Infantryman, Danish West Indies, 1886

One for the unusual column.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f42/12/22/09/10/dcoli810.gif

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I presume the chevron on the forearms is a rank device. The Remington was the standard Danish rifle of the time.

Does this depict a member of the Royal Danish Army assigned to the Danish West Indies (which is now the US Virgin Islands I believe) or does this depict one of the local militia units?

As for the chevron on the forearm, 1 chevron indicates Junior Corporal. Officers wore rank insignia on the shoulders.

Royal Danish Army, I have no details of the Militia after about the 1830s

Hi,

(I am "brand new" to the forum; - I live in Kiel in Germany's northernmost area sharing a long common history with Denmark.)

It's the uniform of a regular soldier - the militia wore khaki uniforms. In 1907 the army detachment was disbanded and replaced by a police force ("Ordningskorps"); both, the police force and the militia continued to exist until 1917 when the islands were sold to the US.

Cheers,

Jan

Welcome Jan, glad to have you
I agree its a regular soldier posted in the Danish West Indies.
But the volunteers from the same period didn't wear khaki uniforms.
It wasn't until the turn of the century that the Danish forces worn khaki in the colonies, as far as I am aware.
If I'm wrong please let me know.

Jan wrote:Hi,

(I am "brand new" to the forum; - I live in Kiel in Germany's northernmost area sharing a long common history with Denmark.)

It's the uniform of a regular soldier - the militia wore khaki uniforms. In 1907 the army detachment was disbanded and replaced by a police force ("Ordningskorps"); both, the police force and the militia continued to exist until 1917 when the islands were sold to the US.

Cheers,

Jan

According to Preben Kannik's Military Uniforms Of The World In Color, the Ordningskorps wore light blue uniforms, while the militia, or Civic Guard, wore khaki drill uniforms with white sun helmets, tall tan canvas leggings, and Mills style cartridge belts of the style worn by the US Army and Marines during the Spanish-American War. Apparently they continued using the Remington rifles left by the army detachment.

Here's the illustration from the book I scanned. The Civic Guardsman is on the right page in the lower right corner. Sorry about the figure being cut off- I'm not really well versed with scanning.

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Here are some more pictures of the Danish Virgin Islands Police ca. 1873 from the modern day US Virgin Islands Police Department website:

http://www.vipd.gov.vi/gallery/gallery_danish_pics.aspx

Unfortunately they are of terrible quality

Sean wrote:One for the unusual column.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f42/12/22/09/10/dcoli810.gif

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I presume the chevron on the forearms is a rank device. The Remington was the standard Danish rifle of the time.

The chevron indicates a lance corporal.

Sean,

you're right. The khaki uniform of the militia wasn't worn before 1907 (and yes, the "Ordningskorps" wore light blue). I am not about the militia before 1907 - isn't Per Finsted from Denmark member of the forum? He should know that.

Jan

A Marrion plate from the CMCH

https://i.servimg.com/u/f42/12/22/09/10/37_1_b10.jpg
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Here's another scan from the CMH showing the Danish West Indies Gendarmerie and the Royal Danish Navy at the Virgin Islands handover ceremony:
http://www.military-historians.org/company/plates/images/465.gif
http://www.military-historians.org/company/plates/images/467.gif