Napoleon's Imperial Guard Uniforms and Equipment. Volume 1: The Infantry

CHAPTER 1

THE GUARD

The most famous military organisation of the Napoleonic Wars was Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. The silhouette of a Grenadier-à-Pied is one of the most symbolic and most easily recognised images from the Napoleonic era, second only to the silhouette of the emperor with his hat and grey riding cloak. The Guard was elite and self-confident; its mesmeric effect on friend and foe alike was due to its close relationship with the emperor. At the very top of the military food chain under Napoleon was the indomitable Imperial Guard, the best seasoned and most highly decorated veterans in the entire French army … the crème de la crème. They were the most fearsome and dedicated warriors of their day. From the plains of Spain to the snows of Russia, they followed closely behind the legendary black bicorn hat with the tricolour cockade, trusting absolutely in the genius of the man who wore it. They were his ‘children’, he was their ‘tondu’. They would fight and die for nobody but him.

The emperor sought to make them, moral, obedient and irreproachable. Elzear Blaze notes:¹

The Imperial Guard was magnificent and rendered great services when it fought. This should not astonish; it was recruited in the picked companies of our regiments. For this Guard were taken the strongest and bravest men, who already had four years of service and two campaigns. What could one not expect from a company of such soldiers! It was formed of the pick of the picked. The soldiers of the line called those of the Guard the immortals, because they seldom fought. They were reserved for grand occasions and that was proper, no doubt, for the arrival of the Imperial Guard on the battlefield almost always decided the question. Between the line and the Guard, there existed a jealousy which was the cause of many quarrels. Everyone knows that each member of the Guard had the rank immediately above the one he occupied. In the line all cried against this privilege and all did their utmost to acquire it. Those who had obtained it considered it perfectly natural: they could not imagine how petty officers of the line could have the stupendous pretension to march as equals with the Imperial Guard. Such is man, and thus he will remain until the end of the ages. When in France the question of equality has come up, everyone wanted it with those ranking above him, but not with the others.

‘I am the equal of the Montmorencys, the street-sweeper is not my equal’; that is what many people had said to themselves. People have cried against titles and decorations; and after having taken them from those who had them, they loaded themselves down with them. How many austere republicans have we not seen become chamberlains, tribunes become peers of France, who without the slightest ceremony exchanged the title of citizen for that of monsieur le duc or serene highness.

We were on the march; a baggage-wagon drawn by four mules tried to cross the line of my regiment, and the soldiers successively passing before the noses of these poor beasts took a mischievous delight in preventing them from advancing because they belonged to the Imperial Guard; one of the soldiers exclaimed in a bantering tone:

‘Come, soldiers of the line, make way for the mules of the Guard.’

‘Bah!’ replied another, ‘they are donkeys.’

‘I tell you they are mules.’

‘And I that they are donkeys.’

‘Well! Suppose they are, what difference does it make? Do you not know that in the Guards donkeys have the rank of mules?’

The Imperial Guard, at first composed of old regiments of grenadiers and of chasseurs, had been increased by fusiliers, and then to these were added sharpshooters, flanking troopers and cadets. The organisation of this corps was exceptional. The old regiments were members of the Old Guard and the others of the Young Guard. Superior officers and captains had been taken from the first to form the second. They retained their ranks and prerogatives, while the lieutenants and sub-lieutenants stood about where they did in the line, excepting for the uniform of the Guard which they had the honour of wearing. There existed, therefore, an enormous disproportion between the captain and the lieutenant as to rank and pay. In the regiments of flanking troopers, who wore the green uniform, the captains and superior officers wore the blue uniform of the Old Guard, which produced a singular combination.

In creating new regiments, the administration had exhausted all denominations, even to making grenadiers recruits of the Imperial Guard. These words ‘Imperial Guard’ and ‘recruits’ sounded badly. They seemed astonished at finding themselves together. The officers of this body gloried in the first of these tides, but they admitted the second with difficulty.

On their baggage-wagons could be read in letters 2 feet high: ‘Imperial Guard, regiment of Grenadiers’, then in pica letters the word ‘recruits’ abridged to ‘RCS’, seemingly to be ashamed of being in such fine company. From that time these young grenadiers were called nothing but RCS. This denomination became proverbial. RCS was synonymous to recruit. ‘You’re only an RCS,’ said the soldiers to each other in a dispute. And I have even heard officers say seriously: ‘We are going to have from France a detachment of RCS.’

