If you were to ask the average military historical enthusiast to name some of the units comprising the French Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars, chances are that the name of ″Red Lancers″ would figure prominently in his list.
Similarly, if you asked the same person to list the outstanding exploits of this famous corps — assuming he is not a French national — the result most probably would be a blank sheet.
The truth is that it is the uniform and not achievement that perpetuates the memory.
If there is one thing that epitomises the whole Napoleonic period and in particular French military prowess of the era, it must surely be the uniform of the ″Red Lancer″ — albeit the corps was only in existence during the latter years of the Empire.
For this we have to thank the regiment′s chief General Colbert, who insisted that the unit be dressed à la polonaise, its uniform being made up in red, this being the predominant colour of its previous uniform.
The new dress was first distributed at the end of July, 1811 and worn for the first time on the 15th August, 1811, both men and officers looking extremely smart and creating a favourable impression in their tall head-dresses.
This head-dress, known as the czapska, was similar to that worn by the Polish light horse, being 21cm high, 24cm square at the trencher top, the width of the stitched flutes 18mm, the upper part being recovered with scarlet cloth.
The edges of the trencher top were trimmed with yellow lace which also formed a diagonal across the top.
A broad yellow lace also bridged the junction between the upper and lower sections of the cap.
The body of the cap and the visor were in black lacquered leather.
The studs protecting the angles, the circle of the visor, the chin chain mounted on red cloth and the bosses with hooks representing gorgons′ heads were in brass.
These bosses were later changed to lions′ heads, see Figs. (B) and (D).
Rousselot shows the bosses with hooks on both sides of the czapska, see Fig. (A), but some models certainly had the chin chains permanently mounted, being fixed by a ring directly to the boss.
The chin chains on the czapska illustrated and in detail (F) are single interlinked rings, but quite often these were entwined two by two.
On the front of the hat was fixed a rayed plaque stamped in brass; in the centre on a silver background was an ″N″ surmounted by a crown both stamped in brass.
The cockade was in the usual three colours; blue inner, red centre and white on the outside.
When on parade the cap was adorned with a white plume issuing from a plume holder in brass, and a yellow cord terminated with ″raquettes″ and tassels, see detail (C).
When on the march or on campaign, the cap was covered in a black oilskin and its appendages carefully stored away.
The kurtka as shown in detail (H) was made in scarlet cloth, with the collar, revers, cuffs and turnbacks in dark blue cloth, with blue piping on the seams at the back and on the arms, around the pockets and waistbelt flap, the epaulette keepers being in yellow lace.
On the left was worn an aiguilette and on the right a yellow epaulette with a blue ″turnabout″ rim.
The manufacturing specification did not alter to any great extent during the short period in which the regiment was in existence.
It originally had 29 semi-round buttons in brass, with 4 small ones on the arms and a very large one retaining the waistbelt flap, also two half round on the shoulders and 22 large ones — 7 being on each rever, 3 on each pocket and 2 on the tail.
In May 1813, the number was subsequently increased to 31 — the additional buttons being stitched to the bottom of the skirt tails being partly obscured by the top fold. When on the march and on campaign the kurtka was worn in a double-breasted style, the right flap being buttoned on the left, showing a blue piping on the edge.
When worn on parade with the revers showing, the garment was fastened down the front with hooks and eyes.
The revers at the top were shaped to give a three-pointed configuration and the cuffs were also pointed at the front.
The aiguillette was yellow and in a trefoil shape.
Some authorities including Bellange, De Moraine, Lami and later artists such as Laluze and Vallet etc., depicted either two epaulettes or two epaulettes and an aiguilette.
I personally prefer the evidence of Lejeune in his careful study of a ″Red Lancer″ which indicates a simple aiguillette on the left only, which is confirmed by Philippoteau, Malibran, Job, the models formerly in the Boersch Collection, and, above all, by Rousselot who in his careful study of the purchase orders and invoices proves beyond doubt that the aiguillette was worn.
The breeches were made in scarlet cloth and differed from those worn by the Poles.
They were trimmed on the outside leg with blue piping between two blue bands of cloth.
They were provided with underfoot straps in black leather and on the outside a brass button served as an attachment for the strap.
The premier stripe was pierced at the bottom with a buttonhole through which the button was attached.
On the march and in ″petite tenue″, the men discarded their red breeches and wore overalls which were more robust; these were in blue cloth reinforced on the inside leg and around the bottom with black leather.
On the outside leg the overalls were trimmed with a single scarlet stripe with 18 buttons and the corresponding number of buttonholes.
In addition, the overalls had on the front, two pocket flaps, which were set on sloping with the edge free and cut with three points and the edge piped red; according to the specification of 1813, they each had five buttons placed upon them.
The riding trousers, in calico, were trimmed with 18 yellow metal buttons down the side, and were worn on the march during hot weather.
These trousers were of a beige colour and replaced the abovementioned overalls during the summer.
