A Short History of the Uniform - Part 5 - The Development of the Uniform from the 17th to the 18th Century Using the Example of France

In the second half of the 17th century a unified government authority with absolute power emerged in France. When Cardinal Mazarin died on 09.03.1661, the young King Louis XIV declared that he would appoint no successor and would henceforth rule personally. However, he allowed himself to be advised by the Secret Council of State. State power now concentrated entirely in the hands of King Louis XIV (05.09.1638 – 01.09.1715). He is regarded as the principal representative of courtly absolutism and became a model for many other European rulers. Convinced of the divine right of kings, the monarch presented himself magnificently and, after overcoming the noble Fronde, claimed absolute authority in all state matters as an autocrat.

Through aggressive foreign policy (War of Devolution 1667–1668, Franco-Dutch War 1672–1678, Nine Years' War 1688–1697 and War of the Spanish Succession 1701–1714) he established France as a European great power, expanded the mercantilist domestic economic system and attempted to free the French Catholic Church (state church) from the influence of the Pope in Rome. By establishing a specialized and centralized bureaucracy and a directed state economy, he had a lasting impact on the social structure of the estate society. One essential pillar of his absolute power was the military, which protected royal sovereignty externally and internally.

Supported by his capable war ministers Le Tellier (1603-1685) and (his son) the Marquis de Louvois (1641-1691), after the extensive disempowerment of the relatively autonomous military entrepreneurs or colonels a new standing professional army emerged, which wore the "king's coat" and became the symbol of the absolutely ruling monarch (see also: Fuchs, Theodor, Geschichte des europäischen Kriegswesens. Teil II. Von der Aufstellung der ersten stehenden Heere bis zum Aufkommen der modernen Volksheere, Munich 1974, p. 8 ff. and Fiedler, Siegfried, Grundriss der Militär- und Kriegsgeschichte. Die stehenden Heere im Zeitalter des Absolutismus 1640 -1789, 1972, p. 38 ff., as well as: Vincent Cronin, Der Sonnenkönig, Frankfurt/M., 1979).

In 1638 the French infantry consisted of 36 French and 25 foreign regiments (Fuchs, Theodor, Geschichte des europäischen Kriegswesens. Teil II. Von der Aufstellung der ersten stehenden Heere bis zum Aufkommen der modernen Volksheere, Munich 1974, p. 21).

From 1635 the battalion with a uniform strength and organization had established itself as the fixed subdivision of the regiment.

Around 1670 a military reform was carried out under King Louis XIV. The number of infantry regiments was initially reduced to 29.

These had, among other things, one grenadier company each with 2 officers and 69 men.

Already in 1668 it was customary for each company to have 4 grenadiers. The grenadiers stood on the right wing in the battle order.

The grenadier companies were assembled from the best men of the regiment. In 1748, 48 grenadier battalions were formed from all grenadiers, which formed a special corps = Grenadiers de France.

At the time of the death of the "Sun King" (01.09.1715) the French army allegedly numbered 400,000 men.

For the year 1756 Mollo (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Uniformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 34) gives the strength of the French army as a total of 213,000 men, of which 37,000 men belonged to the cavalry. 165,000 men belonged to the infantry, 5,400 to light units and 5,400 to the artillery.

At that time there were 80 infantry regiments of varying strength, namely 12 units with 4, 2 units with 3, 50 units with 2 and 16 units with 1 battalion.

According to Müller (O. Müller, Taktik und Organisation der Franzosen 1748 bis 1763, in: Zeitschrift für Heereskunde) the infantry was divided into "French" and "foreign regiments." "A regiment under one colonel had 2 to 4 battalions. One battalion was organized since 1748 into 13 companies, of which 12 each consisted of 40 men (including 2 sergeants, 3 corporals, 3 lance-corporals, 1 drummer), while the 13th company had 45 grenadiers as its complement.

Each infantry company had 1 captain and 1 lieutenant, the grenadier company also 1 sub-lieutenant. The entire battalion was about 606 men strong. In addition there was 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel and 1 major (since 1748 the senior officers no longer had companies). Until 1748 each battalion had 3, after that year only 2 flags.

Several battalions (about 6 battalions; the number varied according to circumstances) formed a brigade. A division was the term used for a single marching column during the advance of an army in several columns."

According to the Military Almanac for the year 1779 the French army consisted of:

1.      Maison du Roi (= royal household troops)

2.      Infantry

3.      Cavalry/ Dragoons/ Hussars

4.      Artillery Corps

5.      Engineer Corps

6.      Provincial troops and garrison battalions

Text on the house and court troops to follow.

Text on the house and court troops to follow.

