ix) Provincial Legions Origins The Provincial Legions were raised by a decree of May 15th 1806 and were to consist of a variable number of companies of fusiliers. a company of grenadiers, one of voltigeurs and one of dragoons. the latter consisting of a captain. a junior captain, a lieutenant, a second lieutenant, three NCOs two farriers, eight corporals, two buglers, forty mounted dragoons and fifty on foot. Admittance to the Legions was only open to land owners and the mounted dragoons had to provide their own horses, as a result of which they came from among the elite of the rural community. However. in November 1808 the dragoons were ahsorhed into the Guardie d'Onore and the infantry element was apparently reorganised into a variable number of companies of grenadiers and voltigeurs. First Uniform (1806-1814) Coat For both infantry and dragoons the coat was the standard habit coat. Depending on the province. the coat and facing colours varied as can be seen in table 1. TABLE 1 PROVINCIAL LEGIONS 1806-14 Province Coat Collar, lapels, cuffs, cuff flaps, turnbacks Buttons Waistcoat Calabria Ultra Calabria Citra Basilicata Black Red White Red Lecce Bari Lucera Brown Yellow White Yellow Chieti L'Aquila Teramo Brown Sky Blue Yellow Sky Blue Pricipato Ultra Principato Citra Terra di Lavoro Blue White Yellow White Grenadiers wore scarlet epaulettes and voltigeurs green ones, while the fusiliers and dragoons wore coat coloured shoulder straps piped in the facing colour. Trousers Infantry could wear either breeches in the coat colour with gaiters. white breeches or white trousers. while the dragoons wore white breeches with heavy cavalry boots. Headgear In the early days all ranks wore the bicorne, this bearing the French cockade and a black plume tipped in the facing colour. After about 1808 the infantry adopted the line infantry shako with the same metalwork as for the Naples City Guard but in the button metal, red cords and plume for the grenadiers and the same in green for the voltigeurs. The shako plate bore either a grenade or a hunting horn, depending on the company. Equipment Infantry companies were equipped in exactly the same manner as their equivalents in the line units while the dragoons were armed with a dragoon pattern musket and a brass hilted sabre with a white or black strap and knot, this being carried in a brass mounted. black leather scabbard. In addition, they carried a plain cartridge pouch. No details of horse furniture are known. Officers' Uniforms Officers had the usual distinctions in either gold or silver, depending on the button colour. Musicians Musicians wore coats of reversed colours. The facing being decorated with red. white and blue lace. Swallows' nest epaulettes in the facing colour were worn, these also having the lace trim. The bicorne bore a facing coloured plume with a white tip. Second Uniform (1814-1815) Coat The new coat was a dark green Spencer with facing colours as per Table 2. Alternatively, a surtout could be worn; this had the collar and pointed cuffs in the same colours as the Spencer and was piped in the facing colour. Grenadiers wore amaranth epaulettes while those of the voltigeurs remained green. Turnbacks were decorated with either a grenade or a hunting horn, these being in yellow on the blue and black turnbacks and green on the others. TABLE 2 PROVINCIAL LEGIONS 1814-15 Province Collar Lapels Cuffs Cuff Flaps Buttons 1st Military Divn Terra di Lavore Orange Orange Orange Orange Brass Contado di Molise Green Orange Orange Orange Brass 2nd Military Divn Principato Citra Yellow Yellow Yellow Yellow Brass Principato Ultra Green Yellow Yellow Yellow Brass Basilicata Green Yellow Green Yellow Brass 3rd Military Divn Abruzzo Citra Medium Blue Medium Blue Medium Blue Medium Blue Brass 1st Abruzzo Ultra Green Medium Blue Medium Blue Medium Blue Brass 2nd Abruzzo Ultra Green Medium Blue Green Medium Blue Brass 4th Military Divn Capitanata Dull Yellow Dull Yellow Dull Yellow Dull Yellow Silver Bari Green Dull Yellow Dull Yellow Dull Yellow Silver Lecce Green Dull Yellow Green Dull Yellow Silver 5th Military Divn Calabria Citra Black Black Black Black Silver Calabria Ultra Green Black Green Black Silver Note: All coloured facings were piped green and vice versa. Trousers Dark green breeches were worn with short gaiters. Headgear The same shako continued to be worn with the metal work in the button colour and the amaranth and white cockade. Equipment Equipment was identical to that issued to the grenadier companies of the line regiments. Officers' Uniforms Officers wore the same uniform as the men but with the epaulettes and gorges in the button colour, the latter bearing a gilt grenade or hunting horn. Their shakos bore cords and flounders in the button colour while the company plume was worn over a button colour pompon. Officers were armed with an epee which had the hilt, strap and scabbard mounts in the button colour while the scabbard itself was of black leather. Musicians No information is available. More Uniforms of the Neapolitan Army 1806-1815 Part 1: Line Infantry Part 1: Light Infantry Part 2: Cavalry Part 2: Artillery Part 3: Guard Infantry Part 3: Guard Cavalry Part 3: Guard Artillery Part 4: Naples City Guard Part 4: Provincial Legions Part 4: Provincial Companies Part 4: Cacciatori Volontari dei Tre Abruzzi Part 4: Internal Security Guards Part 4: Gendarmeria Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #16 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com