by Tony and JF Broughton
Within eighteen days of the Coup d'Etat of Brumaire a descision was taken that a new force should be created and on the 11th November 1799 it was decided to merge the Garde du Directoire with the Garde du Corps Legaslitif and to reinforce it where nessecary, its title was to be the Garde des Consuls. A decree was issued on the 28th November 1799 that the force would consist of:
Two Battalions Grenadier a Pied. One Company Chasseurs a Cheval. Two Squadrons Grenadiers a Cheval. One Company Artillery Legere. The full breakdown of the Gardes des Consuls being: Staff
1. General de Brigade, Commandent en Second. 4. Aides de Camp. 1. Adjudant General (in charge of administration and service) 8. Adjudants superieurs - (4 Chefs de Brigade and 4 Chefs de Bataillon or d'Escadron) 6. Adjoints aux Adjudants generaux. 1. Commissaire Ordonnateur. 1. Commissaire des Guerres. 1. Quartier-Maitre Tresorier (Chef de Bataillon or Chef d'Escadron) 50 Musiciens, with (1. Chef and 1.Sous-Chef, 25 mounted and 25 Foot) 2. Ecrvains. The two Bataillons a Pied would consist of six Companies and the Company Legere would be the same. Grenadiers a Pied
2. Chef de Bataillon. 2. Adjudant-Majors-Capitaines. 2. Adjudant-Majors-Lieutenants. 2. Porte-Drapeau. 2. Chirurgiens de Premiere Classe. 1. Maitre Armurier. 1. Maitre Taileur. 1. Maitre Cordonier. 1. Maitre Guetrier. 1. Tambour-Major. 2. Corporaux -Tambours. Company Formation. The Infanterie Legere Company formation would be exactly the same as a Grenadier Company. Gardes a Cheval Staff
5. Chefs d'Escadron. 1. Capitaine-Adjudant-Major. 1. Capitaine-Quartier-Maitre-Tresorier. 1. Capitaine-Instructeur. 5. Adjudants. 5. Porte-Etendard. 2. Chirurgiens. 1. Maitre Tailleur. 1. Maitre Sellier. 1. Maitre Bottier. 1. Maitre Armurier 1. Maitre Eperonnier. 1. Maitre Culottier. 1. Trompette-Major. 1. Brigadier-Trompette. Grenadier a Cheval Escadron,Company formation.
1. Lieutenant en Premier 1. Lieutenant en Second. 1. Sous-Lieutenant. 1. Marechal-des-Logis Chef. 4. Marechaux-des-Logis. 1. Fourrier. 8. Brigadiers. 96. Grenadiers a Cheval. 1. Marechal-Ferrant. 2. Trompettes. The Chasseur a Cheval Company formation would be the same as the Grenadiers a Cheval, two Companies to each Squadron. Artillerie Legere.
1. Capitaine en Second. 1. Lieutenant en Premier. 1. Lieutenant en Second. 1. Adjudant Sous-Officier. 1. Maerchal-des-Logis Chef. 4. Marechaux-des-Logis. 1. Fourrier 4. Brigadiers. 40. Cannoniers 1er Classe. 52. Cannoniers 2e Classe. 2. Trompettes. The Garde des Consuls first Commander was General de Division Murat and his full title was Commandent en Chef and Inspecteur general of the Gardes des Consuls de la Republique , his appointment began on the 2nd November 1799, but did not last long. At the end of 1799 the Garde des Consuls contained 2089 men. When Napoleon became First Consul he wrote that his plans for the Garde were for it to become the model of the Army and he would permit admission to the Guard any person who through his actions or wounds or by experience gained in many Campaigns, his bravery and love of their country. Their attachment to discipline and their good conduct. The minimum requirements being, they must be no less than 25 years old, between 5ft 10in and 6ft in height. They must have participated in three campaigns in the wars of liberty and be able to read and write. Gardes des Consuls at the end of 1799Staff
Commandent en Second: General de Brigade Bessieres (Jean-Baptiste) Aides des Camp: Riviere, Beaumont, Nogues and Didier. Adjudant-General: Caffarelli. Adjudants superieurs,Chefs de Brigade: Beranger, Fuzy, Ponsard and Blanchard. Adjudants superieurs,Chefs d'Escadron: Dubois, Oelhert, Humbert and Auger. Adjudants: Lefebvre, Dumoustiers, Clement, Regnault, Lenoir and Freyre. Commissaire Ordonateur: Dubreton. Commissaire des Guerres: Charamond. Quartier-Maitre-Tresorier: Moreau. Ecrivains: Verry and Dimay. Grenadiers a Pied