Text on the house and court troops to follow.

In 1779 there were 106 infantry regiments. At that time the foreign regiments included 10 Swiss, 7 German, 3 Irish and 2 Italian units.

In 1776 it was decreed that each regiment should consist of 2 battalions. Only the King's regiment had 4 battalions. Each battalion comprised 4 fusilier and 1 grenadier companies. In addition there was 1 light infantry (chasseur) company. The fusilier and chasseur companies each counted 121 men, the grenadier companies 108 men each.

According to Mollo (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Uniformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 138) the French cavalry in 1756 consisted "of 61 regiments, of which 59 consisted of 2 squadrons, one of three and the carabiniers of 10 squadrons. They were distinguished into general staff regiments, royal regiments and those of princes and nobles. A squadron was divided into four companies with 8 officers and 140 soldiers." According to the regulation of 1776 a cavalry regiment counted 5 squadrons, of which 1 was a chevaulegers squadron. Furthermore there was an extra squadron as a reserve for departures (Escadron auxiliaire). The strength of a squadron was – including officers – 174 men.

Since 1667 the individual existing dragoon companies had been organized into regiments. At the outbreak of the Seven Years' War there were 16 such regiments, each with 16 companies of 40 men each.

The unit was a so-called foreign regiment. It was raised in 1677 and initially consisted exclusively of Swiss. In 1792 the Swiss soldiers were discharged and paid off. In the Napoleonic era it became the 76th line regiment.

Under King Louis XV the hussars, according to Mollo (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Uniformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 164) were "without exception foreigners".

After 1752 there were only 7 hussar regiments left, by 1776 there were only 4 hussar regiments.

From 1693 the artillery was called Royal Artillery and was reorganized in 1720. It then consisted of 5 battalions. These battalions had special training establishments assigned to them.

The artillery battalion consisted of 5 companies of artillerymen, 2 companies of gunners and 1 company of sappers.

According to the ordinance of 03.11.1776 the artillery corps was organized into 10 general inspections, 6 artillery schools, 7 artillery regiments, 6 companies of miners, 9 companies of earthworkers (ouvriers), 22 directorates and 15 war commissaries.

The engineer corps consisted of 329 officers, among them 12 directors.

The engineers were organized into 21 brigades. The directorates and brigades were distributed across the border provinces.

Furthermore there were the provincial troops and the garrison battalions, namely 106 battalions. Of these, 26 battalions were organized into 13 regiments.

Before 1670 uniform dress existed only in rudiments, if one disregards the uniformly and splendidly outfitted household troops. Thus the "Gardes-françaises", founded in 1563, were dressed in the liveried colors of the French king: blue, white and red (see the illustrations above).

The standardized military dress was officially introduced in 1670, but initially only for the foreign regiments, and from 1674 for the entire army. "Louvois placed great emphasis on avoiding any useless luxury, and he often had to quarrel with regimental colonels over useless braids and ornamental trim. What he insisted on was that the uniform be made of good French cloth and be as similar as possible to the recruit's clothing, in order to avoid problems in cutting and fitting. In October 1672 Louvois notified the colonels that the king wished to distribute a 'justaucorps' to every soldier – presumably of good grey droguet; with that the first step was taken" (John Mollo, Die bunte Welt der Uniform. 250 Jahre militärischer Tracht 17. – 20 Jahrhundert, Stuttgart 1972, p. 32).

From then on, the development of military and civilian clothing increasingly followed separate paths.

From civilian dress developed (according to Geßler, Die Entstehung und Entwicklung der Uniform in der Ciba-Rundschau) in uniform history the body-fitting coatee which was equipped with wide sleeves. These were turned up at the front.

The coat lining became visible through the sleeve cuffs and later (from 1757) through the turned-back skirt flaps, and always had a different color than the base color of the coatee.

Under the actual coat a waistcoat was worn, which was also regularly of a different color.

Stockings were worn with the tight knee-breeches, tied above the knee.

Only late – around 1757 – were these replaced by white or black gaiters.

Trousers were consistently white from 1760.

A broad-brimmed felt hat was worn with these, whose brims were at first turned up on only one side and were trimmed.

From 1720 the hat acquired a uniform triangular shape (= tricorne).

From that time black cockades on the tricorne became common.

The long-worn hair gave way to the queue (ponytail) style.

From 1763 the grenadiers officially wore fur caps (without cap plate), although they had also been worn earlier (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Uniformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 141). Additional insignia of the grenadiers were red saber tassels and red grenades on the skirt flaps.

From 1779 the skirt flaps of the fusiliers' coatee were adorned with fleurs-de-lis.

Top left: winged cap of a hussar around 1785.

