Cavalry Trumpeters

(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 fall of the First French Empire, up to today, have often added a layer of fantasy by depicting trumpeters wearing items of clothing that were never theirs, according to research, such as white-fur bearskins for example). As a further distinctive element, the trumpeters, unlike the other troopers would ride grey horses.

Below, each of my five trumpeters so far is shown alongside a regular cavalryman of the same unit for comparison.

A cuirassier trumpeter and a regular cuirassier (as you can see, even in armoured cavalry units, the trumpeters would normally wear no armour):

A carabinier trumpeter and a regular carabinier:

A chevau-léger from an elite company (as shown by the red epaulettes) and a trumpeter from the same unit:

From the Horse Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, a trumpeter wearing his regular, light-blue uniform alongside an ordinary trooper:

At last are shown a Dragoon of the Imperial Guard and a Dragoon of the Imperial Guard trumpeter (just like the Dragoons of the Guard would wear a uniform slightly different from the one wore by the dragoons in the regular army, the Dragoon of the Guard trumpeters had a special uniform different from the one worn by their colleagues in the regular army; click on this link to see an updated version of the dragoon trumpeter):