Uniforms of Napoleon

Uniforms of Napoleon
Portrait of Napoleon in his late thirties, in high-ranking white and dark blue military dress uniform. In the original image he stands amid rich 18th-century furniture laden with papers, and gazes at the viewer. His hair is Brutus style, cropped close but with a short fringe in front, and his right hand is tucked in his waistcoat.
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Emperor of the French
1st reign18 May 1804 – 6 April 1814
SuccessorLouis XVIII[a]
2nd reign20 March 1815 – 22 June 1815
SuccessorLouis XVIII[a]
First Consul of the French Republic
In office
13 December 1799 – 18 May 1804
Born(1769-08-15)15 August 1769
Ajaccio, Corsica, Kingdom of France
Died5 May 1821(1821-05-05) (aged 51)
Longwood, Saint Helena
Burial15 December 1840
Les Invalides, Paris
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1796; ann. 1810)​
​
​
(m. 1810; sep. 1814)​
Issue
more...		Napoleon II
SignatureUniforms of Napoleon's signature

At the beginning of his career, Napoleon was a soldier and wore the uniform of the French Revolutionary Army. In 1793 he was promoted to Général de brigade, in 1795 Général de division, and in 1796 he became commander in chief of the Army of Italy. In those capacities, he wore the uniform of a French Army general as promolgated by the regulations of January 1796. This was (as shown in the pictures below), a double breasted blue (woollen) coat with red collar, red cuffs with white flaps, gold oak-leaf embroidery on the collar, cuffs, pickets and fron tand rear openings, and a red and white sash with gold trim.[1] There does not seem at this point to be any differentiation between grades of general. Napoleon wore this in Italy, Egypt, and at the Battle of Marengo in 1800 (see the portrait below "Napoleon Crossing the Alps").

Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole in November 1796 by Antoine-Jean Gros in 1796.
Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798, by Antoine-Jean Gros in 1810 "From the top of those pyramids, forty centuries are contemplating you."
Napoleon crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David painted 1805
Napoleon as Revolutionary General

When Napoleon became First Consul through a military coup d'etat on the 18 Brumaire, he aceded to the primary military and civil authority. The position was considered by the constitution of the Year VIII a civil one. He eschewed his general's uniform. The consuls had their official state uniforms of scarlet velvet from Lyon embroidered in gold. During his everyday work, Napoleon had started wearing the uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Consular Guard. They were Napoleon's personal guard.

Antoine-Jean Gros, c. 1802 in the civil uniform of First Counsul.
Napoleon in 1803 as First Consul in his habitual uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde impériale, orig the Consular Guard. They were Napoleon's personal guard.
Bonaparte, First Consul in 1804 by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Napoleon as First Counsul

Napoleon very rarely wore elaborate clothing, but euring his Coronation he had special robes made of a white velvet vest with gold embroidery and diamond buttons, a crimson velvet tunic and a short crimson coat with satin lining, a wreath of laurel on his brow.[2]: 54  Before entering Notre Dame, Napoleon was vested in a long white satin tunic embroidered in gold thread and Josephine similarly wore a white satin empire-style dress embroidered in gold thread. During the coronation he was formally clothed in a heavy coronation mantle of crimson velvet lined with ermine; the velvet was covered with embroidered golden bees, drawn from the golden bees among the regalia that had been discovered in the Merovingian tomb of Childeric I, a symbol that looked beyond the Bourbon past and linked the new dynasty with the ancient Merovingians; the bee replaced the fleur-de-lis on imperial tapestries and garments. The mantle weighed at least eighty pounds and was supported by four dignitaries.[3]: 299 

Napoleon in his coronation robes 1804 by François Gérard in 1805.
Napoleon in ceremonial dress

As Emperor, in his daily work, Napoleon wore very simple but well made clothing of a colonel of his guard, a large but plain bicorne hat with an army cockade, and grey greatcoat.[4] He designed elaborate costumes for his marshals, officers, and senior functionaries that formed the military aristocracy of his empire.[5] Not only did this establish an immediately recognizable image for Napoleon, but the contrast between him and the rest of the court emphasized where the real power lay. The effect can be seen in the portrait of the Battle of Austerlitz below.

