Category: Soldiering

Introduction.
Contemporary observers regarded the French uniforms
with unreserved astonishment.

Often the monarchs were more preoccupied with the looks of the troops than their generals. Generals Kutuzov and Wellington paid very little attention to uniforms. In contrast Tsar Alexander said he was personally responsible for creating the Russian shako kiver. And he loved parades and reviews. To King George IV (image, ext.link) is attributed the comment that in military dress a wrinkle was unpardonable, although a seam was admissible. (Elting – “Military Uniforms in America” Vol. II, 1977)
King of Prussia Frederick Wilhelm III was described as a “military tailor” and was preoccupied with the provisions of uniforms for his troops. In 1814 he refused to allow the hard fighting Yorck’s Army Corps to participate in the victory parade in Paris because he thought that the troops were of “poor appearance” with their torn uniforms.

The uniforms worn during Napoleonic Wars represent the most elaborate display of pomp in the whole history of military dress. Contemporary observers regarded the French uniforms with unreserved astonishment. The luxury of the French uniforms was overwhelming. The veterans of Napoleonic Wars, writing their memoirs in their old age, mourned the passage of such magnificent uniforms. They consoled themselves with the conviction that no greater military splendour, bound up as it was with the charisma of their Emperor, had ever been seen in Europe, or would ever be seen again. It was the ornamental peak of the military uniform in Western Europe. This is identified as being the acme of colorful and ornate uniform.

  
From left to right:
Westphalian trumpeter of Garde du Corps in 1812.
Westphalian private of Garde-Grenadiere in 1803-1813.
Westphalian colonel of Garde du Corps in 1812 (King Jerome Bonaparte’s Guard).

 
From left to right:
Bavarian 7th Light Infantry Battelion in 1808-1811
Naples Dragoon Regiment in 1812
Naples Line Infantry in 1812

    
From left to right:
Bavarian 7th Light Infantry Battalion in 1808-1811
Baden Garde-Grenadier in 1812
Weimar Sharpshooter in 1807
Swedish officer of Leib-Kirassiere in 1807
Hanoverian Bennigsen Battalion in 1813

The cost didn’t discourage colonels and commanders from exhausting their troops’ budgets on expensive parade dresses. As commander of the Guard, Lannes’ enthusiasm for showy uniforms for his guardsmen landed him in serious trouble with Napoleon. Lannes wildly overspend the Guard’s budget and Napoleon replaced him with Bessieres. With such high costs you may think the soldier would be satisfied with three set of uniforms. For example, one for parade, one for service and one off duty. But not the French, oh no 🙂
For example the cavalry of the Guard had 10 (ten !) different varations:
 – campaign uniform (tenue de campagne)
 – march uniform (tenue de route)
 – field uniform (tenue de charge)
 – service dress (tenue de service)
 – quarters dress (tenue de quartier)
 – stable dress (tenue d’ecurie)
 – society dress (tenue de societe)
 – walking out dress (tenue de ville)
 – parade uniform (tenue de parade)
 – full parade uniform (tenue de grande parade)

Most of the uniforms were made of wool, silk, hemp and linen. In the hierarchy of textiles, linen and hemp cloth were followed by fabrics made from tow (hemp) and canvas (hemp). Canvas is a heavy kind of linen cloth. Both wool and canvas are strong and last a long time although wool needs cleaning less frequently and easier then other fibers.

The linens were made either of flax or hemp. Hemp linens were coarser than flax linens, but ounce for ounce they were stronger. Hemp was far more common than linen until the late 14th century. Throughout history hemp was used more widely in the countryside than in towns, since almost every farm had its field of hemp. Hemp was brownish-gray, thicker and coarser than linen when new, hemp cloth was often preferred, due to its lower cost.

Linen comes in a variety of natural shades that range from light to dark. Linen may be dyed, but the range of colors is much less vivid than for the wool colors.

Color of linen can range from bleached snow-white to silver, ecru, brown or beige. Linen can be either soft or heavier and harder. Its greatest feature is that it can absorb moisture more quickly than cotton and move this moisture faster so that the drying time is shorter.

Linen is cool in summer and warmer in winter than cotton. Linen exceeds cotton in coolness and strength, but unfortunately break easier under tension. Prior to the 20th century, there were public bleaching fields in Europe where dampened linens were spread on the grass to be bleached by the sun to a pale bone color.

Ireland, Netherlands and Russia were the largest producers of linen.

Coats, Greatcoats, Undercoats.
……….

Waistcoat (Undercoat)
Gilet à manches

For the French light infantry the undercoat was white linen in summer and blue wool in winter. The white woolen waistcoat was treated with chalk, which was said to have “burned” (brûlé) the cloth. See picture –>

The waistcoat of French chasseurs-a-cheval was sleevless and worn under the uniform. It was white in summer and dark green in winter. Before 1812-1813 there were many unofficial versions of the waistcoat. For example instead of dark green it was red, or red braided with white, or green braided with red or white, etc. Between 1812 and 1815 many horse chasseurs however wore the new and simple uniform, called habit veste or Bardin-uniform.

The waistcoat of French foot gunner was white (according to Knotel and Elting). But the Zimmerman Manuscript shows them in 1807 in blue waistcoats. The same for the Brunswick Manuscript and year of 1805. Berka Manuscript shows them also in blue for 1809 and Martinet gives them blue for 1807-1814. The foot gunners of Old Guard wore white waistcoats for summer (according to Bucquoy). Other sources gives for them blue waistcoats (Berka Manuscript, Malibran, Rousselot and Rigondaud).

If battle was fought on a very hot day some soldiers wore only coats, or only waistcoats. In 1809 at Wagram the gunners of Old Guard went into action on that muggy day stripped to shirts.

