Drawings from 1728 by Worgewitz depicting a Danish and a Norwegian artilleryman.

The artillery branch of Denmark-Norway's armed forces got its first permanent organisation in 1684 and was then divided into three corps (Denmark, Holstein and Norway) which until 1709 had separate uniforms. But even after that year the uniforms could still be separate in minor details, in some degree dependant on the availability of cloth.

The artillery uniforms had the same pattern as the infantry uniform and for general information on their appearance, please read the page about the Danish infantry.

Artillery Uniforms in General

M/1709

M/1711

M/1716

Artillerymen were armed with swords which were initially carried with shoulder belts, but which in 1703 were replaced with waist belts. Both were made of buff leather.

Until 1709, all three artillery corps had separate uniforms. However, even after 1709 there were variations between the corps as the officially mandated uniforms were not always those issued. See the separate uniform accounts for each artillery corps to see which uniforms are mentioned in the sources.

In 1709, the king decided that all three artillery corps would have the same uniform, which would consist of a red "surtout" with blue facings and a blue "livkjole" with red facings. Exactly what is meant by surtout and livkjole at this time is unclear because they actually refer to the same item of clothing, the regular uniform coat. Surtout is just a newer French word that had come into use around this time. It is possible that the surtout refers to an overcoat that would be used in bad weather ("rain coat") and which had recently replaced the sleeveless cassock in the Danish army. If so, it is the same colour combination as in the uniform issued to the Holstein Artillery Corps in 1701. It is also possible that the word livkjole at this time referred to a vest, also called "camisole", which was worn under the regular coat ("liv" and "kjole" literary means "waist" and "coat".

The uniform regulation of 1711 stated that the entire army should have red coats and that the facing colour of the artillery should be violet. Here, however, it seems to be uncertain to what extent uniforms with violet colour were actually issued. In Daniel Schorr's article (page 34) it is mentioned that the Danish and Holstein corps probably had blue colour instead because there was already blue cloth available and that this possibly applied to the Norwegian corps as well. Karsten Skjold Peterson has given various bids for the Danish Corps in his books. In 2005 he stated that in 1711-1716 they had violet cuffs, but dark blue leg clothes (breeches & stockings). In 2014, however, he had changed this so that the cuffs, leg clothes wear and vest were dark blue 1710-1716.

With the introduction of the 1716 uniform regulation, however, it was definitely dark blue that was the facing colour of the artillery, the regulation also stated that they should have brass buttons and, like the rest of the army, have red leg clothes. Worgewitz's drawings from 1728, which can be seen at the top, depict exactly this model of uniform. Note that the artillerymen in Worgewitz's drawings differ from other regiments in that they have turnbacks. Another interesting difference, found only in a series of plates by Zimmer from 1730, is the number of buttons on the double-breasted coat: the Danish corps had 2x10 buttons, the Holstein corps had 2x11, and the Norwegian corps 2x9 buttons.

I only have two pieces of information about what colour the gun carriages had. According to Daniel Schorr (page 34), who wrote only about the Norwegian army, the gun carriages were red with the metal fittings painted yellow. This colour combination is also mentioned in the article on the Scanian war by Hasselager/Snorrason (page 49).

Danish Artillery Corps

1691-1695	1710-1716	1716-1742
Violet coat with green facings, lining, and leg clothes (breeches and stockings).	Red coat with dark blue facings and at least from 1711 yellow buttons. Dark blue vest and leg clothes.	Red coat with dark blue facings and lining and yellow buttons, dark blue vest and red leg clothes. The buttonholes were at least from 1728 dark blue.

The above is the uniform information that Karsten Skjold Peterson has in his book from 2014. According to Lars-Eric Höglund, the Danish artillery had in 1683 violet (violet blue?) coats with red facings and lining. In 1700, according to him, they had blue coats with red.

Holstein Artillery Corps

When the Danish army was on campaign, most of its field artillery came from the Holstein Corps.

Norwegian Artillery Corps

In a drawing by Worgewitz from 1728 (found at the top of this page) the Norwegian artillery still wears the same uniform as in 1720. But the button colour is white even though the hat galloon is yellow (these colours tend to match each other at this time). However, Worgewitz's drawings often contain dubious details, so they should be taken with a grain of salt.

Daniel Schorr also mentions that train personnel had grey coats of vadmal with red cuffs and brass buttons in 1713.

References

Hasselager Olaf – Snorrason, Torstein. Danish Uniforms, Colours and Standards 1675-1679. (2000) *
Höglund, Lars-Eric – Sallnäs, Åke. Stora nordiska kriget 1700-1721, II. Karlstad (2003)
Schorr, Daniel. Notes on the Norwegian Army 1700-1720 (2008) *
Skjold Petersen, Karsten. Den danske hærs uniformer i 1700-tallet. Copenhagen (2005)
Skjold Petersen, Karsten. Kongens klæder. Copenhagen (2014)
Tuxen, A. P. – With-Seidelin C. L. Bidrag til den store nordiske krigs historie. Copenhagen (1899-1934)

* = articles published on the now defunct website www.northernwars.com