Jean has been nudging me to write something for months. So, while waiting for some figures to dry, I'll get down to my subject. It appears, from what I have been able to discover that (with a few exceptions) French cavalry were the only troops which constantly used firearms during battle conditions. After discussing the types of arms used by hussars in his book Napoleon's Hussars, Emir Bukhari goes on to state: "It should be concluded that firearms were seemingly considered a poor second to the sabre as far as the cavalry was concerned, despite their obviously crucial benefit in such instances as the classic impasse of cavalry versus infantry square or even versus fellow cavalry. Incident at Eylau in 1807: Colonel Castex asked if the carbines were loaded... he ordered "Present carbines!"...and when the Russian (dragoons) were only six paces away, the Colonel gave the order, rapidly, "Fire!" The order was executed by the regiment as if on exercise. The effect of the discharge was terrible: nearly the whole of the first rank of the dragoons was put out of action.... --Souvenirs de Capitaine Parquin, 1892 "Admittedly the necessity for reserving fire until the last minute might have... to do ... with the poor range of the weapon, but well-armed light cavalry were full of potential that bad yet to be developed .... Had the masses of cavalry, impotently facing the British squares at Waterloo, been deployed in skirmishing order with pouches full of cartridges and the newly developed rifled carbine, the outcome might have been quite different." Although the cavalry apparently issued fire from horseback, it seems, as yet, that only chasseurs kept the practice of routinely dismounting as light infantry. WESTPHALIAN DECORATIONS Jerome created the Order of the Crown of Westphalia in December, 1809. The inscription read "Character and Sincerity," and the order consisted of three grades: the Grand Cross; 1st class chevalier; and 2nd class chevalier. In June, 1809, be created the "medal of honor" for under officers and other ranks. The medals were suppressed as of October 26, 1813, with the dissolution of the kingdom. WESTPHALIAN GENDARMERIE Almost the same organization as the French, with approximately the same type of uniforms. Bicorn with silver edging, cockade and red plume; dark blue coat with red collar, cuffs, lapels, and turnbacks; white buttons and aiguilette; white breeches and bigboots; dismounted troops with dark blue breeches and black gaiters, white belts. The gendarmes acted in several mop up operations but whether or not they ever fought in battle has eluded the writer--although it is quite possible that they fought in minor skirmishes. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 24 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1978 by Jean Lochet This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com