SIXTH BOOK.

____

YEAR 1806. *

___

FIRST CHAPTER.

NEW ORGANIZATION OF THE GUARD.

I.

NOTWITHSTANDING the successes of the Austerlitz campaign, in spite of the safety which the treaty of Presbourg was to inspire in France, as of commencement of the year 1806 Napoleon thought of only two things:  to strengthen his military organization, to increase his Guard.  A new coalition could be formed against him, more threatening and more to fear than that which he had just broken; the governmental thought of the Emperor thus moved entirely towards battles... His forecasts were not long in taking place.  He had created a great Empire whose base rested on constitutions and a Code emanating from civil authority; but he, the man of the camps, born from war within a vast quarrelsome movement, was more concerned with institutions, which filled the rising generation with the spirit towards conquests.  With the worship due to the Emperor that was taught from youth, it was expected to die for him.  The Imperial University was thus charged to work the thought of the schoolboy:  one raised him with the beat of the drum, he was exercised always like a soldier; each college of Paris was a true regiment-where the children received fusils and ranks.  From college, the young man passed either to the special school La Flèche, or to that of Fontainebleau, or finally to the polytechnic School, for, from there, to go to post on a battlefield.  The military service was the essential condition of the political life; also all, in society, had an army allure: one met in the streets of the capital only uniforms, there was success in the salons for whoever fitted the spur or girded the sword.  And this Imperial Guard, which already exerted on the French Army and Europe so powerful domination, was still going to increase its cadres.

*  By Imperial decree, dated from the Palace of Saint-Cloud, the 24-fructidor year XIII (September 11, 1805), it was made known that as of next 11 nivose (January 1, 1806), the Gregorian calendar would be put to use in the whole French Empire.

                Right from the start (1804), this troop of elite numbered in infantry one grenadier regiment and one of chasseurs.  The cavalry was composed of only one regiment of grenadiers and a regiment of chasseurs called the Guides, with two squadrons of elite gendarmes and two light artillery companies, forming a complete manpower of nine thousand seven hundred and ninety men.  This Guard, we say, after being increased by two thousand three hundred eighty-nine men in 1805, was to carry in 1806, fifteen thousand six hundred fifty-six men, because its cadres were increased by a second grenadier regiment, of a second regiment of foot chasseurs, of two battalions of vélites, and of two new regiments of infantry, under the name of fusilier-grenadiers and of fusilier-chasseurs of the Guard.  The cavalry would have a regiment of dragoons, under the denomination of Empress Dragoons; the artillery will be increased by a battalion of the equipment train; finally, it will not only triple the number of officers employed by the general staff and by the administration of the Guard to seventy-eight from the twenty one that it had at its origin.

                It is from 1806 that the Imperial Guard will form this admirable core when it is a question of deciding the fate of a battle, as at Marengo, as at Austerlitz.  Joined together in a corps, one will call these regiments the Old Guard, and this valorous phalanx will have so much confidence placed in it and in the chiefs who commanded it, that it will be believed as invincible.  Beautiful faith of the French soldier!  Henceforth, everywhere where the Old Guard will go, whatever the obstacle that one opposes it with, it will crush and ensure victory.  None of the brave men who make it up will bow their head in front of a ball or in the presence of the grapeshot; all will march facing straight to the sound of fire, with fixed eyes, and when Prussians, Spaniards, English, Austrians and Russians see from afar these shaking heads covered with scars, when these bearskins stir their short plumes as the wind of north stirs the young fir trees on the mountain, an inexpressible fear spreads itself among the enemy, who will flee with their approach without being able to understand the instinctive feeling which fascinates and masters them all at the same time.

                A decree, dated from the Palace of Saint-Cloud on April 15, 1806, thus subjected the Imperial Guard to the following new organization, namely:

FIRST TITLE (TITRE).

General dispositions.

                “ART.  1^st.  The Imperial Guard will be made up of:

                “There will be attached to each body of infantry two battalions of vélites, and to each regiment of cavalry only one squadron of vélites.”

                “ART. 2.  The general staff will be composed of four colonels-généraux, from which comes:

SECOND TITLE.

Infantry.