When the new Gardes de Consuls was formed in 1799, the Guards of the Legislature became the grenadiers-à-pied, while the Guides became the chasseurs-à-cheval. The directory provided a smattering of men, sub-officers and officers to the new Consular Guard, its influence upon the latter being limited, as it was the smallest of all three Guards, mustering no more than 240 officers and men. The Guard was to be the model for the army. However, Pierre-Auguste Hulin, commanding the 1st Grenadiers, had some issues with the men under his command. The regiment contained men that Hulin felt should not be in the regiment. He wrote to his superior, General Davout, in December 1802:²

The initial formation of the corps of grenadiers was composed of the company of one hundred Swiss of the king and of the princes, of the Gardes de la Prévôté, of young men who wanted to evade conscription and were protected by deputies of all the assemblies, as well as many wounded men, who similarly protected, sought to obtain a more favourable retirement.

Others were admitted by General Lannes, who promised them their release from the service, which they had not been able to obtain in their corps.

There are still some men of this old formation left, whom I regard as a rodent canker, but their number is so small that I would be minded to release those of whom who want to retire or who are dissatisfied with the service.

In order to identify them, I have ordered secret notes to be taken in the companies and I will have the honour of submitting them to you shortly.

I would therefore wish that, just as now happens, there are admitted to the corps only men who regard their admission as the reward due to their services and whose loyalty to the government is very marked.

I would also wish to add that these men are informed by a regulation when they enter the corps of the length of time that they must remain in it before asking for their release, giving three months notice, unless special considerations make the generals decide to grant it to them before the prescribed time.

I am certain that the corps is in good morale and that every grenadier would arrest the first man who dare to propose something unworthy of him.

Barely a year later, Hulin again wrote to Davout complaining about the men being sent to the Guard. He noted that he had returned a grenadier back to his parent unit, the 29th Demi-Brigade, as the man had missed roll calls, stayed out of barracks three nights in a row, had got into debt and had sold his equipment to pay off his creditors, and had been picked up as a drunk by the gendarmes on the Champs Elysee. The same individual had been removed from the elite company of the 29th Demi Brigade just two weeks before being selected to enter the Guard. Hulin waxed lyrical to Davout about the commanding officer of the 29th that:³

the chef-de-brigade who in my opinion should have behaved totally differently and should not have sent the worst man of the corps to form part of the Guard. I would ask you the goodness to order him to replace the man by a soldier worthier of the honour of being called to the government’s aid.

As well as the line sending bad men to the grenadiers, the Chasseurs-à-Pied of the Guard were guilty of this also, sending men to the grenadiers the colonel did not want. Hulin complained to General Davout in April 1803:⁴

I believed that we should have first choice in the line and then send the men who are too small for the corps of grenadiers to that of chasseurs-à-pied. Since the opposite has happened and these dispositions will prevent us this year from completing our recruitment, please general, take the steps you think suitable to put right and prevent this abuse, which becomes very detrimental to us.

Hulin desired the grenadiers to be an elite force within an elite force. In many ways he was thwarted by the men themselves, as we shall see. Alongside the 1st Grenadiers’ looting, drunkenness and egotism, the regiment had critical functions that no other regiment in the army could fulfil. It provided an inspiring example of coolness on the battlefield, the cement that held the army together in 1813-1814, and as well as through its own existence was a powerful motivation for men to earn their admission to the Guard, and to share in the privileges and status of the regiment and their special, if somewhat strained at times, relationship with the emperor.

By the decree of 28 Floréal, Year XII (18 May 1804), the Consular Guard became the Imperial Guard.⁵

