Table Of Content160 OSPREY· MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES
Text lJy PHILIP HAYTHORNTHWAITE
Colourplates lJy BRYAN FaSTEN
ME -AT-ARMS SERIES
EDITOR: MARTIN WINDROW
Text by PHILIP HAYTHORNTHWAITE
Colour plates by BRYAN FOSTEN
OSPREY PUBLISHING LONDON
Published in 1985 by
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© Copyright 1985 Osprey Publishing Ltd
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Haythornthwaile, PhilipJ.
Napoleon's Guard Infantry (,).-(Men-at-Arms
series; 160)
I. France. Annee. Garde Imperiale
2. France. Armee-Uniforms 3. Infantry~
History
I. Title II. Series
356'.186 UC485·F7
FilmsCl in Great Britain
Printed in Hong Kong
Editor's Note:
Perfect consistency in the use ofitalics in this text has
been sacrificed for the sake ofclarity. We have
generally adopted Roman type for the titles ofunits,
and reserved italic for nouns, ranks, and quoted
phrases in French.
(2)
,Napoleon's GuardInJitntry
Introduction The Seamm ofthe Guard
The companion title, Napoleon's Guard irifantry (I) The term 'Seamen' has been used here as a more
(MAA 153), described the ethos, formation and accurate translation than thefrequent anglicisation
uniformofthesenioroftheImperialGuardinfantry 'Marines'; the Marins de la Garde were essentially
a
corps, the Grenadiers and Chasseurs Pied. The naval personnel, French 'marines' in the English
presenttitleextendsthecoveragetotheMiddleand sense being termed inJanterie de marine.
YoungGuard. TheseniorityofGuard infantrywas On 17 September 1803 Napoleon decreed the
only established definitely in 1812 by the Guard's formation of a battalion of Seamen within the
chiefofpersonnel, Courtois:
SeaDlenoftheGuard:printbyR.Knotel.(Left)fulldress;and
Old Guard: all officers of Grenadiers, Chasseurs, (right) campaign dress, J806, after a contem.porary illus
trationbytheHenschelbrothers.Shakowithorangelaceand
Fusiliers and Seamen; field officers and captains of cords,scarletplume.Blueunifonnwithorangelaceandbrass
Voltigeurs, Tirailleurs, Flanqueurs and National shoulder scales; grey gaiters. Note the early panern of
knapsack-ithwhitestraps,andtheswordcarriedhookedup
Guards; all rank and file of 1St Grenadiers, 1st onto the belt.
Chasseurs, Veterans and Seamen; NCOs of 2nd
Grenadiers, 2nd Chasseurs and Fusiliers.
Middle Guard: 3rd Grenadiers, including Amster
dam Veteran Company; corporals and privates of
2nd Grenadiers, 2nd Chasseurs and Fusiliers;
Velites ofFlorence and Turin.
roung Guard: Voltigeurs, Tirailleurs, Flanqueurs,
National Guards and Pupilles.
Thiswas complicated by thecontinual processof
exchanging officers and COs between different
regiments within the Guard; officersofsenior corps
were promoted into junior, and leGs were
detached to provide an experienced cadre for new
units, a process also resulting in the transferred
officers and sometimes NCOs retaining the
uniforms of their original regiment. Bourgogne
records one NCO, commissioned into the Young
Guard from the Middle, who served in the 1812
campaignstillwearinghis COs'shako,suchacase
probably being more the rule than the exception.
The practice of captains and above wearing
the same uniform prevented unnecessary expendi
ture upon every change ofattachment.
3
SeamenoftheGuardincampaigndress,c.I807:printby'Job' chalices'. They were instructed in arms drill;
apparentlybaseduponaSuhroriginal.NotetheNCOwiththe
perfected their own 'free, if rather unusual, gait';
fanion. The presence ofa second shoulder belt plate (on the
cartridge box belt) wouldappeartobe an error. and took their place in the Imperial Guard,
originally under one Captain Daugier but latcr
Consular Guard, initially to man the boats which under Vice-Admiral Count Baste---a tough and
would transportthestaffintheprojectedinvasionof surly commander, though ofgreat distinction. Thc
England; the battalion was organised as a naval unitrarelyserved asacomplete battalion, butoften
unit, comprising 737 sailors in five 'crews' of five in small detachments: e.g. in 181, two companies
squads each, under a naval captain (capitai.e de wereservingasmarinesatToulon,oneatBrest,one
vaisseau) and assisted by a commander (capitai.e de at Antwerp and one at Cadiz; only two companies
fregate), with five trumpeters. Supplied by each served in Russiain 1812, two in the 1813 campaign
Maritime Prefect, the personnel 'selected for the andonein ,814' (Theyshould notbeconfused with
honourofjoiningtheentourageofthe FirstConsul' the number of naval battalions used in land
were to be ofrobust health, five feet ten inches tall, operations, basically as labourers.)