                “ART. 3.  Each corps of infantry will be composed of:

                “The battalions of old soldiers will be composed of four strong companies of one hundred twenty men each.”
                “Each one these battalions will be composed of four hundred and eighty men, and the total for the corps of one thousand and nine hundred and twenty men, all soldiers having at least ten years of service in the line.”
                “ART. 4.  Each corps of infantry will form three regiments, including two regiments of Guard and one of vélites; all three will have the same administration and will be placed under the same command.”
                “Each regiment will be commanded by a major.”
                “The staff of each corps will be made up in the following way, i.e.:

                “ART. 5.  Each company of foot grenadiers or of chasseurs will be made up of:

                “ART. 6.  Each company of vélites will be made up of:

                “ART. 7. The officers will cease being provided by detachment as they were formerly by the grenadiers and chasseurs; they will belong to these bodies and will be named by the Emperor.  The place of seniority for all ranks and all individuals belonging to the Imperial Guard will be regulated according to the seniority in the Guard.”
                “The noncommissioned officers will be selected among the most senior corporals of grenadiers and chasseurs; quartermasters and corporals, partly among the oldest vélites, and partly among the oldest grenadiers or chasseurs.”
                “ART.  8.  The Emperor will fix the number of masters of reading, writing, arithmetic and gymnastics who he will consider suitable to attach to each battalion.”
                “ART.  9.  In the event of war, and the Guard making a campaign, two companies of vélites will go with each battalion.”
                “Each one of these companies will be made up of one hundred thirty-five men, who will change the strength of each battalion to seven hundred and fifty men.”
                “At the time of the departure, all the companies of the battalion will be at once made up of one hundred twenty-five men, including eighty soldiers and forty-five vélites.
                “Each battalion of old soldiers will leave in depot, in Paris, twenty men and fifteen vélites by company, which will make, for each body of infantry, two hundred and ten men, and for the two corps four hundred and twenty men.”
                “The total staff complement of the infantry of the Guard will be, by this means, six thousand four hundred and twenty men, including six thousand with the army and four thousand with the depot.”
                “When the infantry of the Guard receives the order to provide a detachment to sleep away for several days, or for a voyage, it will detach two companies per battalion of vélites, which will carry the battalions of the Guard to six companies.  The vélites will be distributed by equal portions in the companies of the battalion, and the detached battalion will be of seven hundred and fifty men.”

               

THIRD TITLE.

Cavalry.

                “ART.  10.  The regiments of grenadiers, chasseurs and dragoons are composed of:

                “ART.  11.  The staff of a regiment of grenadiers, chasseurs or dragoons will be composed of:

                “ART.  12.  Each company will be made up of:

                “ART.  13.  There will be a company of Mamelucks attached to the regiment of Horse Chasseurs of the Guard.”
                “The Mameluck refugees who are in Melun will be sent to Marseilles, where they will enjoy the same advantages and will be paid in same manner as in the past.”
                “This company of Mamelucks will be made up of:

                “ART.  14.  There will be, for the regiment of cavalry of the Guard, a squadron of vélites.”
                “Each squadron of vélites will be composed of two companies of one hundred twenty-five men, not including the officers and noncommissioned officers.”
                “The officers, the noncommissioned officers and the sergeants will be provided by the regiments of horse grenadiers and chasseurs.”
                “ART.  15.  When a squadron of the Guard marches, for some type of service that it is, and this squadron will have sleep away for several days continuously, it will be changed to two hundred and fifty men by the incorporation of fifty vélites by squadron, so that, if the four squadrons went, they would form a total of a thousand men, including eight hundred old soldiers and two hundred vélites.”
                “The depot of each regiment, in Paris, will remain made up of forty-eight old soldiers and fifty vélites, in all ninety-eight men.”
                “ART.  16.  On campaign, each regiment of grenadiers, chasseurs or dragoons will form two regiments.”
                “Each regiment will be composed of two squadrons, and each squadron divided into two companies known as manœuvres.”
                “Each regiment will be commanded by a major under the orders of the two colonel commanders.”
                “There will be only one administration per distinct body of cavalry.”
                “The grenadiers, the chasseurs and the dragoons will have the same organization.”

Dragoons.

                “ART.  17.  A regiment of dragoons of the Guard is created.”
                “This regiment will be organized like the grenadiers and the chasseurs.”
                “ART.  18.  To this end, each regiment of dragoons of the line will provide, this year, for the formation of the dragoons of the Guard, 12 men having at least ten years of service.  The Emperor will name the officers:  the regiments of grenadiers and chasseurs will provide the noncommissioned officers and sergeants.
                “The officers of the regiment of dragoons will be provided per third; the first two thirds, by the regiments of grenadiers and chasseurs of the Guard; the other third, by the thirty regiments of dragoons of the line.”
                “The regiments of dragoons will appoint a lieutenant by squadron to be proposed as a candidate.”
                “ART.  19.  Two squadrons of dragoons will not be organized, this year; next year a new call will be made for ten men to form the two other squadrons.*

*The regiment of dragoons was entirely formed before the end of the same year.

