Although associated in the popular imagination with the Middle Ages, the science of heraldry has continued into modern times and, indeed, every major figure in the Waterloo campaign had his own coat of arms. In the British Army, at least theoretically, a grant of arms should be issued with every officer's commission. Many Prussian officers, and certainly any with "von~' in their names, would have been entitled to a coat of arms. The arms ofWellington and BlUcher are indicative of two men of noble, but nonetheless modest origins who have had successive honors heaped upon them across years of distinguished service. Wellington's English arms are the best known, but other variations existed, since he held various titles and distinctions in most of the Allied countries. Blacher was strongly associated with the formation of the order of the Iron Cross and this insignia figures prominently in his arms. By contrast, Napoleon's personal arms were very simple, consisting of an eagle clutching a sheaf of thunderbolts, a symbol derived from the standards of the Roman legions. Noble titles and coats of arms were common in France in 1815, but this had not always been the case. All coats of arms and titles of nobility had been abolished by the Revolutionary legislature in 1793. After four years of declining acceptability and legal recognition, inscribed swords of honor and similar awards were the main marks of distinction in France for the next ten years. The panoply of nobility began to make a comeback with the declaration of the Empire in 1804. The Legion of Honor (initiated 19 May, 1802) began to take on the characteristics of a traditional order of knighthood. Patents of nobility began to be handed out, but from 1805 to 1808 this was done in a rather haphazard fashion, usually involving members of the Bonaparte family and their spouses, and often consisted of the assumption of foreign titles, which required no change in French law or customs. This unregulated period came to an end in 1808. On I I March, the Senate definitively created a new imperial nobility. On I March Napoleon had created the Council of the Seal of Titles, a small group of government officials knowledgeable in heraldry; headed by Jean-jacques- Regis Cambaceres, arch-chancellor of the Empire. This Council was somewhat similar to the English College of Heralds in that it had only delegated authority, the ultimate decision on granting arms and titles resting, if need be, with the Emperor. In its early deliberations, the Council decided to create a system of arms and titles that resembled that of other countries but with an important difference. The new coats of arms would be readily identifiable as awards for merit, rather than having been acquired by heredity~ Whereas in England only baronets had a mark on the shield itself to identify their station, all Imperial arms would bear a system of devices, usually a canton in the upper left- or right-hand corner, to readily explain what the bearer had done to warrant such an award. A soldier would have a sword somewhere on his shield, a jurist a set of scales, a mayor a stylized section of city wall, etc. It should be noted that this unwillingness to slavishly imitate the aristocratic past also extended to the system of Imperial titles. There might now be extravagant titles, but none of them were connected with places on French soil. Napoleor~s marshals might now be princes and dukes, but they were princes and dukes of Pontecorvo, Dalmatia, Istria, and Rivoli. No member of the new Imperial nobility held title to any French lands or had power over any Frenchmen. So it was that Napoleon's government and the army that marched north with him in 1815 contained many men entitled to a coat of arms. Everyone in the army from a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor through the ranks of baron, count, duke, and prince was so empowered. These distinctions were not displayed in the field, of course, but might appear on a signet ring, stationery, or a senior officer's chinaware. Many of the Imperial arms were conventional, especially in the military. Swords in various positions were often to be seen. Variations on a lion holding a sword or standard were very common. Many a cavalry officer such as Guyot and Exelmans had a galloping horse somewhere on his arms. Other arms were more memorable, some even verging on the bizarre. The defiant Cambronne had a lion surrounded by ten grenades. Baron Larray, chief surgeon of the Imperial Guard, had a camel, cobra, and pyramid, commemorating his service in the Egyptian campaign. General Friant of the Granadiers of the Guard also had a pyramid in his arms. Baron Lallemande, commanding the chasseurs a cheval of the Guard, bore a centaur firing a bow and arrow. Baron Marbot, the noted chronicler and commander of the 7th Hussars, bore for his arms a completely accoutered and mounted hussar in silver on a blue field. In 1815 a small stag was added to an upper canton of Marbot's arms, taken from the ancient arms of his family. Baron Pir, the light cavalry commander, was also among the small number of officers who bore his noble familys pre-1793 coat of arms, in his case a boar's head. "Canting" arms (i.e. arms that make a pun on the bearer's name) were very common in the Middle Ages, and make an occasional appearance under the Empire. The Comte de Lobau had a sheep in one section of his arms; his family name had been Mouton. Baron Guiton, commander of the 2nd Brigade in the 11th Cavalry Division, had a gui (a heraldic sprig of mistletoe) in his coat of arms. An interesting coat of arms of the period, and one that reflects the Napoleonic desire that arms bear witness to the deeds of the holder, was that of Hubert-Jules Taillefer, surgeon-major of the Marines of the Guard, which featured an anchor entwined with a serpent. No description of Napoleonic heraldry would be complete without mention of Joseph Fouch, Napoleon's sinister chief of Police, whose arms bore a serpent coiling around a column. Little has been written in English about the heraldry of the Empire, but a great deal of information can be found in A. Reverend, Armorial du Premier Empire, Jean Tulard; Napoleon et la Noblesse d'Empire, and Revue francais d'heraldique et de sigillographie 2 (1939). Back to Table of Contents -- Against the Odds vol. 1 no. 3 Back to Against the Odds List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by LPS. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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