Top right: dragoon helmet (officer) around 1785.

Middle right: tricorne of a cavalryman around 1760.

Middle left: officer's epaulette 1760.

Bottom: front plate of an officer's grenadier cap. Around 1774 - 94.

The initially gray or gray-brown color of the coatee made of natural wool changed over time to the white base color typical of the French infantry of the Ancien Régime. This is already reported for the period from 1715. By 1744 the white base color had become established. However, this applied only to the national French units.

Other base colors remained characteristic for the foreign regiments, namely red for the Swiss regiments, blue for the Germans, red for the Irish and blue (?) for the Italian regiments.

According to Jany (same, Geschichte der Preußischen Armee vom 15. Jahrhundert bis 1914, Vol. I, p. 340) the uniforming of the French army originated with the foreign regiments.

The coatee, which followed long the line of civilian clothing, was decorated with distinguishing insignia of different colors, in order to be able to distinguish the regiments. Royal regiments had blue and princely regiments red insignia.

The fitting of brass or zinc buttons, the different arrangement of the buttons, singly, in pairs or in groups of three, and the placement of the pocket flaps – vertical or horizontal – allowed further differentiation of the various regimental uniforms.

Lapel facings (Rabatten) were rather rare or were found among the foreign regiments, e.g. in the infantry Régiment allemand d`Anhalt or the Régiment allemand Royal-Deux-Ponts (see Rigo, Le plumet, plates AR 50 and AR 16). But the "Grenadiers de France" also wore royal-blue coats with red facings, and the buttonholes had white braid (Rigo, Le plumet, AR 21).

The waistcoat was also usually of a different color.

From 1740 collars in the respective facing color appeared.

After 1763 the cut of the coatee was kept tighter, probably after the Prussian example. In this context the reform of the uniforming of the French army in 1776 is of particular note (see: Ströhr, Uniformierung der französischen Armee von 1776 bis gegen 1781, in: Mittheilungen zur Geschichte der militärischen Tracht. Als Beilage zu seiner Uniformkunde).

The "habit-veste" was introduced. This military coat was tighter in cut and could be closed from top to bottom when required. Its base color for the national French infantry regiments was white, as well as for the – from 1778 – grenadiers-royaux and for the provincial troops. The latter were abolished in 1775 and reintroduced on 20.01.1778. The Swiss and the Irish (66, 67, 68, 72, 79, 88, 89, 90, 91, 95, 99, 102 and 105) wore madder-red military coats; for the Germans, Italians and Corsicans (54, 63, 65, 80, 92, 100, 101, 103 and 104) the base color was sky blue. The Corsican militia wore brown in the Corsican cut. The corps royale de l`infanterie de marine, the artillery, the cannoniers garde-côtes and miners, the cavalry, the engineers, the rural police (maréchaussée) and the invalids had military coats in the color royal blue, that of the dragoons was dark green.

The "habit-veste" had a narrow turned collar whose color did not follow that of the other insignia or was independent of it (see Ströhr, pp. 15–16 for details). In the infantry regiments No. 72 and 89 the insignia were white piped; in the provincial troops and the "grenadiers-royaux" the piping was royal blue and for the engineers scarlet.

The buttons were made of yellow or white metal. On some regiments the buttons bore an embossing with the coat of arms of the regiment proprietor, e.g. for the hereditary regiments of the princes.

In the corners of the skirt flaps grenades were attached for the grenadiers and bombardiers of the navy. For the naval gunners it was a cannon barrel, otherwise the fleur-de-lis. The color of these insignia corresponded to the base color of the military coat, except for the marine infantry, where the color of the collar was chosen.

The tricorne with black edging continued to serve as headgear. This was only allowed to be made of velvet.

The officers of the engineer corps had gold braids.

The plume, initially worn as ornament in three-part division, became the pompon-plumet.

The equipment of an infantryman also included a cloak with collar, sleeve cuffs and buttons (overcoat = redingote) in the color of the uniform coat.

Non-commissioned officers were recognized by a gold or silver trimming with loops or by other gold or silver braiding on the sleeve cuffs.

They also carried a pole weapon (short musket).