The decree of 10 Thermidor, Year XII (29 July 1804) directed a massive expansion of the Guard and formed a general staff, the Regiment de Grenadiers-à-Pied, the grenadier-velites, the regiment of chasseurs-à-pied, the chasseur-velites, a veteran company, the marine battalion, the regiment of grenadiers-à-cheval, the regiment of chasseurs-à-cheval, the mamelukes, the gendarmes d’elite, a force of light artillery and artisans, and a medical staff. By the end of 1804, the Guard had an authorised strength of 9,798 men. For the most part, the Guard was an elite formation. The Young Guard appeared in 1806 with the formation of the fusiliers. From then on marked the appearance of over thirty Young Guard regiments, two more grenadiers-à-pied regiments and a second regiment of chasseurs-à-pied. The propaganda machine of Napoleon, and subsequent authors like Marco de Saint-Hilaire, created an illusion about the Guard of it being a monolithic crack combat force of the highest morals and character. This illusion came crumbling down at Waterloo, when the Guard, with too high an expectation placed upon it from the line, failed to win a decisive breakthrough of the allied lines and fell back, precipitating the line to collapse. The Old Guard took more from the line than they gave back in terms of manpower. Its great value was in its imperturbability, capable of great feats of skill of arms as at Austerlitz, Eylau, Dresden and Montmirail, and inspiring awe and fear in friend and foe alike.

CHAPTER 2

ORGANISATION AND OPERATION OF AN INFANTRY REGIMENT

Initially, every regiment of the Imperial Guard comprised two battalions, which were commanded by a staff (etat major), and consisted of:

Battalion

Each battalion was commanded by a battalion commander and a small staff (petit etat major).

A battalion was divided into two half-battalions (demi-bataillon) or wings, under the command of a senior captain. Each half-battalion was formed from two divisions, in turn formed from two pelotons (or companies). The key person on the small staff was the adjutant-sub-officer. He was the senior sub-officer of a battalion.

Their duties were onerous, outlined on 1 July 1788. The adjutant-sub-officer was responsible for the training of sub-officers and examining those men proposed for the rank of sergeant and corporal. He furthermore had to oversee his battalion’s training, both foot and arms drill, as well as the training of the drummers. The adjutant-sub-officer had to make checks on the battalion’s clothing, campaign equipment, powder and munitions, as well as to oversee the production of cartridges. Twice a day he would assemble the battalion for the roll call. He worked with the adjutant-major in communicating the daily orders to the battalion. He was allocated an allowance of 1.50 francs a month for paper, ink and quills. Rather than gaiters he wore short jockey-style boots. He carried an epee from a shoulder belt, which passed over his right shoulder. He wore the epaulettes of a sergeant-major, but with only fringing on the right epaulette. His badge of rank was a metre-long cane, a hangover from the vine stick of the centurions of the Roman army, and a precursor to the modern-day pace stick.

Company (peloton)

A peloton was commanded by a captain, who was assisted by two or three subalterns. The chain of command was from the captain via the company-sergeantmajor to the fourier, and thence to the corporals.

Each peloton was divided into four sections commanded by a sergeant and each section was formed from a squad or file (escouade) of eight to twelve men under the supervision of a corporal.

The men of the company were broken down into soldat (being the privates), corporals and sub-officers. The term ‘sub-officer’ is not directly analogous with the term ‘non-commissioned officer.’ The sub-officers of a company comprised the sergeant-major, fourier and sergeants.

The company-sergeant-major was responsible for the passing on of orders for the company captain, the internal administration of the company and the paying of the company. He was assisted in this duty by the fourier and corporal-quartermaster (who effectively ranked as sergeant, but was a non-combatant). The corporal-quartermaster’s job was to convey the orders to the eight corporals. In turn, at roll call, he would present to the sergeant-major the number of men on duty, those sick, those absent with leave, those absent without leave and those on defaulters. The sergeant-major held eight registers that governed the administration of the company, as well as its police, discipline and training. The sergeant-major also had to oversee the clothing and equipment of the men of his company, if they were admitted to hospital, as well as to check on his company’s barracks, campaign equipment and tools.

The corporal-quartermaster was also responsible for the rations of each company–both their acquisition and issue–as well as arranging the billeting and/or camp of the company. He was often assisted by one of two of the soldat’s hors rang.

The four sergeants, apart from their duties in leading their section, had several specific duties to perform: sergeant of the guard, who was responsible for the mounting of the morning and evening guard and the passwords; the sergeant instructor, whose primary duty was the teaching of foot and arms drill under the supervision of the battalion’s adjutant-major; the duty sergeant was to turn out in full dress on their turn of duty in command of the salle de police (company office), assisted by the orderly corporal. He was also to inspect the barrack room each morning, accompanied by the sergeant-major.

