Napoleon's Brick Guard and Army

(From left to right: a cuirassier trumpeter, a carabinier trumpeter, a chevau-léger trumpeter, a Horse Grenadier of the Imperial Guard trumpeter and a Dragoon of the Imperial Guard trumpeter.) Up until 1812 when Napoleon introduced a uniform green livery for the musicians of his Guard and army, cavalry trumpeters would wear a distinctive and original uniform inspired by the one worn by the ordinary troopers in their respective units but distinct enough so that the trumpeter was easily identifiable on the battlefield. Often, the distinctive colours worn by a cavalry unit were also present on their trumpeters' uniform but swapped around (for example, if the regular troopers wore a green coat with red lapels, the trumpeters would wear a red coat with green lapels). Before the introduction of the imperial livery for musicians, the trumpeters' uniforms were in any case extremely varied and colourful, with each regiment creating the most fanciful attires. (Illustrators from after the...

Emperor Napoleon I had inherited his Horse Carabiniers regiments from the Ancien Regime. Considered elite soldiers, the troopers would wear (until 1810) a uniform fairly similar to the uniform of the Horse Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard (blue coat and bearskin) and like them would also ride black horses (another sign of the unit being considered an elite one). As a result, the Horse Carabiniers were sometimes mistaken by the enemy for the Horse Grenadiers of the Guard. After 1810, the two units (both elite troops although the carabiniers were never part of the Imperial Guard during the First French Empire) would become much easier to tell apart as Napoleon decided to adorn his carabiniers with one of the most outlandish military outfits of the Napoleonic times, if not ever: white uniform, gilded cuirass and gilded helmet topped by a big red plume (called chenille , French for caterpillar). Equipped with this new armour, the carabiniers would become the other armoured cavalry unit of ...