A sky-blue stable jacket with cuffed sleeves was worn with the overalls in marching order.
The stable jacket had a red collar and had two rows of yellow metal buttons down the front and two small yellow metal buttons on the arms.
This jacket when worn with the bonnet de police and the beige overalls constituted, according to Fallou, the fatigue or stable dress.
It is extremely difficult to follow all the orders of dress which, in any event, appear to be mainly various permutations of the same garments.
I am unable to put forward any concrete evidence, but it would seem unlikely that the men had more than one sky-blue jacket, which would be worn for all their various functions when it was deemed unwise to wear the red kurtka.
The bonnet de police had a dark blue turban laced with yellow braid, with a scarlet ″flamme″ piped with yellow cords and a yellow tassel on the end.
The coped mantle with cuffed sleeves buttoned down the front and was made in sky-blue cloth with a red collar.
The footwear worn by the ″red lancers″ was the short Mameluke type boot, which had the spurs screwed to the heels.
A black stock and a pair of gauntlets completed the clothing effects of the lancers of the Old Guard.
As mentioned last month, in Part 1 of this article, the first five squadrons were designated ″Old Guard″ and the five remaining squadrons ″Young Guard″; in addition a number of velites (Velite — a Roman term roughly equivalent to ″Cadet″) were attached to the regiment.
It is particularly important to remember this fact, as there were a number of differences in the uniforms of these three distinctive groups.
Firstly the velites; they wore a similar uniform to that of the lancers of the Old Guard, but were distinguished by a black plume with a white tip and the epaulette, aiguilette and czapska cords were a mixture of yellow and blue.
The Young Guard wore a uniform with a number of variations to that already described.
The czapska was an entirely different model, which looked similar to that worn by the Old Guard but cost only half as much and was without the brass front plate having a brass ″N″ substituted.
Their kurtka was of the same cut but with the colours reversed viz. blue, with scarlet revers, collar, cuffs, turnbacks and piping, with the waistbelt flap blue piped red.
Due to the short time that the Young Guard Lancers were in being, documentary evidence regarding their dress is in very short supply.
In the sketches accompanying this series I have shown them with an epaulette on the right and a contre epaulette on the left.
However, it must be pointed out that Rousselot states that they were without either aiguilette or epaulette and he assumes that they were issued with two contre epaulettes like the Young Guard squadrons of the grenadiers, dragoons and scouts of the 3rd Regiment.
On the other hand, Vallet in Fallou′s La Garde Imperiale shows them wearing both the aiguillette and two epaulettes — how much reliance can be placed on this I cannot say.
What must be said is that my interpretation is purely conjecture, based on the assumption that only the more expensive aiguillette was substituted by a cheaper contre epaullette and the fringed epaulette retained.
The coped mantle with cuffed sleeves of the same pattern as previously described was supplied, but in unbleached cloth with a red collar.
Senior N.C.O.s above the rank of brigadier and officers of the Young Guard were designated ″Old Guard″ and wore the Old Guard uniform.
In the rare instances where a senior N.C.O. was appointed from the Line, he wore the uniform of the Young Guard with the rank stripes in gold.
Most senior N.C.O.s were, however, promoted from within the Guard itself.
The remaining items of dress viz. breeches, overalls, beige riding breeches, waistcoats, bonnet de police, plume, czapska cord, boots and gloves were identical for both Young and Old Guard.
The brigadiers were distinguished by two yellow stripes on each arm; these took the form of chevrons with the point facing upwards.
The rank insignia of the sous-officiers was in gold being a single chevron on each arm for the maréchal-des-logis and two chevrons on each arm for the maréchal-des-logis chef.
The fourrier wore the yellow chevrons of the brigadier and in addition a gold lace stripe on each upper arm.
The kurtka and rank insignia is shown in details (H) - (L) inclusive.
In addition to their gold chevrons the senior N.C.O.s were further distinguished by their lace, czapska cords, epaulettes, and aiguillettes which were a mixture of one tier gold and two tiers red wool.
The epaulette strap was red edged with gold lace and the epaulette keeper in gold lace.
According to Rousselot the long service chevrons were in yellow lace for lancers and brigadiers and those of the N.C.O.s in gold.
Theoretically, it would seem unlikely that they were worn as the first four squadrons were Dutch so they would hardly qualify, the fifth squadron was part Dutch and part French so it is possible that someone in this group would qualify.
Obviously from the remaining five squadrons there were many who would be eligible to wear these chevrons, but this would lead to the situation where only a few of the Old Guard wore them but quite a number of the Young Guard — a reversal of normal procedure and one that must have been unique in the Guard.
Under the first Restoration the uniform remained basically the same.
The white cockade was naturally adopted and the ″N″ removed from the czapska; the other changes took place in respect of the equipment which will be dealt with in Part 3.
Source: pp. 22-23, Military Modelling, January 1977.