Corporals were ‘file/squad leaders’, who were responsible for the basic training and supervision of his ‘file’. At reveille, it was his job to rouse his men and to ensure they were on parade at the correct time, as well as ensuring the cleanliness of their uniforms and part of the barrack. He would also prepare the muster list for his file and present it to the corporal-quartermaster at roll call, indicating how many of his file were and were not available for duty that day.

Of the eight corporals per company, the most senior was the chief corporal, who was to supervise the other corporals. He was also to assist the fourier in the acquisition of provisions for the company and supervise the handing out of food at meal times.

The duty orderly corporal assisted the corporal-quartermaster and duty sergeant in their functions, and the corporal of guard was effectively the guard commander under the orders of the sergeant of the guard. He was to turn out in full dress and was responsible for the posting of pickets and sentries.

Administration of the regiment

The officers and senior sub-officers were responsible for the day-to-day running of the regiment, overseen by the regimental staff (etat major). The colonel had overall command of the regiment. His daily orders and correspondence were registered by his adjutants, who carried out his orders. Appointed as colonel of the 1st Grenadiers was Pierre-August Hulin (1758-1841) on 15 September 1802, a post he held until August 1807. His order book and correspondence register are incredibly rare, and provide a wealth of detail about not only the clothing and equipment of the 1st Grenadiers, but also about the men of the regiment. The two books are unsurpassed in their detail and cry out to be translated into English and published.

From 15 March 1794, each battalion was administered by a council of administration (conseil d’administration). At battalion level, it was responsible for discipline, expenses incurred by the battalion, as well as detailing the number of men and horses on a daily basis, and noting those on leave, on detachment or in hospital. It was to comprise the battalion commander, who would act as president, an officer, a sub-officer (either a sergeant-major, sergeant, or corporal-quartermaster) and two troopers. The officer was to be nominated by their fellow officers from the battalion and then elected by the drawing of lots if more than one candidate was put forward. The sub-officer was to be nominated in the same manner. It was the duty of the sub-officer to report those men of the battalion absent, on leave or in hospital. In the absence of the battalion commander, his duties were to be replaced by the senior captain.

Each battalion was to present two privates to the council. These men had to be elected to the position by a majority vote. Of the four privates presented, the two most senior were to be elected to the council. All members of the council were to be elected for a period of six months, and could only continue to be members if returned there by election. If for any length of time the battalion was detached from the regiment over a distance of 13½ miles, it was to act for the council of the regiment.

The council of the regiment was to comprise the regimental colonel, who was to act as president of the regiment, three officers, three sub-officers and six privates. These men were to be drawn from the battalion councils. In the absence of the regimental colonel, his place was to be taken by the senior battalion commander.

Election to the regimental council was for six months. In the first half of the year, the members were to come from the 1st Battalion and in the second half of the year from the 2nd Battalion. The sub-officers had to be nominated after election through majority from the members of the battalion council. Of the privates, the longest serving was elected. In addition, the battalion commander quartermaster-treasurer was an ex-officio member and carried out the function of secretary.

According to the decree of 20 July 1794, the regimental council was attached to the regimental staff. The council was responsible for authorising the purchase of clothing, equipment, horses, forage, discipline of the regiment, promotions, as well as the discharge of horses, men and disposal of worn out items of clothing. The council oversaw the payment of the regiment, and docking of pay to fund consumables when in barracks or lodgings. This was to be overseen by a commissioner for war. Provision of rations for the men, and clothing and equipment, was vested in specific officers on the regimental staff. They had to ensure that the correct quantity of feeds was purchased according to government guidelines, and that all purchases were fully accounted for. These preserved books for the grenadiers-à-pied are a major source of information about the uniform and equipment, not only of the 1st Grenadiers, but also the 2nd Regiment, the fusiliers and 2nd to 6th Tirailleurs. The 7th Tirailleurs onwards, along with the flanqueur-grenadiers, had their own administrative council and were classed as a separate regiment administratively to the regiments existing pre-1813.

The lieutenant clothing officer had to oversee the purchase of all items of equipment and clothing for the sub-officers and troopers. Officers provided their own uniforms and equipment. The regimental council oversaw that the items purchased on the regiment’s behalf were of good quality, that they matched the regiment’s specification and that the cost of purchase was as agreed in the contract. All receipts had to be lodged in separate account books that were overseen by a commissioner for war. This was to ensure that officers did not pocket money off the regiment obtaining contracts. The specification for each item of uniform was recorded in a register of uniforms (registre de tenues). The commissioner for war was to ensure that items purchased matched this register. All deliberations of the council in obtaining contracts for clothing and equipment from contractors were to be recorded so that the commissioner for war could see how and why a regiment chose a certain contractor. These contracts, many hundreds of which exist in the French Army Archives, are our primary source material for the uniform and equipment of the Guard.