                “ART.  20.  The final organization of the regiment of dragoons of the Guard will take place only from the 1^st of next July, except the squadron of vélites and the staff, which will be trained immediately.”
                “ART.  21.  The regiment of dragoons will be mounted on black horses.”
                “ART.  22.  All the regiments of cavalry of the Guard will have to be supplemented, as old soldiers, from the
^st of next July.”
                “ART.  23.  The noncommissioned officers and sergeants, attached at this moment to the two squadrons of vélites of the chasseurs and to the two squadrons of vélites of grenadiers, will be divided, in equal portions, in each attached squadron of vélites, by the present organization, with each regiment of cavalry of the Guard; excess will be reincorporated in the regiment of dragoons, as well as the senior officers of the two regiments of grenadiers and chasseurs who would not be included in the present organization.

FOURTH TITLE.

Elite Gendarmerie.

                “ART.  24.  The four companies of the elite gendarmerie will have the same organization and will have the same strength as a company of a regiment of the cavalry of the Guard.”

FIFTH TITLE.

Artillery.

                “ART.  25.  A regiment of horse artillery will be created.”
                “This regiment will be composed of:

                “The staff will be composed of:

                “ART.  26.  Each light artillery company will be made up of:

                “Thus the squadron will have one hundred old gunners and twenty-five vélites.”
                “ART.  27.  The six second captains will be detached from the park.”
                “ART.  28.  In times of peace, the three squadrons will be divided into two squadrons of old gunners and a squadron of vélites.”
                “ART.  29.  The horse artillery regiment will not have, in times of peace, three hundred horses, but all the men will be equally drilled in riding.”
                “There will be a company of workmen which will be made up of:

                “ART.  30.  There will be eleven employees of the park:

SIXTH TITLE.

Train.

                “ART.  31.  There will be a battalion of the train made up of six companies.”

                “ART.  32.  The staff of the battalion of the train will be made up of:

                “And each company of:

Horses of the train.

                “ART.  33.  The number of the horses of the train is fixed at two hundred and twenty for the whole battalion, in time of peace, and at a thousand in time of war.”

SEVENTH TITLE.

Administration.

                “ART.  35.*  There will be always in the Guard:

*(St. Hilaire seems to be missing Article 34. gmg)

                “These four adjutants will be lieutenants or second lieutenants;  they will be selected from among former soldiers of a recognized probity.”
                “They will serve in times of peace, so that in times of war they will be experienced in all the details which their employment comprises.”
                “ART. 36.  Portable ovens (fours) will be built so that, in time of peace as in times of war, the administration and all that depends on it are promptly and completely organized.”
                “ART.  37.  The form of administration, the pay, the allowances, the paydays (premiers mois), the remounts, and finally all that is not included in this decree will remain, for all the Guard, such as it was fixed by the first organization of the year XIII.
                “ART.  38.  Each corps of the Guard will have its baggage carts, its waggoners and its train horses always in state and ready to go on the first order.”
                “The ambulance will always be in the same state of readiness.”
                “The medical officers attached to the ambulance will serve, in time of peace, at the hospital of the Guard, called du Gros-Caillou.  There will be a head doctor attached to this hospital.

II.

CREATION OF ORDERLY OFFICERS.

                A second decree, dated from the palace of Saint-Cloud, September 19, 1806, prescribed the following provisions, namely:
                “ART.  1^st.  There will be close to us twelve orderly officers (officiers d’ordonnance) who will be useful to us in war and in our camps to transmit our orders.”
                “ART.  2.  These orderly officers will be under the command of our grand écuyer.”
                “ART.  3.  The orderly officers will be counted in the manner of the cavalry of the Guard, receiving some pay and the quantity of fodder rations allotted to the captains of cavalry.  Independent of this pay, they will receive an annual treatment of four thousand francs from our treasury.” *

*It was however only in January 1809 that the Emperor announced, by a decree on the 31^st, the provisions which definitively regulated the rank, the prerogatives, pays, the uniform and the nature of the service of his orderly officers, though a decision, made only a few days before, January 11 (see for this purpose BOOK IX of our work), declaring that as from January 1 of this year, the orderly officers would no longer form any part of the Imperial Guard. 

                Here are the provisions of the decree of 31 January 1809, dated from the palace of the Tuileries:

