Begging the Readers' Pardon ...

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We interrupt this series so that the author can take a break.

A long week, I must work on Friday, oil change Saturday morning, there is no rest for the wicked I guess. (Truth be told, the oil change is at 1030, not exactly early, but any day requiring an alarm clock to be set is harmful for my peace of mind.)

Anyhoo, there was a bit of discussion in the comments yesterday regarding the uniforms of the period. Braid, plumes, tassels, fancy cords, and all the other paraphernalia which attracts many to this time period. Indeed, the uniforms were very colorful ...

On parade.

On campaign the men of the French infantry would be dressed as shown in the opening picture. Oilskin covers protecting their shakoes, only the wool tuft designating the company would be visible. Greatcoats of grey (sometimes beige or tan) covered the fancy uniforms. Those chaps in the picture are a grenadier company, the red tufts and epaulettes give that away. Also they have two crossbelts, line infantry had one (no sword you see). A few of the men are wearing the fatigue cap, which one French soldier described as making one look like a stepped-upon mushroom.

The line companies (four per battalion by 1812, one grenadier and one voltigeur - light infantry, company made up the remainder of the battalion, six companies in total) didn't have epaulettes, so they didn't have them on their greatcoats. The sixth company, the voltigeurs would also (usually) have epaulettes, of green or yellow or a mixture of those two colors. (They also had two crossbelts.)

The trousers were made of some coarse material which was loose and comfortable and normally over the gaiters. (Gaiters helped keep pebbles and the like out of the shoes, yes shoes, not boots.)

Now on parade you'd see the infantry dressed like this -

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(Do chase that source for a very nice article, with lots of pictures, on French uniforms in the Grande Armée.)

The other branches also had their campaign uniforms which were dulled down and made comfortable (and cheap, those dress uniforms cost a lot!).

Add in the fact that the men campaigned in all sorts of weather, mud and dust would quickly reduce the wearer of a nice uniform to a rather dull grey creature anyway, why wear the good stuff?

How did you distinguish one regiment from another wearing greatcoats and oilskins on the shakoes. You didn't, unless the colors were unfurled, the regimental number (or name in the case of Guard units) were on the flag. But alas, the colors were usually cased until you went into battle.

Regimental numbers were on shako plates and buttons in the line and the light infantry. But in reality, due to the nature of the fighting in those days, you were seldom far from your regiment (and sergeants and officers!). The officers knew which units belonged to them, and they knew who they reported to. So quick identification of a regiment in the field wasn't really that important.

However, the shape of one's headgear could be very important. Up until the campaign in Spain British light dragoons wore the Tarleton helmet ...

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A very distinctive form of headdress. So of course some functionary in London thought it best to change their head gear to a shako, very much like the one favored by French light cavalry. Wellington was very much displeased by that.

The color of a uniform (with the possible exception of the British and the KGL) wasn't much use in the swirling powder smoke, in bad weather/low light conditions. After all, blue, dark green, and the like tend to all look the same at a distance. Put greatcoats on 'em and good luck telling one unit from another.

Yes, there were many friendly fire incidents in those days, just like today. The fog of war is a very literal concept!

There were morale aspects to the uniforms, crossbelts made men look bigger at a distance, bearskins really made them look bigger, but did those frighten the enemy? Not unless the unit wearing that gear had a sound reputation. As one Neapolitan king said, when asked what color uniform he'd like his troops in, he is alleged to have said, "Dress them in blue, dress them in red, dress them in yellow, I don't care, they're just going to run away no matter what they're wearing." (I must note, the Italians who fought with Napoléon, who was after all King of Italy were quite capable. It isn't the man or the suit which makes a soldier. As Napoléon is alleged to have said, "There are no bad regiments, only bad colonels!")

So there some background information for you and some more reading here on Napoleonic era uniforms. (No, there won't be a quiz, but it might be on the final. 😁)

Enjoy, I'll be back soon with another episode, though truth be told, I am loathe to end the battle just yet, I'm enjoying the journey.

Ciao!