Uniforms

Generally speaking, the companies comprising the units in Oudinot's commands wore the uniforms of their parent regiments. There is evidence, however, that the at least some grenadier and carabinier companies of the Grenadiers de la Réserve in 1805 adopted red turnbacks and the elements from the regiments légère added red pointed cuffs. The Tirailleurs du Pô, Tirailleurs Corses and Légion Portugaise wore their own distinctive uniforms.

Flags

A fanion belonging to the 4e Régiment of the Grenadiers de la Réserve dating from 1805 is documented by Rigo. This device was white and measured 46cm square. In the centre was a gold eagle above which was the legend Grenadiers de la Reserve in gold script, beneath it was the unit designation 4me Regt.

There has been some controversy concerning the flags carried by the battalions of Oudinot's two divisions in 1809 and this particular subject was discussed in Empires, Eagles and Lions several years ago. [9] To be brief, during 1808, starting with the decree of 18 February, a number of confusing orders were promulgated in the context of eagles. It will be remembered that this decree not only reorganized the infantry battalions, it also increased the number of battalions in a regiment. These additional battalions were without eagles and the end result of subsequent instructions was that the number of eagles was reduced from one per battalion to one per regiment, kept with the main body of the regiment, which usually meant that it was carried by the first battalion.

Remaining battalions were to replace their eagle and associated drapeau, with a colour (enseigne). Article 18 of the decree of 18 February 1808 states, "chaque bataillon de geurre aura une enseigne portée par un sous-officier...." ("each service battalion will have a colour carried by a non-commissioned officer...."). On 9 March 1808 it was proposed that these be four 'pieds' square (approximately 128cm) and Mme Challiot, who had been involved in the design of the Model 1804 drapeaux, was commissioned accordingly. On 8 June 1808 the size of the enseignes was ordered to be made smaller and a number of other descriptive details given. On 12 July 1808, however, Napoleon decided that the eagles would remain with their respective battalions until the new enseignes had been delivered. [10]Correspondence as late as 8 April 1809 shows that they had not yet been presented and the eagles remained with the battalions.

The fact of the matter is that the proposals for the replacement battalion enseignes were never executed and both Regnault [11] and Charrié agree that the Armée d'Allemagne and the Armée d'Italie did not even start return their excess eagles until the end of 1809, in other words the regiments of both those armies continued to carry all their eagles and drapeaux throughout the 1809 campaign.

It was not until the decree of 25 December 1811 that the junior battalions of the infantry regiments received a flag which consisted of a simple fanion coloured white, red, blue, green and yellow for the second to sixth battalions respectively; examples of other unofficial schemes also exist. [12]

To return to Oudinot, this surrender of eagles, of course, is only in the context of the three service battalions, the fourth, or depot battalion, of each regiment did not have an eagle or drapeau. We have already discussed how the battalions of Oudinot's Divisions were formed from these depot battalions and numbered the fourth service battalions of the regiments in question. In the same correspondence of 8 April 1809, mentioned above, it was ordered that "chaque bataillon du corps Oudinot fasse faire un petit drapeau de serge tricolore portant d'un côte le numero de la demi-brigade et de l'autre le numero du bataillon"; ("each battalion of Oudinot's Corps will make a small tricolour flag of serge carrying the number of the demi-brigade on one side and the number of the battalion on the other"). According to Rigo these were produced and distributed in April 1809.

It has been said that there was insufficient time for these flags to have been made. [13] This is a very strange statement because at least one of these flags is known to have been captured by the Austrians. I just wonder if some confusion has been generated in the context of the enseignes described inthe Decree of 18 February 1808, which were never presented, and the fanions ordered for Oudinot's Corps on 8 April 1809, which certainly appear to have been. The fanion taken by the Austrians was lost by the 1er bataillon of the 4e demi-brigade de ligne at Ebelsberg on 3 May 1809, and is preserved in Vienna. [14] This flag measures 127cm in the staff and 78cm in the fly and consists of the familiar tricolour, except that instead of being disposed 'north/south', so to speak, in the conventional way, the colours are disposed 'east/west' with red at the top and blue at the bottom. The central white band carries the legend 4.Br1.BA in red. In addition, a battalion fanion, which sounds suspiciously like one of these flags, was also taken from a II Corps unit, presumably 15 a battalion of 1st or 2nd Division, at Wagram during Oudinot's attack on Baumersdorf on 6 July. There can be, therefore, no doubt whatever, that at least some of the battalions of Oudinot's Corps received the fanions described in the correspondence of 8 April 1809.

Footnotes