The clothing officer also had to ensure that all regimental property held in the regimental magazines at the depot were in good condition and all accounted for. The clothing and equipment of men in hospital was also the responsibility of the clothing officer, who had to ensure it was stored in good condition while any member of the regiment was hospitalised. Each company commander had to keep a report of the items of clothing and equipment issued to their company, and note what items needed repairing, what was beyond use and what items were new. These reports were submitted to the clothing officer who then collated the information.

The magazines and regiment were to be inspected every year by a commissioner for war to ensure that the paperwork of the regiment matched reality, and to agree to the disposal of worn-out clothing and equipment.

Barrack life¹

Barracks

French barrack rooms were furnished with beds 6½ feet² resting on trestles, or were iron bedsteads, and each bed slept three men. The barracks were not necessarily all that tidy, but they were clean. The beds were furnished with a wool mattress, a straw-filled palliasse, a pillow, a woollen blanket and one or two sheets. Corporals were two to a bed, as were the drummers. Sergeants and sergeant-majors had their own beds.

The fourier (company clerk) had his own bed and office, which had in it a desk and bookcase. The fourier was charged with the internal administration of his company, organising its billets on the march and their camping arrangements and their rations. The grenadier was expected to fulfil the following points of behaviour:²

1. In the barrack-room

He is to live in good harmony with his brothers-in-arms, receiving with attentiveness the advice of his elders with regard to military and public life;

To be a good comrade and friend with all;

To maintain his weapons, his equipment and the effects of his uniform in a high standard of repair, and each part ranged in its proper place, in such a way that they can be found for service at all times of the day and night;

Employing the time when not on duty, to disassemble and reassemble the parts of his equipment and armament, and cleaning them with care;

To repair the effects of his uniform, when required;

To dress his hair regularly, and to shave himself regularly;

To know what is required concerning the ‘kitchen’;

To prepare the soup;

To know what necessaries are required to be purchased for the ordinary [squad mess];

To know how to make his bed and arrange the barrack-room;

To know how to groom and equip his horse and how to feed him;

To take instructions in the skills which are required for his advancement, that is reading, writing, and arithmetic, etc, etc.

2. Drill school

A soldier is attached [to the school] until he fully understands the explanations of his instructor on the different parts of the exercises;

To execute with precision and without deviation [the drill];

To study the tone of each command, so that when it is his turn he may instruct another recruit with the same.

3. Guard duty

He shall not absent himself from his post without the permission of his superior.

The soldier on guard shall be regarded as an enviable personage: he shall receive the consideration of the public, and of the government for which he is maintaining the safety and tranquillity of the state by guarding the place whereupon he is placed: it is in his best interests, and his honour that he maintains diligently his watch, to comprehend and observe well the instructions (or passwords) which are given to him, shall maintain his position until he is relieved.

At the time when the guard is called ‘to arms’ (aux armes), he shall report promptly, and shall listen in silence to the order of his superior so as to execute promptly and accurately the orders given while on guard duty.

He shall ensure that his armament and uniform are in good order, because he is not to leave his post for the duration of his guard duty.

When he is to go to the guard-post, he shall march in a military style, to receive the password, which he shall repeat every hour or two hours as he maintains his guard, at the end of his guard duty he shall equally pass on the password to the soldier who replaces him.

He shall neither sit down, nor put down his weapon, nor move more than twenty paces from his post, he shall only enter the sentry-box in extremely bad weather; and he shall re-double his vigilance, to ensure that he is not taken by surprise by the enemy.

He shall not allow passers-by to approach too close, and shall advertise his position (to passers-by) when they reach a certain distance from him, throughout the night.

When the night is dark, he shall cry-out, in a strong intelligible voice: ‘qui vive?’ to all those who approach his position, and require a response of those who approach, and this occurs until daybreak.

Neither during the day nor the night shall he talk (chat) with anyone, except with the officers of his post.

