People / group

Black Brunswickers

1809–1815 · 19th century

The Black Brunswickers were a volunteer corps raised in 1809 by Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, to fight Napoleon after his duchy had been absorbed into the Kingdom of Westphalia. Dressed in black with a skull badge, they fought their way across northern Germany to the North Sea, were evacuated to Britain and served in the Peninsular War. Re-formed, they fought at Quatre Bras, where the duke was killed, and Waterloo in 1815.

Black Brunswickers — Image: Joseph Constantine Sadler · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Duchy of Brunswick

See also

Cite this entry

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Black Brunswickers. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/black-brunswickers
MLA: “Black Brunswickers.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/black-brunswickers. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Black Brunswickers.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/black-brunswickers.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Black Brunswickers’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/black-brunswickers (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