Maß- und Rangierbücher des Dritten Regiments Garde (1785) is a military administrative register documenting the personnel structure and physical standards of the 3rd Guard Regiment in the service of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. The document is preserved in the Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg under Fonds 10 c, Nr. 71, as part of the series covering the Leibgarde Regiment and its predecessor formations.
This volume belongs to the Maß- und Rangierbücher, a combined type of record used to manage elite military units. The “Maß” (measurement) section records standardized physical data on soldiers—most notably height, and occasionally other bodily characteristics—used to ensure that recruits met the strict physical requirements expected of guard troops. The “Rangier” (ranking/organization) section records the internal structure of the regiment, listing officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men according to rank, company assignment, and seniority within the unit.
The 3rd Guard Regiment was an elite formation within the Hessian military system, closely associated with court service and ceremonial as well as military duties. These records reflect the regiment’s high standards of discipline and selection, showing how soldiers were systematically evaluated and organized to maintain uniformity and effectiveness within one of the most prestigious units in Hesse-Kassel.
The year 1785 places the document in a period of peacetime consolidation following earlier 18th-century conflicts. Although not an active campaign year, the administrative structure documented here formed part of the institutional foundation that enabled Hesse-Kassel to maintain a highly trained standing army, which later participated in foreign service during conflicts such as the American Revolutionary War.