Coat (Jacket)
Habit-veste

Picture: dark blue coat with dark blue shoulder straps piped red, red collar and cuffs pipped white, white lapels, white undercoat, and white shoulder belt. The French line infantry wore it until 1812-1813. Source: Military Heritage >

The distinction between various armies normally lay in colours of their coats:
 – red coats for the Danish and British
 – white or light grey for the Saxon, Spanish, Austrian and royal French
 – dark blue for the Poles, Prussians and Napoleonic French
 – green for the Russians etc.

Within each army diffent regiments were usually distinguished by “facings” – linings,turnbacks and braiding on coats in colours that were distinctive to one or several regiments. The white coats (or rather light grey) popular amongst many armies soiled easily and had to be pipeclayed to retain any semblence of cleanliness.

Green as worn by jagers and rifle regiments proved particularly prone to fading until suitable chemical dyes were devised in the 1890s. The red were the most expensive of the six basic colors and together with white uniforms made the wearers a better target for enemy.

“White stood out in the field, when one of the functions was to make a good show. In the course of time coats of blue faded badly, those of pike gray turned a dirty ashen color, and those of green assumed a tinge of yellow, while repairs were all too evident on dyed coats of any kind, and added to a general look of shabbiness. Coats of white, on the other hand, could always be worked up with chalk to make them look ‘new and brilliant.” (Duffy – “Instrument of War” Vol I p 130)

The grey uniforms were the cheapest and most practical but were the least attractive. It was not until 20th Century when drab colours were being adopted for active service and ordinary duty wear.

The ‘Napoleonic’ coat was called habit à la française, it was dark blue with white lapels for line infantry. The white lapels were treated with pipe clay, which made them really white. In 1793 the dark blue coats were oficially introduced in the infantry. It had long tail that was shortened before 1806. (The weather ‘softened’ the color of the dark blue and dust, blood and mud made it sometimes unrecognizable.) The dark blue became greyish blue etc.

In 1800-1801 the coat was given shorter tail and was stated that the collar and cuffs are red piped white. The lapels were white piped red although – according to an order of July 13th 1805 – many colonels didn’t obey this order and have abolished the red piping. According to regulations the coat of line infantry suppose to have red cuffs with dark blue cuff flaps but red cuff flaps were more popular. There were few differences between the coat of line and light infantryman. According to Etat-Militaire (1801) the coat tail of light infantryman was shorter than that of the lineman.
The regulations of 1801-1802 prescribed for light infantry blue cuffs pipped white but many soldiers had the unofficial red cuff flaps.

In 1806 as a result of the British naval blockade there was a shortage of indigo used for dyeing cloth and so Napoleon ordered the introduction of a white uniform for his line infantry. According to Decree of April 25th 1806 the following regiments of line infantry were assigned white coats: 3rd, 4th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th, 32nd, 33rd, 34th and 36th Line. (Journal Militaire Vol I 1806, pp 176-178)
The next decree mentioned all line regiments.

Napoleon expressed his disapproval and only 18 of the 112 regiments were issued with these. This is said that it happened after he saw bloodstained white uniforms at Eylau. But to me this reason sounds a little bit strange. The battle at Eylau was fought on a snowy, winter day and soldier wore the warm long greatcoat. If he was wounded the greatcoat, and not the white jacket, was “marked”. Secondly, white uniforms didn’t bother the Austrians, they wore them all the time. It didn’t bother the Saxon soldiers neither. I guess the white color reminded Napoleon the old regime of previous century and therefore he disapproved it.

In 1807 the importing of indigo resumed and the dark blue coats were reinstated.

In January 1812 was introduced so-called habit-veste, a coat with even shorter tail (officers’ tails were slightly longer). Its white turnbacks bore a blue crowned “N” for fusiliers, red grenade for grenadiers and yellow horn for voltigeurs.
This coat – in my opinion – is the most beautiful, the most elegant of all infantry uniforms of Napoleonic era. The white (dark blue for light infantry) “plastron” – style lapels were piped red (white for light infantry). The cuffs were red piped white. Major Bardin was responsible for the design of this coat and for this reason this is known under “Bardin uniform” in western literature. Most French infantry units wore it in the battles of Ligny and Waterloo.

Infantry greatcoat (overcoat)
Capote.

Life during campaign had a variety of conditions and experiences for the cavalrymen. There were great hardships undergone, and the weather had the greatest influence on conditions, varying from heat to extreme cold. The main protection against rain and snow was one’s greatcoat. It was popular and comfortable voluminous wear and could be worn with or without the coat underneath. Many troops wore civilian overcoats, capes and cloaks. Some greatcoats (overcoats) were purchased by individual soldiers, NCOs and officers. One of the innovations introduced in 1792 was sky-blue greatcoat for officers. It was not until 1805 that the were greatcoats issued to the troops. They were purchased not by individuals but from regimental funds.

In April 1806 all soldiers of field battalions (but not the depot, reserve and garrison battalions) received beige, grey, blue and brown greatcoats. There was little standarization but the most common were dull beige and it was the official color. (According to Ordannance du 25 Avril 1806: “La capote ou redingote en drap beige.”)
There were also quite a few captured greatcoats and greatcoats made from requisitioned cloth in occupied countries.

The average French greatcoat was not too long, just below the knee. The Russian greatcoats were longer but climate in Russia was harsher. Usually, French infantry had their greatcoats (introduced officially in late 1806) rolled on the back of their backpacks. They couldn’t wear them rolled over the shoulder as the Russians and Prussians because they were cut differently. For example the Prussian greatcoats were very wide at the bottom. The French ones were narrower and thus, if you rolled them, would have been too short to be carried over the shoulder.
In 1805 after the Battle of Austerlitz the squadron of Napoleon’s escort spent whole night stripping the Russian corpses of their voluminous warm greatcoats with which to cover the wounded.” (Savary – “Memoirs of the Duke of Rovigo” I p 136)

Only in 1812 was made first real attempt to standarize the greatcoats so the troops have more military look than civilian crowd. According to Article 21 of the Bardin regulations issued in 1812 all greatcoats for the line and light infantry were made of “beige serge wool.” There were no distinctions between line and light infantry, and even more, there were no distincions between infantry and artillery. All of them were beige greatcoats.

