en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragoon
3 corrections found
In 1552, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, mounted several companies of infantry on pack horses to achieve surprise
This is chronologically impossible: Alexander Farnese was born in 1545, so in 1552 he was only seven years old, and he did not become Duke of Parma until 1586.
Full reasoning
The named person cannot fit the date given. A major reference work identifies Alexander Farnese as born on 27 August 1545 and says he became duke of Parma in 1586 after his father's death. Treccani likewise identifies him as 1545–1592 and notes that he inherited the ducal title from 1586. That means the article's statement that "In 1552, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma" carried out this military action is impossible: in 1552 he was a child and not yet Duke of Parma.
This does not prove the underlying military anecdote is false in every form, but it does show that attributing it to Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, in 1552 is incorrect.
2 sources
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Farnese, Alexander - Wikisource
"FARNESE, ALEXANDER (1545-1592)... was born at Rome on the 27th of August 1545... In 1586 Alexander Farnese became duke of Parma by the death of his father."
- Alessandro Farnese principe e poi duca di Parma e Piacenza - Treccani
Treccani identifies him as "Figlio (Roma 1545 - Arras 1592)" and states that "dal 1586 aveva ereditato il titolo di duca di Parma, Piacenza e Castro."
They participated in most of the major engagements of the American War of Independence, including the battles of White Plains
This is wrong for the four Continental light-dragoon regiments just described: White Plains was fought on October 28, 1776, before Congress augmented Washington’s army with those four regiments in early 1777.
Full reasoning
The sentence is specifically about the four regiments of light dragoons raised in January 1777. But the Battle of White Plains took place on 28 October 1776, months earlier. The American Battlefield Trust states that, after the loss of New York, Congress augmented Washington's army with four regiments of Continental Dragoons early in 1777. The National Park Service's Revolutionary War timeline dates White Plains to 28 Oct. 1776.
So, while other mounted units existed in 1776, the particular four regiments described in the immediately preceding sentence could not have fought at White Plains because they had not yet been raised.
2 sources
- Here Comes the Cavalry | American Battlefield Trust
"The loss of New York prompted Congress to augment Washington's army with four regiments of Continental Dragoons ... early in 1777."
- Revolutionary War Timeline - Cowpens National Battlefield (U.S. National Park Service)
The National Park Service timeline lists "White Plains, NY 28 Oct. 1776."
The Prussian Army maintained 14 dragoon regiments at the start of the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1806.
The coalition number and year do not match. The Sixth Coalition was the 1813–1814 campaign against Napoleon; 1806 was the Prussian defeat at Jena-Auerstedt, associated with the Fourth Coalition.
Full reasoning
This sentence combines the wrong coalition with the wrong year. A standard history of the Napoleonic Wars identifies the War of the Sixth Coalition as 1813–1814. A West Point article on the origins of mission command notes that the Prussian Army suffered catastrophic defeat at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. So 1806 cannot be "the start of the War of the Sixth Coalition." It refers instead to the earlier phase of the Napoleonic Wars, commonly called the Fourth Coalition.
The underlying detail that Prussia had dragoon regiments in 1806 may be fine, but the article's label "War of the Sixth Coalition in 1806" is historically incorrect.
2 sources
- War of the Sixth Coalition - World History Encyclopedia
"The War of the Sixth Coalition (1813-1814) ... was the penultimate conflict of the Napoleonic Wars."
- Mission Command Responsibility - Lieber Institute West Point
"In 1806, the Prussian Army suffered catastrophic defeat at the hands of Napoleon's forces at Jena and Auerstedt."