Housing

The palaces of the king were huge affairs in which 7,000 people lived. Generally, the palaces had walls 2 to 8 feet thick (wider at the bottom) and 10 to 30 feet high. Wall ranged in length from 1,400 to 4-5,000 feet, the area enclosed ranging from 80 to100 acres. The walls were of red mud baked by the sun, must have been covering some sort of frame, the tops of the walls were decorated with the heads of slain/decapitated enemies. At one palace the main gate had skulls embedded in the clay wall. The typical building within the compound was a one storey, the king lived in a forty foot high two storey rectangular structure (up to 130 long), with eight shuttered windows, made of red clay with a thatched roof. Sometimes the buildings were whitewashed and decorated in bas-relief, but mostly with skulls and jaw-bones. Supposedly the Amazons lived in these. Some smaller buildings could either be square or round. Other buildings within the palace were sheds or verandas. Apparently, the palaces were strictly for women and eunuchs, of course the king, but no men.

Uniforms

The Amazons wore a blue and white striped tunic/shirt without sleeves to about the knees under that they wore shorts to two inches below the knees. The strips were 1 1/2 inches wide. As a belt they used the cartouche-box. Battledress tended toward darker colors, which is apparently worn over the tunic and shorts (but not always, sometimes just the tunic and shorts) but belted in the same way. Colors include: dark blue, various tans, rust colored, and gray. Sometimes with white sashes over the left shoulder, sometimes waist sashes. Most could be splashed brown-dried blood. Amazon scouts could wear long grasses for camouflage. For headwear they wore headbands of dark color, skullcaps of white, red nightcaps, and for this war with the French there might still be a few brass red plumed firemen’s helmets the French gave them in 1851. The officers could wear horns some of silver, but headdress could be almost anything in hats. Heads were mostly shaved but could sport a few tufts of hair, to officers with half hair and half silver helmet, sometimes the half hair would be dyed indigo blue. There could be some uniformity within units.

Weapons

The weapon of choice was a smooth bore flint lock musket, but could be anything from a musketoon to a four and a half foot barrel, to even some blunderbusses. Apparently they could fire at least three shots a minute. By 1891 modern, rapid-firing, breech loading rifles started to appear sold to them by German traders. By 1892 the Dahomean army had 4 to 6,000 rifles of all makes and models. At least 2,000 rifles were purchased from German arms dealers in 1891 this included rapid fire Spencers, Winchesters, Chassepotsfive mitrailleuses, six Krupp cannon and shell, and 100,000 rounds of ammo. In exchange the Germans took shiploads of slaves for use in their colonies. At least one German spent a month training Dahomians in the use of the new weapons.

While there were 2,000 repeating rifles the majority of the Dahomey army used muskets, blunderbusses, bows and arrows, and short swords/machetes.

The armies purpose was not to fight pitched battles but to undertake slave raids on the frontiers of the empire.

The Dahomians excelled at melee particularly the Amazons. They were disciplined and well trained in musketry, siege and physical fitness.

All soldiers carried machetes and most had daggers. The Amazons who wore the fire helmet also carried what is described as a straight razor with a blade about two to two and a half feet long, used as a two handed weapon. Other weapons included axes, clubs, bows, cross bows and spears. Some Amazons carried long red-handled brass spears. Scabbards and quivers were generally black. Each warrior carried a grass rope for tying prisoners. Clothes and food was carried in packs while cartridge pouches, bullet pouches, water and gunpowder gourds, fetish bags and many other items were worn around the waist.

Dahomey War Part 2

Housing, Uniforms, and Weapons of the King
Campaigns and Dahomey Warfare
French OB for 1892 Dahomey War and Battles
Available Figures

Dahomey War Part 1

Uniforms: French
War Background
History
Amazonian Army