Dragoon - Origins and Name

Origins and Name

The establishment of dragoons evolved from the practice of sometimes transporting infantry by horse when speed of movement was needed. An early instance was ordered by Louis of Nassau during operations near Mons in Hainaut, when 500 infantry were transported this way. In 1552 Prince Alexander of Parma mounted several companies of infantry on pack horses to achieve surprise. It is also suggested the first dragoons were raised by the Marshal de Brissac in 1600. According to old German literature, dragoons were invented by Count Ernst von Mansfeld, one of the greatest German military commanders, in the early 1620s. There are other instances of mounted infantry predating this. However Mansfeld, who had learned his profession in Hungary and the Netherlands, often used horses to make his foot troops more mobile, creating what was called an "armée volante" (French for flying army).

The name possibly derives from an early weapon, a short wheellock called a dragon because the first dragoons raised in France had their carbine's muzzle decorated with a dragon's head. The practice comes from a time when all gunpowder weapons had distinctive names, including the culverin, serpentine, falcon, falconet, etc. It is also sometimes claimed a galloping infantryman with his loose coat and the burning match resembled a dragon.