Carl Vernet in his book about Bardin Regulations gave grey greatcoats for privates and NCOs in infantry and artillery and dark blue for officers. In 1813 all the numerous gunners of four naval artillery regiments were issued dark blue (not beige) greatcoats.

According to Knotel in 1813-1814 campaigns many greatcoats in line and light infantry bore red patches on collars. In the Young Guard the greatcoats were worn over the uniforms. Henri Lachoque writes: “The following order was issued: ‘Coats will be worn under the overcoats. On fine days generals may order the latter rolled over the packs; but in foul or cold weather, or on night marches, soldiers must wear both coats and ocercoats.” (Lachoque – “The Anatomy of Glory” p 304)

The infantry of Old Guard continued with the solemn, dark blue greatcoats. The infantry of Young Guard wore dark-grey greatcoats (some say it was blue-grey, with more grey than blue). In 1815 majority of the Young Guard left on campaign wearing dark grey greatcoats with red or yellow epauletes. Minority wore either beige of line troops or dark-blue of Old Guard.

Cavalry greatcoat. (Cloak)
Manteau-capote.

Left: French 9th Hussar Regiment. (Source: Projet de règlement sur l’habillement du mjr Bardin. Paris, Musée de l’Armée.)

Right: French Chevaulegere Lanciers. (Source: Projet de règlement sur l’habillement du mjr Bardin. Paris, Musée de l’Armée.)

.

.

. The sleeves cloaks looked awesome during charge but not too comfortable when carbines were used. When mounted the greatcoat protected not only the man but also part of the horse, weapons and harness.
In 1812 was ordered to replace them with capotes. The capotes had sleeves, and were made of white wool cloth “with light blue thread” for privates in heavy cavalry, or dark green for privates of light cavalry. The officers wore either dark blue (cuirassiers and carabiniers) or dark green (dragoons, lancers, chasseurs and hussars) capotes.

On a warm day before combat the greatcoat (cloak or capote) was rolled over the shoulder and served as a protection against saber blows and lance thrusts. Ernst Maximilian Hermann von Gaffron of the Prussian Silesian Cuirassiers describes combat with French dragoons in 1813 at Liebertwolkwitz: “The horse-tail manes of their helmets … and the rolled greatcoats, which they wore over their shoulders, protected them so well that they were pretty impervious to cuts, and our Silesians were not trained to thrust nor were our broad-bladed swords long enough to reach them.”

Left: French Horse Grenadiers of Imperial Guard.

Right: French Dragoons.

Headwears.
Shakos, Helmets and Bearskins.

Bicorn hat.

Picture: bicorn hats of French line infantry in 1806.
Fusilier (left) and grenadier (right).
Picture by Andre Jouineau.

The Napoleonic French infantry wore bicorn hats, instead of the tricorn hats of the Royal Army. “When new, it was jaunty and could be slapped into your head at any angle. … A little bad weather however, left the cheap bicorn soggy and drooping forlornly about your ears; whatever the weather, it collected a lead of snow, rain, or dust. Present generations who regard the runty vestige of a shako now worn by the West Point cadets as an instrument of torture might be shocked to realize that this new headgear was considered an excellent innovation. Made of heavy felt and leather or entirely of boiled leather, it protected the soldier’s skull from saber cuts, gun butts, and dropped chamber pots. Its visor shaded his eyes, and its inside was furnished with loops to hold the soldier’s mirror and brushes for his coat, shoes, and hair.” ( Elting – “Swords Around a Throne” p 445)

Shako.
Shako.

Picture: shakos of French line infantry (fusiliers), by Andre Jouineau.

In early 1790s the French infantrymen wore the peaked leather helmets, similar to the British “Tarleton”. It was a small cap with a sausage-like device on top. It was replaced with tricorn hats. In early 1800s was introduced shako with cords. The word “shako” originated from the Hungarian name csákó, which was a part of the uniform of Hungarian hussars.

From 1800 on the shako became the standard military headress of most regiments in nearly all European armies. It retained this dominant position until the mid 19th century. In 1804 a shako with red cords was prescribed for Napoleonic line grenadiers.

The first shako for French infantry was authorized in February 1806 and replaced the bicorn hat by 1807. It was black, had a felt or board body and was widening slightly towards the top. On the front was borned a tricolor cockade above a lozenge shaped brass plate. The top of the shako was waterproofed and had a black leather peak and laces around the top and bottom. Each side of the shako was strengthened by a black leather shevron. On the top of shako was mounted a color pompon or plume. Shako cords:
– red cords for grenadiers (carabiniers),
– white cords for fusiliers (chasseurs),
– yellow cords for voltigeurs

Inside of the shako was space for pompon, cloth cover for shako, spoon, tobacco etc.

From 1808 until the end of Napoleonic wars the six companies (1 grenadier, 1 voltigeur and 4 fusiliers) within each battalion were distinguished by color of pompon.
Shako pompons:
– red pompons for Grenadier company (and Carabinier company)
– yellow pompons for Voltigeur company
– dark green pompons for 1st Fusilier (1st Chasseur) company
– sky blue pompons for 2nd Fusilier (2nd Chasseur) company
– orange pompons or pink for 3rd Fusilier (3rd Chasseur) company
– violet pompons for 4th Fusilier (4th Chasseur) company.

There were no battalion identifications on pompons although unoficially solid colored pompon was for all the companies of 1st battalion and pompon with white center was for all the companies of 2nd battalion. In some regiments there was a number in the white center indicating the battalion. Thus red pompon was for grenadiers of 1st battalion, red pompon with white center and number 2 was for grenadiers of 2nd battalion, etc.

In November 1810 was introduced a taller shako and brass chinscales. Cords and plumes were abolished although still continued to be worn as the clothing departments kept selling them until December 1812.