and with a recordofgood conductand loyalty. The Though armed as sailors at the outset, the
Scamcn were ranked and paid like the cavalry of Seamen were soon issued with infantry equipment
the Guard, their NCOs (who retained naval titles) toenablethem tofulfill sucha rolein thecampaigns
equating with cavalry ranks; and the whole oftheEmpire. In 1804thestrength wasincreased to
battalion was nicknamed 'naval hussars' from their 818 men, with a trumpeter and drummer in each
cavalry-style uniform, with officers 'gilded like crew. In theAurterlitz campaign they forsook their
4
Shako plate,Se3.Dlen ofthe hnperial Guard.
new infantry role to man a small flotilla on the
Danube,demonstratingthevalueofhavingtrained
sailors attached to the army. In December 1806 a
detaehmenLbuilta bridgeofboatsovertheVistula,
whileothersoperatedaferryserviceacrosstheriver.
After Eylau a company was despatched to build a
bridge at Marienwerder, for which they captured
40 river-boat,; and a midshipman and fiveSeamen
weresent to Danzig upon an inLelligence-gathering
mission, the results ofwhich caused the remainder
ofthe corps to be called tojoin the army, to man
eight ships on the Friche-Haff, the inland sea
betwcen Danzig and Konigsberg.
In thc debacle ofBaylen in Spain inJuly 1808,
where Dupont's 17,000 French troops surrendered
to thc Spanish, the Seamen fought as infantry, and
though the whole battalion was virtuallydestroyed
it upheld the finest traditions of the Guard; the
survivors were consigned to Spanish prison hulks.
On 27 March 180g the Seamen ofthe Guard was
reduced to a single 'crew' of 148 men, with naval
battalions filling their previous role; but these
Seamanofthe Guard infulldress:printby PierreMartinet. proved a pale imitation, as Napoleon wrote when
Shakowithbrassplate,yellowlaceandcords, scarlet plume
(somewhatexaggerated!);bluejacketandtrouserswithyellow re-mustering theold Seamcn: 'I would rather havc
lace, scarlet cuffs; brass belt plate, yellow sword knot. An
alternativeversion ofthe same print shows orange laceand 100 m('11 like t1WIll than all your na\·al battaliolls.'
cap cords and lacks the shako plate, perhaps indicating the Thc existing company rcjoined the army immedi
reU10val of an hnperial symbol during the Bourbon res
toration. ately, Baste and his Seamen cruising around the
5
SabreoftheSeantenoftheIntperialGuard;and(below)sabre river the Seamen were recalled to France, their
ofPremier·.Maitndrs Manns..
services resulting in a decree of 16 September 1810
islandofLobauinrivercraftarmedwith fieldpieces, which re-formed the battalion. It was to be eight
whileothersaidedthepontooneersinconstructinga companies strong, plus staff, giving a total ofsome
bridgeofboatsovertheDanube. Afterorganisinga I,I36 men including eight trumpeters-though the
system of navigation and communication on the processorJormation wasslow, and bythebeginning
of 18I2 even the sixth company had not yet been
Colour, Seanten of the Guard (reverse side). White central
formed.
diamondwithlaureledging;alternatecornertrianglesofred
andblue(blueattoprightandbottomleft).Alldecorationsin In 18ID the Seamen returned to Spain; intended
gold.Theothersidewassi:rnilar,butinsteadofthebadgethe
central diarnond bore the inscription 'L'nll'E::H.E::UH. ()!::s for use as engineers, they were regarded as too
FRANGAIS,!AU Bl~n OF: MARt1'<S/OF. I.A GARDE/IMPERIALE'. The'Eagle' valuable to be committed to battle except in
whichtopped the staffboreananchorupon its plinth.
emergencies. Nevertheless, during Massena's re
treat in early 181I they were assigned, as an elite
unit, to the rearguard! Their versatility was
demonstrated further in the Russian campaign of
1812 when the two companies quartered in the
Kremlin were each equipped with six 12-pdr.
fieldpieces and two howitzers from the Moscow
arsenal.