According to Mollo (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Uniformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 34) "it was not strictly necessary to be of noble birth, although most officers had blue blood. However, nothing stood in the way of a capable officer buying a company and thereby advancing to lieutenant-colonel or higher. In 1734, of ten newly appointed staff officers three were grand seigneurs, five came from the landed nobility and two were of lower origin. The fact that the number of non-noble officers in the French army after 1748, about 4,000, made the Edict of Fontainebleau of November 1750 necessary, whereby in certain cases these bourgeois were personally or hereditarily elevated to the nobility." Bluche (Francois Bluche, Frankreich zur Zeit Ludwig XVI. Leben und Kultur an Vorabend der Revolution, Stuttgart 1989, p. 255 ff.) writes the following about the development of the composition of the French officer corps: "The war ministers Saint—Germain and later Marshal de Ségur set aside all these age-old customs, by which every social group got its share and which thus formed an important factor of mutual understanding; the former because he wanted to favor the class of country squires from which he himself came; the latter – as his son later claimed – decided in favor of the party that supported him. In May 1777 the Comte de Saint-Germain announced one of his 98 reform edicts that he issued in the 18 months of his tenure: he tightened the admission criteria at Mézières. From then on every applicant was 'required, first of all, to prove ... that he was of noble birth or the son of a higher-ranking officer; namely a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, a major or at least a captain and a knight of the Order of Saint-Louis.' However, this policy did not mean that noble origin alone was sufficient for admission; for the entrance examinations at Mézières forced the nobles who wanted to enter the royal engineer corps to acquire extensive mathematical knowledge beforehand. These entrance examinations, in which the mathematician Gaspard Monge examined the candidates, already foreshadowed the difficulties of the later entrance examinations of the École polytechnique founded before 1794, of which Monge was a co-founder. In France, however, the bourgeois convinced of and committed to his military vocation had always been an element of renewal in the army. This was now dangerously suppressed by the new regulation. The infamous royal decree of 22 May 1781 then made this type of career restriction universally binding... One must still find out under what conditions the remaining 1,400 officers in this period could become officers without the Saint-Louis qualifications – who obviously did not have to provide proof of nobility. One can make the following considerations and calculations: The court genealogists Chérin and Berthier issued 2,000 certificates of nobility during this period, but these often concerned children of such young age that they could hardly have entered military service before the outbreak of the Revolution. Assuming therefore that half – about 1,000 – of the certificates issued by Chérin and Berthier helped to enter the officer career, about 400 of the above-mentioned 1,400 officers would have been bourgeois. Furthermore, if of the 500 sons of knights of the Order of Saint-Louis probably only 300 were true nobles and the remaining 200 were also bourgeois pretending to be noble, then overall 600 bourgeois would have managed to evade the anti-bourgeois decree of 1781, i.e. 20 percent of the newly appointed young officers. Thus this clumsy measure did not remedy the grievances complained of by the impoverished nobility, but poisoned the relations of the nobility with a certain layer of the bourgeoisie and, above all, deprived promising non-commissioned officers (bas officiers) of any hope of a proper rise into the officer career. Some of them later rose to generals, favored by the revolutionary events."

The officer class in the Ancien Régime essentially continued the hereditary warrior class of knighthood, although officers were subject to strict discipline. An pronounced code of honor was characteristic. This had consequences. "The increased sense of honor among officers was the cause of countless duels, because despite all the 'preciosity' (of the fashionable affected behavior of the time) this rather wild nobility valued honor and glory above all else. The severest punishments that soon followed every duel were hardly able to curb this evil. Even battles were still seen as duels of the commanders..." (Fuchs, Theodor, Geschichte des europäischen Kriegswesens. Teil II. Von der Aufstellung der ersten stehenden Heere bis zum Aufkommen der modernen Volksheere, Munich 1974, p. 17). Bluche (Francois Bluche, Frankreich zur Zeit Ludwig XVI. Leben und Kultur an Vorabend der Revolution, Stuttgart 1989, p. 253) reports on conflicts between officers and bourgeois from 1780 and writes critically: "They were, as a contemporary described them in 1788, like 'pretty dolls, well-groomed, powdered and perfumed, who could have competed with a Vestris (a famous dancer of the time) in dancing. They only went out in the sun with a parasol, and if they once got wet feet, they immediately caught a cold.' Some indulged in the passion for gambling for their amusement, a widely spread vice in France, and others found their pleasure in duelling, a specifically military evil...."

Only in 1729 were the uniforms of officers regulated. Until then an official prescription of the clothing of the mostly noble officers was unthinkable. Therefore in France (and also in Spain) they made do with the tabard or casaque, which was worn over the coat and for example displayed royal symbols (cross with fleurs-de-lis and tongues of flame (in France) or the royal coat of arms (in Spain)). It was a kind of overcoat.

Above all, there was an effort to align the uniform of the officers with that of the rank-and-file. Officers originally often wore uniforms in the colors of the insignia of the respective regiment, i.e. in reversed colors.