In 1811 was allowed to wear the plumes only for senior officers. Unofficially the plumes were worn in some regiments by grenadiers and voltigeurs. In few regiments even the fusiliers had their plumes, for example in 3rd Line Infantry it was a blue plume with a red top. More popular than tall plume was the small pompon.

In 1812 was introduced a new shako with new plate comprising a crowned eagle atop a semi-circular plate into which the regimental number was cut. The tricolor cocade was partly covered by the eagle’s head. Color shevrons (on side of shako) and laces (around the top and bottom of shako) were introduced for the elite companies: red for grenadiers and yellow (or green in few regiments) for voltigeurs.
The shako cords were abolished. Plumes were reintroduced for grenadiers and voltigeurs. In some regiments however were still used the old shakos without color shevrons for grenadiers and voltigeurs. Such situation was for example in 8e Ligne.
“For lack of shakos the 14th Light Infantry Regiment would fight the Waterloo campaign in fatigue caps.” (Britten-Austin – “1815 the return of Napoleon” p 295)

According to orders issued in 1812 also the cuirassiers replaced their plumes with pompons.

In cavalry there were more variations. The official version for eight companies within regiment was:
I Squadron
1st Company – red pompon (It was also called Elite Company)
Company – red pompon with white center
II Squadron
Company – green pompon
Company – green pompon with white center
III Squadron
Company – blue pompon
Company – blue pompon with white center
IV Squadron
Company – orange pompon or pink
Company – orange pompon or pink with white center

For parade tassels, racquettes (flounders) and white and braided cords were attached to the shako. For parade the brass chinscales were tied over the front of the shako and its pompon. For campaign instead of shako the more comfortable and lighter bonnet de police was worn. If shako was worn in combat the cords and tassels were removed. During campaign or bad weather the shako was protected with cover. The cover protected the shako, plate, cords and cockade from rain, mud, dust and snow. It was made either of black, waterproofed fabric or grey, off-white, white or beige buff cotton or waxed cloth. Some covers were made of leather. In some cases regimental number was painted on it. The pompon was sometimes worn with the shako cover. For battle most often the shako was worn, with or without the cover. (At Waterloo the colonel of the Nassauers decided that the white cloth covers offered to visible a target for French cavalry and he ordered these covers removed.)

In battle the brass chinscales were tied up under the chin to keep the shako in place during a run or jump. If battle was fought in cold weather the warm and comfortable pokalem was worn underneath the shako.

The plumes were liked by Napoleon, in some early fight, he discovered that the tall color plumes magnified his soldiers’ appearance and caused the enemy to fire too soon and too high. The soldiers like the plumes during parades and generally in peacetime.
In combat, however, they thought that the color plumes attracted far too much attention from enemy’s artillery and skirmishers. It was also impossible to hide in tall crops and surprise the enemy with a sudden attack. The enemy saw your tall plumes before you saw him.

Bearskin.
Bearskin (fur hat) for privates – bonnet-à-poil
Bearskin (fur hat) for officers – bonnet d’Ourson

Picture: bearskins of French infantry. Carabinier (left) and grenadier (right).
Picture by Andre Jouineau. Note: actually the bearskin of the grenadier was taller than that of carabinier.

According to the Decree of 1801:
 – bearskin of foot grenadier was 37.9 cm tall as measured in front
 – bearskin of foot carabinier was 29.8 cm tall
 – bearsksin of Guard horse grenadier was 31,8 cm tall
The bearskin of Guard foot chasseur was 35 cm tall
(according to Bardin Regulations issued in 1812).

The bearskins (some made of goatskin) for grenadiers were re-introduced in 1789. It had red plume, white cords and a brass plate embossed with a flaming grenade. The white cords of line infantry were soon officially replaced with red but the white were more usual. On some plates was regimental number.

The official specification for bearskins called for the plate but there were bearskins without plates. (Even in 1815 in the Old Guard). I’m guessing that approx. 55 % of bearskins for the grenadiers had plates and 45 % were without it.

Soldiers liked the comfortable headwear. It gave better protection against saber blow than the bicorn hat. The bearskin was more difficult to cut through than shako and had better padding than the helmet. But it was quite expensive and a black waxed cloth was used as protection for bearskin against bad weather.

One of the innovations introduced in 1792 was the replacement of bearskin by the bicorn hat during campaign, march etc. while the bearskin was carried in a bag. It suppose to last for 6 years.

According to Rousselot in 1804 the bearskins were sometimes given as reward to distinguished line regiments but also to those who simply required them. In July 1805 the foot carabiniers of light infantry regiments were ordered to return their bearskins to regimental depots in preparation “for the coming campaign” and adopt shakos instead. The shorter bearskin became popular among light infantrymen. For example in 1806-1807 some foot carabiniers wore them and by 1809 even some voltigeurs, for example voltigeurs of 10th Light Infantry Regiment and voltigeurs in Oudinot’s famous division. In 1806-1807 campaigns some of the foot carabiniers wore bearskins with red cords and plumes. In 1811 some light infantry regiments retained the bearskins for their foot carabiniers, while other regiments had their carabiniers in busbies or shakos.

This is said that the trumpeters of cavalry regiments wore white bearskins. Rousselot however claimed that during campaign the trumpeters of Guard horse chasseurs (chasseurs-a-cheval de la Garde) and Guard horse grenadiers (grenadiers-a-cheval de la Garde) left their white bearskins in regimental depots.
The well known German artist, Knotel, gave white bearskins for the trumpeters of the Guard but Rousselot found out that there were only black bearskins in use. He found no reference to white bearskins in regimental clothing records.
For parade the trumpeters used bicorn hats.