Napoleon at Austerlitz (2 December 1805)

Napoleon continued from his consular days to wear daily and on campaign the uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde Impériale (Vieille ) which had been his Consular Guard and provided Napoleon's personal guard.[6][7] He also wore on Sundays and special occasions (accounts differ) the uniform of a colonel of the grenadiers à pied de la Garde Vieille.[8][9][10] On his uniform jacket he always wore the star (usually embroidered into the coat) and medal of the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour with the red sash under his uniform coat. After the establishment of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805) he also wore the medal of the Order of the Iron Crown.

Napoleon in his daily uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde Impériale Vieille 1809 by Robert Lefèvre. They were Napoleon's personal guard.
Napoléon Ier en uniforme de colonel des grenadiers à pied de la Garde Vieille, c.1812 by François Gérard depicting a younger Napoleon.
Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries wearing the uniform of a colonel of the grenadiers à pied de la Garde Vieille by Jacques-Louis David, c.1812
Napoleon in the uniform wearing the ribbon, star and medal of the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour and the medal of the Iron Crown on Italy.
Embroided insignia of the Legion of Honour, detail of Napoléon's uniform of colonel of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Imperial Guard

For warmth, Napoleon wore his famous calf length gray greatcoat. Sometimes he wore blue or green ones. in the winter, as in Russia, he wore a longer fur lined great coat.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Haythornthwaite, Philip (1993). Napoleon's Campaigns in Italy. Oxford. p. 38.
  2. ^ Junot, Laure, duchesse d'Abrantès (1836). Memoirs of Napoleon, his court and family. Vol. 2. R. Bentley. Retrieved December 1, 2011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Wairy, Louis Constant (1895). Recollections of the private life of Napoleon. Vol. 1. The Merriam company. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  4. ^ Durant, Will and Ariel (1975). The Age of Napoleon. New York City: Simon and Shuster. p. 237.
  5. ^ Mansel, Philip (2005). Dressed to Rule: Royal and Court Costume from Louis XIV to Elizabeth II. New Haven, CT: Yale. p. 81.
  6. ^ Selin, Shannon. "What did Napoleon like to wear?". Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  7. ^ Masson, Frédéric (1894). Napoleon at Home: The Daily Life of the Emperor at the Tuileries. Vol. 1. Translated by James E. Matthew. London. p. 116.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Masson, Frédéric (1894). Napoleon at Home: The Daily Life of the Emperor at the Tuileries. Vol. 1. Translated by James E. Matthew. London. p. 116.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Samoyalt-Verlet, Colombe (1989). Katell Le Bourhis (ed.). The Emperor's Wardrobe in The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789-1815. New York. p. 204. Constant, the first valet of the emperor's household, was in the best position to know, and he reported in his memoirs that most mornings he helped the emperor into his green cavalry uniform. According to Baron Fain, however, Napoleon wore his grenadier uniform...when in Paris and his cavalry uniform when traveling on campaign. Marchand and Meneval give another view, claiming that the emperor wore the cavalry uniform on weekdays and the grenadier uniform on Sundays. Evidence in the portraits of the era are just as confusing as these written reports; they depict him in either uniform whether at war or in peacetime. Between November 1804 and June 1815, the account ledgers of Chevallier, who was the emperor's tailor until December 1812, and Lejeune, who succeeded Chevallier, mention thirty-nine green cavalry uniforms. The ledgers also reveal that the cavalry uniforms were mostly delivered at the beginning of military campaigns, again leading to the conclusion that Napoleon chose this as his wartime attire. It is hardly surprising that he would select the cavalry uniform when he knew he was going to be spending a great deal of time on horseback and would prefer the grenadier uniform at other times. In any event, the regulations of 1811 specify that delivery of the uniforms would be alternated: grenadier uniforms on January 1 and July 1 and cavalry uniforms on April 1 and October 1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Marchand, Louis-Joseph (1998). In Napoleon's Shadow. San Francisco. pp. 87–88. According to Napoleon's first valet, Louis-Joseph Marchand: The Emperor was consistent in the dress he had adopted: a three-cornered hat, the uniform of the guard's mounted chasseurs (that of the grenadiers was for Sundays in Paris), riding boots, or silk stockings with buckled shoes.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)