From 1759 epaulettes were introduced that served as rank insignia. According to Knötel (Handbuch der Uniformkunde. Die militärische Tracht in ihrer Entwicklung bis zu Gegenwart, Hamburg 1937, reprint 1969, p. 157) they were worn as follows:

Colonel – 2 epaulettes with rich fringe trim

Lieutenant-Colonel – 1 epaulette on the left

Major – 2 epaulettes with less rich fringe trim

Captain – 1 epaulette with less rich fringe trim

Lieutenant/Sub-lieutenant – 1 epaulette with diamond patterns and fringes mixed with silk

From 1762 officers wore gilded standing collars.

The charges previously attached individually on the bandolier disappeared and were replaced by the cartridge box.

From 1666 a uniform caliber became common. 20 balls to a pound.

Subaltern officers preferably carried a bayonet-musket with them rather than the spontoon.

The soldier's equipment also included a knapsack made of dog or goat skin, which replaced the pack made of twill. "The knapsack made of sturdy, waterproof-impregnated linen, which could be closed with a cord like a sea bag, was hung over the shoulder. A canteen completed the personal equipment of a soldier. Bearing the 10 tools, 13 cooking utensils, 5 tents and the bread supply for four days, the 36 men of a company took turns" (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Uniformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 141).

The bandoliers for the cartridge box and the saber or small sword were originally worn crosswise. Later the waist belt came into use. The saber or small-sword was attached to this. The belt for the saber or small-sword was usually worn over the military coat before 1756. Wearing it unbuckled – over the waistcoat – only became customary later. Only when the military coat – e.g. in bad weather – was buttoned, was the belt buckled on again. For the whole army a hand-breadth wide white belt over the closed "habit-veste" was prescribed, only the hussars wore a sash.

"A decree issued in 1750 brought about a substantial simplification of cavalry uniforms. All soldiers were to receive so-called 'Bavaroises Allemandes', uniform coats with facings running down to the hem, a short leather natural-colored vest with sleeves à la Prussienne with narrow red cuffs, as well as leather knee breeches. The hat braid was to be silver-colored. The regiments differed in the color of the uniform coats and the facings, the type of braid used for shoulder straps, in the shoulder decorations on the cloak and the saddlecloths and finally in the buttons. This uniformity was not very popular and it did not take long before the regiments of princes and nobles deviated from these regulations again" (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Unformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 139).

In their uniform the dragoons were very similar to the infantry; after all they had originally developed as mounted infantry. Their uniforms, however, fundamentally had a red base color. Only the royal dragoon regiments wore blue uniforms. Instead of boots, gaiters with strapped-on spurs were worn. These "bottines" introduced since 1750 were worn by all ranks. Shoulder cords were also customary. Since the usual hats were inconvenient when shouldering and removing the musket, pointed caps were preferred, which developed from the camp cap (Preben Kannik, Uniformen in Farben, Berlin 1967, p. 147). The buttonholes were edged with braid.

The armament of the dragoons consisted of a musket with bayonet, a pistol and a small sword (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Unformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 204).

Later classicizing comb helmets became characteristic for the dragoons, which went back to models of the well-known Volontaires of Saxe.

The cavalry and the dragoons had light grey cloaks that showed a bluish tinge in color. The hussars had green cloaks.

Under King Louis XV the hussars, according to Mollo (John Mollo/ Malcolm McGregor, Unformen des Siebenjährigen Kriegs 1756-63, Munich 1977, p. 164) were "without exception foreigners". After 1752 there were only 7 hussar regiments left, by 1776 there were only 4 hussar regiments.

The hussar uniform remained (after 1776) as a mount with the typical braiding. The base colors of the 4 remaining regiments were:

Hussar Regiment Berchényi sky blue

Hussar Regiment Chamborant chestnut brown

Hussar Regiment Conflans grass green

Hussar Regiment Esterhazy silver gray.

The uniforming of military musicians (drummers and fifers) was largely determined by the regiment proprietor. The drummers had royal-blue coats with red-white braids.

The relatively heavy drum usually bore the painted French national coat of arms.

The artillery uniform was in the colors blue and red. The artillerymen were otherwise armed and equipped like the infantrymen. Equipment was left at the gun.

Rifles were procured by the captains of companies until 1716. After that procurement from certain specifically named factories was prescribed.

The musket used in the French army was a model from 1728. This model was revised in 1746 and again in 1754. The fusilier's cartridge box contained 19 charges, and a powder flask was part of the equipment.

"Very little was done for shooting training" (Armament and shooting service of the old French infantry. Jahrbuch für Armee und Marine, 1898, p. 222).

The socket or dill bayonet replaced the pegged bayonet around 1703. Now the stabbing weapon could be attached to the firearm without preventing the firing of the balls.