Chefs de Bataillon: Soules (1st Bataillon) and Tortel (2nd Bataillon) Adjudant-Major-Capitaines: Barbe and Pierron Adjudant - Sous-Lieutenants: Fla-mand and Faucon Porte-Drapeau: Leon-Aune and Morlay Chirurgiens: Marigues and Dudoujon 1er Bataillon 1er Compagnie
Lieutenant: Carre Sous-Lieutenants:Bourdillet, Descombe 2e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Davignon. Sous-Lieutenants: Brousse, Villemeureux. 3e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Viel. Sous-Lieutenants: Redon, Demoulins. 4e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Guyon. Sous-Lieutenants: Flaeurentin, Boutin 5e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Vezu. Sous-Lieutenants: Boudin, Ciron. 6e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Larousse. Sous-Lieutenants: Basin , Dornier. 2e Bataillon. 1er Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Dutrone. Sous-Lieutenants: Henry, Deneuilly. 2e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Guillemard Sous-Lieutenants: Delvolvee , Lemaitre. 3e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Hasse. Sous-Lieutenants: Dunoyer, Pilate. 4e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Favre. Sous-Lieutenants: Blondeau, Aubert. 5e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Chautard Sous-Lieutenants: Mellier, Bouhour 6e Compagnie.
Lieutenant: Rouvoire Sous-Lieutenant: Dufour, Laurede It should be noted that whilst only one Sous-Lieutenant is called for Emile Marco de Saint-Hilaire gives two in his publication Histoire, Anecdotes, Politique et Militaire de la Garde Imperial, 1846 edition 2 vols. I believe that the last person named is in fact the Sergeant-Major of the Company. Infanterie Légère Compagnie
Lieutenant: Caire Sous-Lieutenant: Bouzou Garde a ChevalChef de Brigade: Ordener (Michel)
1er Escadron Grenadiers a Cheval 1er Compagnie.
1er Lieutenant: Segauville 2es Lieutenant: Lajoie Sous-Lieutenant: Ricarde 2e Compagnie.
Capitaine: Monfrois.
2e Escadron Grenadiers a Cheval. 3e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Guillaume. 2es Lieutenant: Dujon. Sous-Lieutenant: Burgraff. 4e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Lahuberdiere. 2es Lieutenant: Auzoni. Sous-Lieutenant: Glachaut. 3e Escadron Grenadiers a Cheval 5e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Clerc. 2es Lieutenant: Vicien. Sous-Lieutenant: Croisier. 6e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Lignier. 2es Lieutenant: Messier. Sous-Lieutenant: Bourde. 1er Escadron Chasseurs a Cheval. 1er Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Montbrun. 2es Lieutenant: Schmit. Sous-Lieutenant: Martin. 2e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Rebout. 2es Lieutenant: Davranges. Sous-Lieutenant: Colonnier. 2e Escadron Chasseurs a Cheval. 3e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: France. 2es Lieutenant: Guyot. Sous-Lieutenant: Muzi. 4e Compagnie.
1ere Lieutenant: Bureau. 2es Lieutenant: Fournier. Sous-Lieutenant: Dubois. Artillerie Legere.
Capitaines en Second: Daugereau and Dijeon. Lieutenants en Premier: Chauveau and Marin Lieutenant en Second: Berthier Napoleon's Imperial Guard 1800-1815
Garde du Directoire (Nov. 1795) Garde du Directoire (Nov. 1796) Garde des Consuls (Nov. 1799) Marengo Campaign 1800--Awards Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #66 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 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 |