He shall not give the password to anyone, except the chief of his post, or to a superior officer on duty when accompanied by the said officer of the post.

He shall not leave post unless relieved by one of the officers of his post.

[…]

5. Arrival at the lodgings

If he is to be billeted, the soldier shall listen attentively when called, so that he can obtain his billet, or of the number of his room indicated in the barrack.

On arrival, he shall ensure that his weapons are cleaned, and then deposited, if he is billeted on a civilian, with his back-pack, in a place from which they may all be gathered together, if the situation requires.

If he is in barracks, he deposits his arms in the arms-rack, and his knapsack above the head of his bed where he is to sleep: he shall return to the rendezvous so that he may obtain the rations, and necessary furniture for the room, if it is his turn to do this duty.

If he is billeted upon the inhabitants, then he shall endeavour by his honesty to show to his host the honour it is to be a French soldier; it is by these means that the soldier will obtain assistance and all the social niceties which are his due.

If he is to camp, the soldier, after his company has been dismissed, takes his weapon to the arms stack of his section, ensuring that he can recognise where it has been placed, and then shall go to his tent, to help erect it, and to do any other work thought necessary by his chief for its arrangement.

If he is to bivouac, the soldier will observe well the place of assembly in case of attack. He shall, as far as is possible, ensure that his weapon is preserved from damp and is in a good state.

He shall not absent himself from his section in order that he may at any instant be ready to take up arms: he shall remain dressed; he shall keep his pack ready so that he may quickly put it on.

6. Combat

In order that the courage of the French soldier bears the fruit which the nation expects, it is indispensable that the most exact order and subordination are observed in combat, and that he strictly follows the orders of his chiefs, from his corporal up to the commander in chief.

Following this advice, dictated by the experience of all time, he is assured that he will advance to reap all the fruits of victory, and in a reverse, he remains a powerful and redoubtable enemy.

It is therefore essential that the chiefs merit, and are given the entire confidence of their subordinates.

The victorious soldier, at the moment he disarms his enemy shall no longer consider as an enemy, but shall act in a sensible humanitarian way; and shall treat the enemy with these sentiments, without ever abusing the superiority that the victory has given over the unfortunate who has been vanquished.

The soldier shall not succumb to loss of his firmness, shall retake his arms: the nature of combat is day-to-day, a defeat is not dishonourable, but only cowardice [is].

During the combat, the soldier shall not leave his rank except if he is wounded, or under orders of his chief, no other pretext can be allowed in the eyes of his brothers-in-arms.

He shall maintain the greatest silence, so that he may not miss any of the commands as they are given.

7. After the combat

The soldier, following the orders of his chief, shall go to the assistance of the wounded, he shall begin with his brothers-in-arms, and then those of the enemy left on the field of battle. It is on the vast field of battle that the true heart of the military comes forward to practise the virtues to relieve and console suffering humanity.

It is a cowardly act on the part of the victorious soldier to insult his vanquished enemy.

The prizes taken from the enemy belong to the republic: the soldier who finds silver or trinkets, either on the dead or on unwounded prisoners have no right to their finds; the same applies to items taken from dead comrades, these belong to the relatives of the dead when known.

8. When the soldier is promoted

Without excessive vanity or pride in his advancement, the soldier raised a grade on his talents and merits shall renounce the familiarity which he has previously had with his comrades.

He shall reflect that his actions, both with respect to the service and to his private life, shall reflect upon his commander, and this consideration shown towards his superior shall also be given at all times to his inferiors, it is for this reason that all familiarity in the relations with his comrades should be banished, without diminishing the affection or esteem which he is due, on the contrary these sentiments shall be shown each day by his public and private conduct; and to achieve this, he shall be firm without coarseness within the service, and courtesy without familiarity in society.

He shall not be permitted to go to the cabaret with the soldiers.

He shall desist from taking part in games which are likely to lead to familiarity.

His conduct and manner shall serve to prove that he merits the promotion he has received and that he may be able to attain higher grades.

He shall, by his application and newly found knowledge, inspire those he has left behind him in his military career.

When the young French soldier exactly follows the path of ancient experience outlined above, he is assured of being conducted to a place in the temple of glory, for the few who have received from nature a share of intelligence and spirit.

