleon-online.de/Infanteriehelm_1806_gesamt.jpg

[Bill52]

Re: Detroit Yager Guards

First let me thank all who have responded. I have looked at the Bavarian Raupenhelm and it is a good potability, it does look like a Roman officers helmet, however no tall feather. Perhaps I put too much faith in the one report of a tall feather. I do know that 13 other German States used infantry helmets or Pickelhaube,at that time. There was spikes, balls, fountain plumes but no long feathers. I originally thought maybe it was the fountain plume, but these was very common in Michigan and was called a plumes or fountain plumes in period newspapers. Many German States used cuirassier helmets, so that is a possibility.The Detroit Yagers carried rifle and were armed with daggers and I assume they thought of themselves as sharpshooters. I wounder if the reporter used "Roman" helmet to mean Italian helmet, I believe the Italian infantry was using shakos at this time not helmets.

William T. Carr

Company of Military Historians