Re-organised in ,8'3-'4, the Seamen manned
ferries and served as engineers and infantry in the
Leipzigcampaign; Baste, commanding an infantry
brigade, was killed at Brienneon 29]anuary 18'4.
Whendisbandedon30]une 1814theSeamenofthe
Guard numbered 14 officers and 336 men. A
subaltern (enseigne) and 21 marins followed Napo
leon to Elba, and a unit of94 men, later enlarged
to 150, was re-established upon his return; they
served with the engineers during the Waterloo
campaign, af\d weredisbanded on '5 August 1815.
6
A final comment upon theSeamen ofthe Guard
was provided by apoleon himself: 'What should
wehavedonewithoutthem?...Assailorstheyhave
in no way deteriorated, and they have shown
themselves the best of soldiers. When occasion
required they proved equally valuable, whether as
sailors,soldiers,artillerymenorengineers; therewas
no duty they could not undertake.'
The Middle and
YOung Guards
Fusiliers
The infantry ofthe Jmperial Guard was expanded
by a decree of Ig October 1806, which created a
Fusilier regiment of two battalions, each of four
companies. The 1st Battalion was recruited from
the 2nd Battalions of Grenadier and Chasseur
Velites, and the 2nd from conscripts taken partly
from the departmental reserve companies; the
effective strength was to be t,200 plus NCOs,
corporalsanddrummers. Recruitshad tobeatleast
five feet sixinchesin height, and the new corps was
administered bythe ChasseursitPied.Someofficers
camefrom theOldGuardandothersfrom theLine.
A decree of 15 December 1806 transformed the
regiment ofVeIites (composed ofthe 1st Battalions
ofGrenadier and Chasseur Velites) into a second
regiment of Fusiliers, which was to have a
theoretical strength of1,800and be attached to the
GrenadiersitPied. Thefact that thissecond Fusilier
regiment was formed from the senior Velite
Fusilier-Grenadier: print by Pierre Martinet. Shako with
baltalions perhaps accounts for confusion in some white cords, loop and chevrons, brass plate, scarlet plume.
Bluecoatwithwhitelapelspipedscarlet, scarlet cuffspiped
sources as to the order in which the Fusilier
white with scarlet vertical piping instead ofa proper Hap;
regiments were raised, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs scarlet turnbacks; white epauletles with scarlet strap edged
white; white sword knot.
formed before the Fusiliers-Grenadiers but from a
more junior cadre. Their organisation remained
similar throughout the Empire, though on 5 conscriptsmightreduce thevalueoftheformer; but
January 1811 a fifth company was added to each in theeventitworked theoppositeway,inelevating
battalion with the title ofFusiliers-Sergents, which the value ofthe recruits. The title 'Young Guard'
were laterconcentrated into a battalion; and on 26 wasassigned to the newly-raised regimentsin 180g,
December 1813 each battalion was allotted a sixth but the term 'Middle Guard' came into use about
company. 1811.
There had been doubts (especiallyin the mind of Despiteobstructionfrom the War Ministry (who
Bessieres) about the formation of 'junior' Guard tended to neglect Guard affairs, probably through
corps, in case the combination of veterans with resentment over the Guard's near-autonomy,
7
causing Napoleon to write to Minister Dejean to
ensure the paymentand clothingofthe Fusiliers, 'I
learn that my Guard is in difficulties ... remove
these obstacles promptly') the first detachment of
I,549 Fusiliersleftfor campaigninDecember 1806,
equipped but lacking greatcoats. By the beginning
of the following year the height requirement for
recruits from the Line had risen to five feet eight
inches. From the beginning the newer Guard
regiments were committed to action first, the Old
Guard, as Napoleon wrote, 'being so precious, one
fears to expose them'; thus the Fusiliers-Chasseurs
distinguished themselvesatHeilsbergwhilsttherest
of the Guard was kept in reserve. In 1808 the
Fusiliers went to Spain, serving at the Madrid
rising, Medina and Guadalajara.