In February 1812 the bearskins were officially discontinued in infantry and cavalry due to shortage of bear furs, although some regiments kept bearskins. This process was much smoother in infantry, wherein already long before 1812 many regiments wore shakos instead of bearskins. The grenadiers of line infantry and carabiniers of light infantry were ordered to adopt shakos with red shevrons and upper/lower bands. Few infantry regiments, incl. 46th Line Infantry Regiment, kept their grenadiers in bearskins until 1814. These were without cords and plumes and many were without front plates. Some light outfits also kept bearskins.

In February 1812 the elite companies of French hussar and chasseur regiments were ordered to adopt shakos with red shevrons and upper/lower bands. Many hussars regiments and some chasseurs continued with their bearskins until 1815. Actually in the hussar regiments was the highest percentage of bearskins. These flamboyant warriors stubbornly refused any changes.

In February 1812 the elite companies of French dragoon regiments were ordered to adopt helmets with red plumes instead of bearskins. Many regiments disobeyed this order and kept bearskins until 1814 and 1815.
The French cuirassier regiments were ordered to replace red plumes with small pompons.
Some sources give red pompon for all companies in regiment while other sources stated that pompons were in color indicating company or squadron. Some regiments disobeyed the order and kept tall plumes, at least for parade and review.

Officially only the Old Guard wore bearskins. Before the war in 1812 against Russia the Guard horse grenadiers replaced their old bearskins with new ones made by the Emperor’s hatter Poupard. The cords were also replaced with new ones.

Headwears of French troops of the Napoleonic Wars.

Legwears.
“The top priority for infantry is to have healthy feet,
and for this reason it is a great help to rub them
with vodka at night …
Soldiers should have three pairs of socks, which they should
wash as often as possible.” – Chlapowski

For parade the French troops of the Napoleonic Wars wore :
 – The French heavy cavalry wore white or off-white breeches and tall black boots. The stout boots were considered necessary to protect the legs when the files of cavalry were pressed together. During the Napoleonic Wars there were two types of the tall boots. Boots with soft legs were worn during a long march but for parade they were replaced with boots with stiff legs. The hard boots looked great but they were not comfortable.
 – French light cavalry. While the chasseurs wore dark green breeches, the hussars wore green, blue and red ones.
 – French light infantry: blue breeches and short black boots with tassels. In 1812 short black gaiters were introduced.
 – French line infantry: white breeches and tall white gaiters, black in winter. In 1812 short black gaiters were introduced.

During campaign the troops wore cheaper, more durable and more comfortable trousers and overalls.

Infantry Breeches, Trousers and Gaiters.
Pantalons de tricot (or d’étoffe) / Pantalons de toile / Demi-guêtres noirs

The breeches of infantry were made of white and stretchy woolen cloth. They supposed to be long enough to be worn underneath the gaiters but many soldiers cut them short, just under the knee and inside the gaiters. The breeches and stockings were given free to soldiers but were worn rarely, usually for parade, review etc.

The linen trousers were for campaign in summer and the woolen ones for winter. There were also trousers made of canvas (a closely woven and coarse cloth of cotton or linen) or calico. Usually the trousers were undyed, grey, light grey, off-white, beige or blue. Linen could be bleached so that it was really white. The white woolen trousers were in fact yellowish and treated with chalk (which was said to have ‘burned’ the cloth). The Polish infantry wore dark blue trousers made of warm wool in winter, and white trousers made of cloth in summer.

The French foot artillery wore (officially) dark blue trousers right through the period but there are contemporary pictures which do illustrate gunners also with beige or grey ones.

Gaiters were necessary to keep peebles and dirt out of the loose and nor very well made shoes. The French gaiters were above the knee and were the longest in Europe. Many soldiers however cut them shorter, just under the knee. For parade the French line infantry used white breeches and black gaiters. But there were many regiments where the white gaiters were worn for parade in summer and black gaiters in winter. The white gaiters were mentioned only in Clothing Regulation of 1786 and for some time became the standard summer wear. In following clothing regulations they were never again mentioned and became unofficial, although popular wear. Only the Guard was officially allowed to wear white gaiters.
In January 1812 were introduced shorter black gaiters. They were used for parade and combat. There were also issued grey gaiters, used mainly for long marches. In 1805 General Hulin of the Guard Grenadiers issued the following: “The Commandant has noticed several soldiers wearing black gaiters on the march and reminds them of the regulations expressly ordering them to wear grey …”

The stockings and breeches were disliked by many infantrymen. Some threw them away at the first bivauoc or conveniently “lost” them during campaign. There were two reasons for this waste:
 Men with ‘bird-legs’ disliked the gaiters, stockings and breeches very much. French officer wrote: “… For this dress a man should be well built, well made … A man of twenty is not yet formed – nay, we were joined by conscripts who were under nineteen. This accountrement gave them an absolutely silly look”.
 The gaiters, breeches and stockings were carried in haversack and occupied quite a space. The newly found space in haversack was used for loot and junk collected by soldiers. (Lack of gaiters was experienced not only by the French troops, for example in 1796 the Austrian army lacked 49.000 pairs of gaiters !)
The army paid for stockings, gaiters and breeches, while the soldiers had to pay only for the cheaper (but comfortable) trousers.

When in early 1860s General John Gibbon insisted on his American infantrymen (2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment of “Iron Brigade” to wear gaiters, “some wags affixed their gaiters to the legs of the general’s horse …” (Don Troiani – “Civil War” p 39) :-)))

Cavalry Breeches, Trousers and Overalls.
?? / Surculottes / Pantalons a cheval.

In heavy cavalry the breeches were made of sheepskin or deer-hide and were reserved for great events. They were disliked by soldiers as they were hard to clean and hard to dry. Their color varied from white to buff. Due to numerous wars and shortages of hides the troops went to cheaper cloth breeches. The white cloth breeches would be worn for active service and even for parade. The Guard horse grenadiers replaced their buckin breeches with cloth breeches on active service.

