Spotlight on
L'incomparable 9e Leger

9è Re-enactment and Recreation

by Terry Crowdy and Martin Lancaster,
Illustrations by Terri Julians
Photos by kind permission of 9è Légèr and Mëck Hoffmann

The recreated version of the 9e Leger goes back to 1978 when it consisted of just 3 people. These men were already experienced Napoleonic Re-enactors who wanted to learn from the previous mistakes of themselves and others. They chose light infantry because they wanted to avoid being Guard troops (they felt that it would be insulting to claim glory which they could never truly deserve).

Light infantry also had advantages because it allowed a greater variety of activities, being able to act as line troops as well as skirmishers. Their limited initial numbers also made it sensible to look towards skirmishing first. They chose the number 9 simply because they found a picture of a Chasseur from the 9e Leger so it made research easier. The names of these three men are Ian Edwards (who only left the group in 1998 after 20 years valuable and much appreciated service), Clive Appelby & Ron Greatorex (who have both recently rejoined).

Access to accurate research was very limited in those days, especially for people who did not speak French fluently, but sterling work was done to recreate the uniforms with limited information. Within a few years the group had over a dozen members fully equipped, which was a respectable number for those early days. They then realised that they were falling into the same trap that so many other re-enactment groups had done in almost every period. They felt that they were failing in their ultimate task of accuracy and were ultimately doing little more than themed camping. They wore uniforms which were a mere approximation of the originals, they knew little of the true life of the soldier, their drill was based upon guesswork and the members tended to be intellectual unlike the men they were trying to portray.

There then followed many years of real research, but very different to that carried out by the traditional historian. Famous names, dates and places were irrelevant to them, as was the details of the great battles. They focussed entirely on the simple soldier, the rules and regulations that governed him, intimate memoirs of the junior ranks, original inspection reports and the real clothing left in the museums of Europe. They learned the difficult lessons of how and where first hand information can be obtained. This was a very frustrating task for men whose French linguistic abilities were virtually limited to 'The pen of my aunt is in the garden', which is of little use when talking to Parisian anglophobic librarians.

Matters were complicated because the more research they did the more it because clear how vast the job would be. However good progress was made and slowly they understood as far as possible what they needed to know. The drill was changed to conform to the original regulations, the military day was understood and applied, old uniforms were discarded and replaced with items of the correct cut and materials. Manufacture and supply was very difficult in those days, there were no re-enactment suppliers, there was nobody to give advice, the old man-made materials were not available in the shops. It took a lot of painstaking effort to move forward, but they succeeded. They taught themselves to work with leather and cloth, they had whole rolls of cloth specially made and they succeeded.

The 9e Leger made many groundbreaking changes in these times. Most groups today accept many of these things as normal, but many people ridiculed their efforts at the beginning. The 9e Leger were the first group to have bayonets, the first group to use flintlock muskets, the first to have real working backpacks, the first to wear gaiters with real button fastening instead of Velcro, the first to do the correct drill, the first to wear the correct shoes, the first to wear the correct shirt. The list goes on and on.

The next problem they had to face was how to attract members who were more soldierly. They recognised that most of the soldiers of 200 years ago would have been less than 25 years old, but the uniforms were often too expensive today for people of this age group to afford. Each man then selflessly placed a sum of money into a central pool and agreed to pay a fixed sum every month towards uniform costs. This meant that it was possible for any new member to be equipped immediately from the depot regardless of their financial situation because the monthly money requirement was minimal. This created a change in the average age of the group, which can still be seen today. The 9e Leger generally has younger and fitter men in the ranks than other units.

There was also a change in the type of member attracted to the group. Although there is still a large number of historians and wargamers in the 9e Leger there is an ever-increasing number of people who see participation in the unit as a sporting activity rather than an intellectual pastime. These people enjoy the discipline of the drill, the teamwork of skirmishing, the smartness of the uniforms and the variety of locations rather than the historical interpretation. This has also helped everyone to appreciate the fun sides to being a member of the 9e Leger and, as with most male dominated hobbies, everyone works hard and plays hard too.

It is important to remember that the Napoleonic Wars took place over a quarter of a century and there was much discussion about what specific year the 9e Leger should represent. It was eventually agreed that the only way to represent the real experiences of the time was for this to change every year. Therefore in 1988 the project was officially restarted as a bicentennial unit to mark the original formation of the Chasseurs des Cevennes exactly 200 years before. This unit was to become the 9e Demi Brigade d'Infanterie Légère during the French Revolution and will become the 9e Régiment d'Infanterie Légère in the Empire.

The idea of becoming a bicentennial group, which has also been copied by other groups, had the additional advantage that they are particularly sought after when towns, cities and countries wish to mark their own place in the history of 200 years ago.

The 9e Leger was present in Paris on Bastille day 1989 and since then has attended other bicentennial events all over Europe from France to Austria and the Netherlands to Malta. There are also events that are of special importance to the unit, Marengo in June 2000 being one of the most notable because that was where the original 9e Leger earned the title 'Incomparables'.

The Marengo date brings us conveniently to the present day and we can look at what the recreated 9e Leger looks like now. Although Britain remains the stronghold of the unit, there are also members in Luxembourg and Germany. Their current strength is now over 60 men which makes them one of the biggest re-enactment groups in the world. With good drill and equipment and a magnificent esprit de corps they live up to their forefathers' name of Incomparable.

Details:

Membership fee £25, monthly subscription £15, uniform supplied free of charge. 6-8 events per year (it is mandatory to attend at least 3 each year)

Free International Travel.

For more information please contact: Martin Lancaster, 82 Finchley Park, London, N12 9JL, England. Tel: 0181 3439871. Email: martinlancaster@phoenixtravel.co.uk

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