In Napoleon's economy drive of 180g, which
disbanded the 'extremely expensive' 2nd Grena
diers and Chasseurs ii Pied, the Fusiliers were
retained despite being, wrote Napoleon, 'in an
awkward spot between Guard and Line, costing
twiceasmuch asaLinecorps'. In addition, the first
ofmanynewYoungGuard regimentswereraisedin
180g, mostly from conscripts but with cadres from
ex.isting Guard units or selected Line personnel, a
processoftransfer from one unit to another within
the Guard which would continue throughout the
Empire. Preferring not to risk the Old Guard,
.Napoleon wrote: 'In war, I profit more from the
fusiliers and conscripts than from the grenadiers
and chasseurs. If the word "conscript" has an
unpleasant connotation, we might call [the new
regiments] "tirailleurs".'
Tirailleurs and Conscripts
Thus, the first regiment of Tirailleurs of the
Cuard-Iiterally 'skirmishers' equipped and uni
formed as light infantry, was formed on 16.January
180g for attachment to the Grenadiers ii Pied, and
hence styled Tirailleurs-Grenadiers. Two bat
talions strong, each ofsix companies, the regiment
(A) The original pattern Iwbit of Fusiliers-Grenadiers a~ had a strength of 2,000, later 1,600; officers and
parently worn upon forDlation: blue with blue collar and
shoulder straps piped scarlet, white lapels piped scarlet, NCOsweretakenfromtheOldGuard.On2gMarch
scarletcuffsandflapspipedwhite,scarletpocketpipingand
180g two further regimentswere created: a corpsof
turnbacks(alternatively,scarletshoulderstrapspipedwhite).
(B)TheultimateFusilierMGrenadierhabit:bluewithbluecollar, Tirailleurs-Chasseurs (attached to the Chasseurs ii
whitelapelsandcuffftapS;scarletcuffs,pocketpipingandre
styledturnbackswithwhiteeaglebadges;redepauletteswith Pied); and a regiment ofconscriptsattached to the
whitestripesandfringe(orwhitewithredstripes).(C)Habitof
Grenadiers, styled Conscrit-Grenadiers, again or
Fusiliers-Chasseurs: blue with white lapels; scarlet cuffs
piped white;scarletpocketpipingand turnbacks with white ganised in two battalions of six companies each.
eagle badges; green epaulettes with scarlet crescent and
Two dayls later another three regiments were
fringe.
8
* * * * *
B
C
formed, the 2nd Conscrit-Grenadiers and 1St and (A)Officers'sabre.YoungGuard.(B)UpperbandofFusiliers
Grenadiersofficers'shako--goldembroideryonblackvelvet.
2nd Conscrit-Chasseurs; and on 25 April 1809 the
(C)UpperbandofFusiliers-Chasseursofficers'shako.(D)Gilt
2nd regiments of Tirailleurs-Grcnadiers and gorgetoranofficeroftheYoungGuard,withsilvereaglemotif.
Tirailleurs-Chasseurs.
These regiments resulted in a new hierarchy Department, all 'intelligent, literate, robust, and of
withintheGuard,astheFusilierswerenolongerthe suitable height'. In all, the depot ofthe Conscripts
juniorcorps, and though not Old Guardsmen they ofthe Guard received 6,000 men from theelassesof
were now the 'old soldiers of the Young Guard'. 1808-09·
The Tirailleurs were assigned officers and COs
from the lately-disbanded 2nd Grenadiers and VeIites
Chasseurs it Picd (who retaincd their Old Guard In March 1809 two further Guard units had been
statusand pay), and from the5tCyracademy; and formed: a battalion ofVClites in Turin and one in
'At thcend oftwoyears' service,Tirailleurs may be Florence, recruited from volunteers with the usual
admitted to the Fusiliers; and after four morc, into vilile stipulation of 200 francs per annum, with a
the Old Guard; but only by virtue ofan Imperial French cadre from the Guard. The 600 Florentine
decree.' The Conscript regiments were dresscd as Velites were formed as a bodyguard for Napoleon's
light infantry and paid as troops ofthe Linc; field sister Elisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, from
and company officers came from the Guard, recruits from the Tuscan Departments at least 18
subaltcrns from the Velites or 5t Cyr, and COs yearsofageand five feet ten inches tall, with NCOs
(,vcteransofFriedland, atleast') from the Fusiliers. and the commander, Major Dufour, from the
Losing450 men for this purpose, the Fusiliers were ChasseursitPied.TheTurinVeliteswereraised asa
reinforced by a levy of four conscripts from each bodyguard for Napoleon's brother-in-law Prince
9