The heavy cavalry also wore campaign heavy cloth breeches called surculottes. They were also called “over-breeches” as many soldiers wore them over the white breeches (or over the bucksins) for field service, march, battle etc. The over-breeches were buttoned down the sides and tucked into boots. These were made of wool or linen and were off-white, brown, brown-grey, light grey or dark grey. The Guard horse grenadiers wore off-white over-breeches over their deerskin breeches, and tucked them into tall boots.
The decree of 1812 described the over-breeches for officers as dark blue (for cuirassiers) or green (for dragoons). Only the heavy cavalry (carabiniers, cuirassiers and dragoons) wore the over-breeches and not the light cavalry (hussars and chasseurs).

Before campaign every heavy and light cavalryman received white sheepskin to the regulation shabraque (cloth covering the saddle) and grey overalls called pantalons a cheval. The overalls were worn with or without the breeches underneath. Some overalls had cloth covered buttons down the outer seams while other had red laces instead of buttons. The first time the overalls were mentioned in official order was in the year of 1812 although they were used already in the 1790s. The decree of 1812 described the overalls as made of grey linen with cloth covered buttons. Due to its weight and numerous buttons this type of overalls was replaced by lighter overalls, often reinforced on the inside of the legs and around the bottoms with black leather. These lighter overalls might be grey, blue, red or green but during 1812-1815 the grey with orange or red stripe and without buttons were more common.

In 1812 according to Bardin regulations dark green overalls were introduced for all hussars. The hussars didn’t like this change and many continued with their regimental dark or light blue or red, buttoned or without buttons, reinforced or not with leather. Many however kept both types, the lighter, colorful overalls were used for battle and parade, while the overalls made of rough and unbleached cloth were used for fatigues.

Officer Parquin wrote during the 1809 campaign: “Emperor told the colonel that his regiment (20th Chasseurs a Cheval) would wear heavy cloth overalls after 1st October. Until then we had worn twill (woven of double thread) overalls in the field.” He also added: “Since we left Holland (in 1805) our uniforms had changed. Long coats, overalls and half-boots had replaced the dolman and breeches.”

Light cavalry legwears:
 – the color tight breeches were also called parade trousers or culotte hongroise
 – the overalls made of rough, unbleached cloth were also called stable trousers or pantalons d’ecurie.
 – the color trousers with leather reiforcement were also called campaign trousers or charivari.

Right:
During campaign and battle the Guard chasseurs wore dark green trousers, strengthened with black leather on the inside and around the bottoms. The trousers were closed on the outside by 18 buttons sewn on scarlet bands.

Left:
In 1808 new trousers were introduced.
They were without the closures and buttons on outside of each seam.
Instead each seam was covered by 2 orange stripes (golden for officers).
In 1811 the leather reinforcements were replaced by an layer of green cloth.

.
Right:
In 1812 after the campaign in Russia the grey overalls became more popular than ever. Many were made of so-called ‘Marengo-grey’ cloth with black leather reinforcements and 2 crimson stripes along each outside seam. The grey overalls were cheaper and more practical as the chasseurs were light cavalry and participated in numerous marches and counter-marches, scoutings, often in bad weather. In my opinion it was the most practical legwear for light cavalry.

But after a short break in campaign – between summer 1814 and spring 1815 – and the old-style , side-buttoned green overalls have been resurrected. These items came from regiment’s depot stores and were used by chasseurs in Waterloo Campaign. The side-buttoned overalls had proved to be more trouble than they were worth but the light cavalry liked them. White or grey overalls were good enough for heavy cavalry but not for the flamboyant hussars and chasseurs.

Other Items.
Pelisses, Dolmans, Knapsacks, Haversacks etc.

Infantry’s knapsacks
and haversacks.

The knapsack was made of cow or goat skin with the hair on the outside. It contained a lot of essential personal items from which the soldier had no desire to be separated. The water bottle hung behind the left hip rather than the right to avoid obstructing the opening of the cartridge box.

The Extrait des reglament provisoure pour le service des troupes en campagne stated that French soldiers were not to take off their knapsack when preparing for combat. Sir Charles Oman however reports that the light companies of Darmagnac’s infantry division were ordered to remove and stack their knapsacks: “[D’Erlon] … collected the eight light companies of Darmagnac’s division, ordered them to take off and stack their knapsacks, and launched them as a swarm of tirailleurs at the position of the British on the Aretesque knoll.”

The knapsack carried by the Old Guard was larger than the normal infantry issue and had 3 (instead of 2) white closing straps and buckles. Paintings of Waterloo show the French soldiers with their knapsacks on but no greatcoat/blanket roll on top.

The haversack was a simple fabric bag slung over the right shoulder. It was primarily used to carry rations.

Light cavalry’s pelisse, dolman
gilet, sabretache and saddle cover.

The dolman and fur-edged pelisse were heavily braided parts of hussar’s flamboyant outfit. The pelisse cost a little fortune, 216 Francs !
The whole uniform for infantrymen cost approx.250 francs.

The pelisse was worn in several ways:
 on campaign: it was worn over the dolman when the weather was cold
 on campaign: it was worn instead of the dolman
 on parade, review, etc.: slung over the left shoulder

Most often the fur-edged pelisse was left in depot, or kept boxed, instead only the lighter dolman was worn. They became so damaged already during the first campaign, that they were not taken by the rank and file. The cost of reparing pelisse was high even for the Guard chasseurs that only some officers could afford it. Henri Lachoque writes that in 1807 during a parade in Paris the Guard chasseurs “were wearing undress coats with aiguillettes. The crowd missed their gaudy dolmans and pelisses …”

There was also gilet, a sleeveless wool vest braided identical to the dolman. It was worn under the fur-edged pelisse, when the pelisse was worn as a jacket, or under dolman as seen on the picture above. The gilet was also worn in the camp with the shirt.

