The Uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I (1800 - 1815) - Imperial Guard - Mamelukes
The Mamelukes were probably the most colorfully dressed unit in the French army and were particularly visually striking because of their oriental attire.
Originally, military slaves were called this, for example in the Ottoman Empire. In Egypt a Mameluke state arose from the 13th century onward.
The small formation had its origin in the failed attempt to conquer Egypt by a French army under the command of Napoleon and was incorporated into the Imperial Guard on October 13, 1804. It consisted of two companies and a staff.
The newly formed unit was composed—besides former Syrian and Coptic soldiers—above all of Algerians, Armenians, Georgians, Circassians, etc.
The Mamelukes were intended to serve as the emperor's escort and were attached to the Regiment of Mounted Chasseurs.
The Mamelukes were initially to number 124 men; their strength subsequently fell to 102 and then rose again to 250 in 1813.
The Mamelukes also took part in military actions, e.g. in suppressing the uprising in Madrid during the Spanish campaign in 1808.
The unit was dissolved in 1814.
Only a few Mamelukes accompanied Napoleon into his exile on the island of Elba.
After the failure of the summer campaign in 1815 the remaining Mamelukes were sent back to Marseille, because the unit's depot was located there. There they were killed on June 25 in the course of increasing riots by royalists against so-called Bonapartists (= White Terror of 1815).
The Mamelukes' mounting was influenced by oriental styles, but the exact colors of the individual garments were not prescribed.
As headgear they wore a so-called tarbush with a white turban (made of muslin), decorated at the front with a crescent and a star, and above it there was a pompon with a plume.
From 1807 a taller kahuk was worn. This too was wrapped with a turban.
Over a loose shirt or kollet (later with a collar) a sleeveless vest (jalek) was worn. Its colors varied—red or green or yellow, etc.
The trim was also different and colorful.
The legwear (Scharual) was a colorful—often red—pair of baggy trousers; the boots also existed in various colors, often red or yellow.
The officers' uniforms vied with one another in their splendor.
Their armament consisted of pistols and richly decorated curved sabers; however, other weapons were also carried additionally, e.g. battle axes or clubs.
Like the uniform, the horses' equipment was extremely colorful and heavily ornamented. Striking were the distinctive large oriental stirrups.
The timbalier (kettledrummer) of the unit is shown further below.
There the various types of saddlecloths used can also be seen.
Les Uniformes du Premier Empire. Historical card series (published from 1907). The following illustrations are based on the original (!) card series.
Sources.
Brunon, Raoul and Jean, Garde Impériale Mameluks, Marseille n.d.
Cmdr. Bucquoy, Les Uniformes du Premier Empire, L'Infanterie, Paris 1979 ff.
Fallou, L., La Garde Impériale (1804-1815), Paris 1901 (Reprint Krefeld 1975).
Liliane and Fred Funcken, Historical Uniforms. Napoleonic Era, Vol. 2, Munich 1978.
Philipp Haythornthwaite / Michael Chapell, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Russian Campaign, Munich 1977.
Philipp Haythornthwaite, The Uniforms of the Battle of Waterloo, Munich 1976.
LA VIEILLE GARDE IMPÉRIALE. Illustrations by JOB.
Knötel / Sieg, Handbook of Uniform Studies, Hamburg 1937.
Paul Martin, The French Army 1789 - 1807, Stuttgart.
Rogers, H. C. B., Napoleon's Army, Stuttgart 1976.
Lucien Rousselot, Napoleon's Army 1800 - 1815, Berlin 2010.
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