Collected Works:
Greenhill Napoleonic Books

Napoleon's Elite Cavalry

By Paul Chamberlain

Napoleon's Elite Cavalry October 1999 saw the publication of Napoleon's Elite Cavalry: Cavalry of the Imperial Guard, 1804-1815, price £40.00 hardback (ISBN 1-85367-371-4). This consists of 91 colour plates by Lucien Rousselot accompanied by a text by Edward Ryan. The artwork is superb! Rousselot was one of the leading experts on the uniforms and equipment of the French army and produced much artwork that illustrated the more intimate details of this subject, making these paintings a unique reference source for the subject. Rousselot researched his subjects thoroughly by looking through the archives of the army examining uniform cloth that had never been exposed to the fading effect of sunlight; reports of inspector generals; examples of uniform and equipment; and contemporary paintings and miniatures. One interesting fact to his credit was that he was not afraid to produce updated versions of his subjects as he did new research. Some of the many paintings he produced were done on commission from Anne Brown and delivered to her in 1957. They have been reproduced from the Anne S. K. Brown Collection in the USA. Napoleon's Elite Cavalry begins with an introduction that describes the history of the elite cavalry of the Imperial Guard, from their formation under the Consulate to their organisation under the Empire. The formations described and illustrated are the Chasseurs a cheval, Grenadiers a cheval, Dragons de l'Imparatrice and Chevau-legers Polonais. The role of these regiments in the French Army is described; they acted as a bodyguard for the Emperor and as a formidable striking force under his direct command. The text includes a description of their tactics, plus a glossary of terms and a list of ranks. The colour plates are a real pleasure to look at. Each plate is accompanied by text to describe the uniforms, equipment; ranks depicted, the Eagles carried, trumpeters, kettledrummers etc.; just about every aspect of each regiment. The uniforms are dealt with very comprehensively, so for the Chasseurs a cheval for example we see full dress, walking-out dress, and that worn on campaign. Aside from the detail that each painting provides on the uniform, each picture has a unique charm of its own. One plate shows a Chasseur trumpeter and officer in Sunday walking-out dress, stopping their stroll through a park to refresh themselves from a wine vendor. The study for each cavalry unit is as comprehensive as it can be, and includes where relevant, details of the Young Guard squadrons in 1813-14. In these paintings we see all aspects of a soldier's life in both peace and war. Each uniform is depicted in a unique setting. In the section on the Dragons de l'Imp=E9ratrice there is a guard on sentry duty dressed in an overcoat, with the scene depicting the soldier by a sentry box, with a sergeant and other sentries marching away in the background. One of the interesting facts that this book brings to light is that there were different regulations for walking-out dress for different times of the year, days of the week, and time of day! Aside from this information, much of the text relates historical anecdotes about the regiments. Rousselot covered his subject thoroughly, even to the extent of including some of the specialists who attended to the day-to-day uniform and equipment needs of the regiments. This attention to every aspect of the subject is illustrated by the inclusion of the master tailor of the Chevau-legers Polonais. Some of the most evocative paintings are those depicting the troops on campaign, especially in Russia. The book ends with Appendices listing the senior officers of the Guard cavalry; a brief history of the other cavalry regiments of the Guard; and a potted history of the Legion d'Honneur. Napoleon's Elite Cavalry represents a unique and highly-detailed reference source, which at the same time is a pleasure to read and look at. The price is very cheap for the amount of quality information contained within its pages. Greenhill Napoleonic Books: Collected Works Greenhill Napoleonic Books: Napoleon's Elite Cavalry Greenhill Napoleonic Books: On The Road With Wellington Greenhill Napoleonic Books: Other Books Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #51 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 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