In France, especially in early Empire, the pelisse and dolman were aslo used by some chasseurs-a-cheval. Originally only officers and NCOs in chasseur regiments wore pelisse but then also the rank and file of 5th, 10th and 22nd regiment adopted them. The chasseurs also wore dolmans although these items were never manufactured for them during Empire. In 1804 all chasseurs were ordered to give up their dolmans for plain coats but the Frenchmen loved flamboyant outfits and in 1805 almost chasseur regiments continued wearing them. The dolman and pelisse (plus sash and sabretache) were worn by chasseurs mainly for parade and only seven regiments wore them for field service.

During 1806-1807 campaigns vast majority of chasseurs were without pelisses. They were not taken on campaign. Some pelisses were left in regimental depots while others were used up and replaced by the simpler and cheaper green coat. The Guard chasseurs wore pelisses until 1805 campaign and at Austerlitz (worn over dolmans). During every next campaign only officers and some NCOs wore them.

The sabretaches were used by hussars (and some chasseurs in early Empire). It was a leathern case for papers, raports, small items etc. and was suspended by straps from hussar’s belt at the left side.

During campaign the ornamented sabretaches were covered by plain black oilcloth (see picture). During campaigns in 1813, 1814 and 1815 the sabretaches became rare sight, and the few still existing were less colorful than those in 1804-1808.

Before campaign the white sheepskin trimed red and grey overalls were issued to every cavalryman. The sheepskins for light cavalry were bigger than for the heavies. They were used by French, Polish and Austrian cavalry (but not by the Russians and Prussians) for comfort, especially during long marches.

The sheepskins were very comfortable in winter. The problems with them were in summer, they were hot to ride on and in rain they “soaked like sponges”. To make things worse, a lot of humidity and water made the sheepskins badly roting.

Pictures: French chasseur (left) and French dragoon (right). Please notice the difference in size and shape of their saddle-covers.

1812 – 1815 Bardin Regulations.
New and more modest uniforms were introduced.

The new uniform regulations were issued in 1812 are commonly referred to as the Bardin Regulations. (Colonel Bardin’s ‘Regulations in the Fitting out of Soldiers of the French Army’, 1812.)

The Old and Middle Guard were not affected by the Bardin Regulations as they had their own uniform regulations separate from the army troops.

The new infantry uniform included two major changes :
 – shorter black gaiters (just under the knee) replaced the white long or black gaiters for line infantry and the short boots for light infantry. Now all infantry wore short black gaiters.
 – the jacket had shorter coattail, its lapels were piped red and extended to the waist, covering the previously exposed waist coat

According the Bardin regulations there were only the following outfits for the line and light infantry:
 Tenue d’exercise – white waistcoat, cloth cap called ‘Bonnet de police’ or ‘Pokalem’, cartridge box, cotton drill trousers, short gaiters, water bottle, etc.
 Tenue de service – dark blue short-tailed coat, shako, cartridge box, trousers, gaiters, backpack, water bottle etc.
 Tenue de route – beige long greatcoat worn over waistcoat, the dark blue coat being rolled-up and carried on top of the backpack, shako protected by linen, oilskin or leather cover, cartridge box covered in protective cloth, trousers, gaiters, water bottle, havresack etc.
 Grande tenue – drak blue coat, the beige long greatcoat rolled up and on top of backpack, shako, cartridge box, wool tricot overalls reaching the ankle worn inside the gaiters, gaiters, water bottle, havresack etc.

The new uniforms were probably issued in 1812 only to Davout’s I Army Corps before the invasion of Russia. Koen de Smet wrote: “The Bardin uniform was introduced in 1812, and some units (or parts of units) will certainly have received it before the Russian campaign. The majority however will still have started the Russian campaign in their old uniforms.” But this is not certain at all, rather they were not issued in any larger quantity until Spring 1813 and only on the primary theater of war (great battles in Germany: Leipzig, Hanau etc.) French troops on secondary theaters of war, in Italy and Spain, wore the old uniforms.

Campaign, Battle and Parade Dress.
“The splendid colors of contemporary battle scenes
are misleading, in reality the colors of most scenes
of carnage must have been a dirty grey-brown. ”
(source: “Battledress. The Uniforms of the
World’s Great Armies 1700 to the Present.” p 133)

There were notable differences between the uniforms worn during parades and on campaigns. The soldier on campaign was likely to present a shabby and non-descript appearance as unsuitable peacetime dress quickly deteriorated. They suffered from a lack of proper clothing, and homemade replacements and captured items resulted in variety of colors and materials within a single battalion. Instead of the elegant breeches and gaiters the infantryman wore trousers, his shako was protected with special cloth cover, the greatcoat was rolled and attached on the knapsack, etc.

In 1807 General Lasalle wrote: “Who could recognize the brilliant hussars from Kronach fourteen months ago, those of the 5th Regiment with their white pelisses with lemon-yellow braids and their sky-blue breeches, those of the 7th Regiment with their green pelisses with daffodil-yellow braids and their scarlet breeches ? Today the whole brigade, men and horses adorned alike in mud, have neither form nor color. Their uniform is misery.”

“For lack of shakos the 14th Light Regiment would fight the Waterloo campaign in fatigue caps.” (Britten-Austin “1815 the return of Napoleon” p 295)

The dyes were primitive and different batches of uniforms worn by the same unit presented differing shades, especially after exposure to rain and sun.

The appearance of soldiers in battle was intended to impress and intimidate the enemy. In ancient wars the barbarians of today Germany piled their hair on the tops of their heads to make themselves look taller. During Napoleonic Wars the dragoons and cuirassiers wore helmets with heightened crests and combs and attached horsehair tails. The bearskins worn by the Old Guard, Scottish highland units and grenadiers employ the same principle. Prussian hussars wore the “skull and crossbones” Totenkopf on their hats.
The Emperor wanted to give the soldiers “the sense of participation in important and a festive occasion.”

Very often the enemy realized that the Roman legionares got serious because they wore their finest equipmet. Intimidating appearance played role in the collapse of morale of good troops. For example in 54 BC the Roman legionaries were put to flight by the frightening appearance of the Galls before their final attack. Napoleon’s troops were no different.