9. The soldier in his private life

Alongside the military virtues, the French soldier shall be equally esteemed and loved for the purity of his social manners. The principal virtues are:

Loyalty and integrity in what he says and what he does;

Friendliness towards all;

Decency and honesty in his manner and observations;

Sobriety, for drunkenness degrades men in all classes of society;

Sincerity and veracity, for nothing is more infamous than a liar and a cheat;

Respect to all persons and property wherever they may be found.

Finally, he should repeat each day the following maxim; the estimation and consideration of the public are the certain result for he:

Who in all that he says and does, consults in advance, reason, commonsense, wisdom, prudence.

Daily routine

In the summer la Diane was sounded each morning at 6 a.m. and in winter at 7 a.m., and in times of war on campaign it was sounded at 4 a.m. so that the men could be under arms by the time it became light.

There were three parades per day: one for half an hour after reveille for roll call, one at midday when they had to fall in under arms and with their knapsacks, and the other after the last watch was posted.

Meals were eaten twice a day: at 10 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Lights out was at 10 p.m.

A light meal of coffee and bread was served around 7 a.m. (odroneaux) and this was felt to be more beneficial than a large meal.

In barracks, food was prepared in the battalion kitchen. Soldiers were forbidden to prepare food in their barracks. Food was prepared by the company, supervised by a corporal, the fourier and men on fatigue duties who were to carry it back to the barracks. Both meals, morning and evening, were some form of soup made from beef, pork or mutton and vegetables, beef usually being reserved for the evening meal. Bread and biscuit (hard tack) was baked by the battalion so as to be self-sufficient.

Each soldier had his own personal mess tin (gamelle) and each section, commanded by a corporal, would be sent to the kitchen to receive their meal. Each soldier’s gamelle was stamped with his number, which was checked off against the mess list maintained by the cook house corporal.

The first main meal at 10.00 was eaten before the main guard mounting and drill of the day. The evening meal was served before the posting of the evening guard and it was carried out to the men, by men on fatigue duties, in large kettles or in stacks of six-lidded gamelles carried in a wooden frame, one frame per hand.

Every morning after the first parade, the surgeon or medical officer would visit the sick in the infirmary, accompanied by the lieutenant-colonel, and also inspect the kitchen. Those men who had been detailed on defaulters or fatigues were under the close scrutiny of the adjutant.

Food and rations

The official French ration comprised 1 lb 10¾ oz of bread, and where that was not available 1 lb 3¼ oz of biscuit to be ground into flour or boiled with the soup to make a kind of dumpling, 8¾ oz of fresh or salted meat, salted lard, 1 lb of rice, 4 oz of dried vegetables or 8 oz of potatoes, water and vinegar. Coffee and sugar were issued as well.

Instruction and training

The lieutenant-colonel and the adjutant were in charge of the training and instruction of a regiment. The lieutenant-colonel and the respective battalion commanders instructed each battalion through the sergeant-major and the sergeant-instructors. The major was responsible for all the paperwork and administration, and checking that the staff orderlies did their work correctly.

Lieutenants, sub-lieutenants and corporals were instructed by the lieutenantcolonel and the adjutant, who had the particular responsibility of training and instructing the sub-officers. The sergeants and corporals were trained in the ecole du soldat from 1 April to 1 October.

The whole regiment had an annual training regime, organised as follows:

April: Ecole du soldat, ecole du peloton, firing drill

May: Ecole du bataillon

June: 1st to 15th, skirmishing drill (ecole des tirailleurs)

From 16 June to 1 October, the regiment underwent battalion drill and field manoeuvres, which took up every day apart from Saturday.

Between 1 June and 1 August, each battalion was expected to perform a march militaire in field uniform to practice long distance marches, field craft, camping and living in the field. They were to be of an initial duration of two hours, rising to six by the end of the summer. In addition, the speed of the march was to increase from 100 paces a minute to 130 by the final march, and rest periods were to be reduced from a ratio of one hour rest per one hour march to only a short ‘sojourn’ every two hours.

Purchase of items

Each year, the council of administration, acting with the clothing officers, drew up a stores inventory of the regiment, as well as gathered the parade states of the items of equipment and clothing issued. Items of clothing had a specific life-span. Each time an item was inspected it was classed as either new, in need of repair, due to expire, or expired and in need of replacement.

From this data, the clothing officer was able to report the total number of items needing to be replaced or repaired. The contracts for repair of clothing