The sight of the troops on the battlefield however was often obscured by building, hill or trees. But if there was a good weather and open terrain the troops were recognized at 1500 m, the cavalry was distinguished from infantry at 1200 m, and the bigger details of uniforms (crossbelts, headwears) were distinguished at 600 m. At 225 m officers can be recognized and uniforms seen clearly.

In 1809 at Sacile the French 8th Chasseurs-a-Cheval was full of swaggering men who had bragged about their exploits. They wore in battle their full dress uniform (parade uniform) so as to stand out during the battle. Unfortunately they were routed by Austrian hussars and fled toward the river. It amused the poorly dressed French infantrymen. Other cavalry regiments charged to drive off the pursuing Austrians.

What the soldiers actually wore in battle depended on several factors:
 – enough time before battle to change or clean the whole outfit
 – good enough weather (mud, rain, dust etc. were no-no)
 – large battle (for a small combat or skirmish it was not worth the hassle !)
 – the presence of monarch

Before entering a city the troops often wore parade dress. “As I rode to the castle at Schoenbrunn, I passed the heads of the columns of Oudinot’s combined grenadiers and voltigeurs, who were already done up in full dress, with plumes in the headgear ready for the triumphant entry into Vienna.” (Chlapowski – “Memoirs of a Polish Lancer” p 64, translated by Tim Simmons)

The infantry of Old Guard wore their parade dress in 1809 at Wagram. In 1812 when the army had to cross Niemen River and border with Russia it was ordered that all regiments wear the parade uniforms. Already in early morning (4 AM) of that day Planat de la Faye saw “the army in parade uniforms, begins defiling in good order on to the 3 bridges.” According to Fezensac in 1812 at Borodino all the regiments “had been given orders to put on their parade uniforms.”

Though their uniforms were often as dirty and worn as the other hard-marching troops, the men of the Guards were noted for their attention to appearance and soldierly bearing.

Below is a list of battles and how the French Imperial Guard was dressed.

• In 1800 at Marengo the foot grenadiers of the Consular Guard wore parade dress (also called full dress) incl. bearskins, red plumes, habit etc. But they also wore the comfortable white and off-white trousers over their tight breeches and gaiters.
• After 1802 each guardsman was issued 1 habit and 1 surtout (or surdout) instead of 2 habits. The surtouts had no lapels and were “the regulation campaign dress” in the war against Prussia and Russia in 1806 and 1807.
• In 1805 at Austerlitz the foot and horse guardsmen and Oudinot’s ‘granite division’ wore parade dress (bearskins, red plumes etc.) But they also wore the trousers (in infantry) and overalls (in cavalry) over gaiters and breeches.
• In Oct 1806 during the parade in Berlin the Guard foot grenadiers wore surtouts instead of the parade dress. These outfits were left behind. There is also a picture made by Jugel, Otto Zimmermann and showing the guardsmen in surtouts.
  But the Guard fusiliers arrived after the grenadiers and brought their parade outfits in the regimental train.
• In Friedland in 1807 the Guard infantry marched into battle in parade dress with plumes and gloves. The Guard cavalry wore service (not parade) coats, overalls and their bearskins and busbies were without cords and plumes.
• In 1809 the Guardsmen received so-called ‘2nd full dress’ and the surtout have been limited only to senior NCOs and officers. The ‘2nd full dress’ was made of poorer quality cloth than the real, original full dress (also called the 1st full dress).
  The coat of the ‘2nd full dress’ also had white lapels as the ‘1st full dress’ but instead of red cuffs it had blue ones. The ‘2nd full dress was worn by the rank and file, NCOs and some junior officers while the ‘1st full dress’ was packed in regimental baggage wagons and worn only when circumstances allowed (mostly for parades). Senior officers, and part of junior officers and NCOs still wore the surtouts until 1814 and 1815.
• In Wagram (1809) and in Borodino (1812) the Old Guard wore parade dress, trousers (in infantry) and overalls (in cavalry) over the breeches and gaiters or boots. According to Polish officer and participant of the Battle of Borodino, Henryk Brandt, the red epaulettes and red tall plumes were “showing across the fields like a stripe of blood.” (By the way, the Russian foot guard regiments also wore the full dress at Borodino. But a few weeks later, at Maloyaroslavetz, the Russian guardsmen wore greatcoats and their shakos were protected by special cloth. The same situation was in 1813 at Kulm. In Leipzig however the Russian foot guard wore parade dress.)
• In Dresden in 1813 when “a battery which received orders to be ready to move into the fighting line. … each man began to get out of his haversack his parade uniform, which it was thought suitable to don on such an occassion. Comical scenes ensued, as men, in the act of changing their trousers, had to skip off as they might to avoid a shell about to burst. All were laughing and cheery, as if about to go to some fete.” (Petre – “Napoleon at War” p 226, publ.1984)

• In 1814 and in 1815 (Waterloo, Ligny) some infantrymen, incl. the Old Guard, wore greatcoats over civilian clothes, and hats and shakos instead of bearskins. At Ligny the Prussians took them for the second rate National Guard. 

Napoleon’s Uniform.
Napoleon contended himself with a simple hat
and dark green uniform.

While Napoleon was dressed in a very modest way, his marshals and Guard officers’ uniforms were loaded with gold lace. In 1809 painter Adam wrote: “There he sat on his little white Arab horse, in a rather careless posture, with a small hat on his head, and wearing the famous dust-grey cloak, white breeches and top boots, so insignificant-looking that no one would have recognized the personage as the mighty Emperor-the victor of Austerlitz and Jena before whom even monarchs must bow-if they had not seen him represented so often in pictures. His pale face, cold features, and keen, serious gaze made an almost uncanny impression on my mind, while the glitter of the many uniforms which surrounded him heightened the contrast of his inconspicuous appearance.”