                “ART.  1^st.  The Emperor has twelve orderly officers, of the rank of captain, lieutenant or second lieutenant.  He will rank them, independently of their grade, by their seniority nearest the Emperor.  When they are promoted to a higher grade, they will cease being orderly officers.”
                “ART.  2.  The orderly officers are in department of the grand écuyer, who regulates their service: one of them will always be on service at the palace.  Every morning, the one on service gives to the service aide-de-camp, the list of orderly officers, with an indication of the place where each one of them is.”
                “ART.  3.  On campaign, the officer or the service orderly officer must always have a saddled horse, to be able to be capable to fill the commissions which the Emperor would like to give them.”
                “ART.  4.  The service orderly officer, in war, ride a horse and follow His Majesty all the time that he moves, either on horse, or in a carriage.  They place their horses in relay, like those of His Majesty, if that is necessary, so that they can follow him; or the grand écuyer distributes them so that there is always a number equal to those that are necessary for service near the Emperor.”
                “ART.  5.  The orderly officers must know infantry and cavalry maneuvers.”
                “ART.  6.  The orderly officers wear for an uniform a dress coat (frac) of the hussar, light blue cloth; facings, collar, reverse and lining the same; collar, facings and reverses embroidered in silver; scarlet waistcoat and light blue trousers, trefoil out of silver; hussar boots;  cocked hat, with silver trimming.”
                “The horse equipment will be as the hussar, with a schabraque of tiger or bear skin, borders scarlet.”
                “There will be one uniform.”
                "ART.  7.  Each orderly officer must have at least mounted four horses and four following horses, with as many servants or stablemen.  They must have, on each one of their following horses, a knapsack (porte-manteau) with a change of clothing and linen.” 
                "ART.  8.  In order to provide for this expenditure of equipment and maintenance, each orderly officer must have from his family an income of 6,000 Fr. per. year.  They receive from the Emperor a treatment of 6,000 Fr., and, independent of that, the Minister of War treats them, whatever their rank, as first class captains of cavalry of the Guard for pay, housing allowance, fodder, etc.”
                “ART.  9.  On campaign, the orderly officer receives eight fodder rations.”
                “ART.  10.  The orderly officers do not have the rank of officers of the military household of the Emperor; but they eat at the same table as the officers of guard.”
                The Emperor had successively, from 1806 up to 1815, many of orderly officers independent of the twelve who date from the formation, and of who we name in the personal table Military Household of the Emperor, general staff of the Guard (see chapter II of this book); those whose names follow belonged to the Guard until the end of 1808.  They were:
                MM. Baffron, Clapowski, Constantin, de Vence, Epinay, Duchand (Auguste), Fodoas, Gillot, Labiffe, Bourdonnaie (Arthur), Marboeuf, of Monaco, Montesquiou (Anatole), prince de Salm, Savoy-Carignan, Talhouet, of Watteville and Zaepfell.
                Becoming orderly officers January 11, 1809, but not regarded as belonging to the Guard:
                MM. Athalin, Beranger, Caraman, Chabrillant, Chateignier, Christin, Gourgault, d’Hautpoul, Lamesan, Montaign, de Mortemart, Pailhou, Galz de Malvirade, Lauriston and Tintignies; these last three had been on tour as first page of the Emperor.
                Those named in 1815, by decrees of March 12 and April 22:
                MM. Amillet, Dumoulin, Lannoy, Lariboissière, Planat, Ressigny, Saint-Jacob and Saint-Yon.

(Orderly Officer of the Emperor).

                A third decree also going back to Saint-Cloud, the 24^th of the same month of the same year, prescribed the creation of companies of bakers, butchers, binders (botteleurs), medical orderlies and of train for the ambulances, as well as the form of the administrative council relative to the auxiliary companies.
                A fourth decree, still going back to Saint-Cloud, next 19 September, prescribed, among other things, the following provisions; i.e.:
                “The first grenadier vélite battalion, and the first battalion of chasseurs vélites, will form a regiment under the title of Regiment of the Vélites of the Guard *. All the vélites will be incorporated in this regiment; the grenadier vélites will form the first battalion and the chasseurs, the second.”

* This regiment was not organized.

                “The officers, noncommissioned officers and corporals of the second vélites-grenadier battalion;  and those of the second battalion of vélites-chasseurs will form the framework of a second regiment which will bear the name of Fusiliers of the Guard.  This regiment will be entirely composed of conscripts and will have the same formation as the regiment of the vélites, in accordance with the decree of last April 15^th.”
                “The regiment of the fusiliers will be formed at once by an actual call on the companies of reserve of the departments, and in accordance with the table.  It will be made moreover, on the quota which each department must provide, under the terms of the decree of last August 3^rd, seven men per department, namely: two who will be taken in the quota intended for the cuirassiers, and five in that intended for artillery.  The recruitment council will make this choice; it will give preference to the subjects most suitable for the service of the infantry.  These men will be directed to follow on to Paris.  When the Fusiliers of the Guard go on campaign with the Guard, they will be treated like it.”
                Lastly, December 15, 1806, a second regiment of fusiliers was created which was composed and organized just as the first; so that the infantry of the Guard, as of the end of 1806, had two new regiments:  one of fusilier-grenadiers, the other of fusilier-chasseurs:  such was the origin of what one called more later the Young Guard.

II.

UNIFORMS AND ARMAMENTS.

Fusilier-Grenadiers.

                The same uniform as the foot grenadiers.  White epaulettes, the body cut with two perpendicular red lines.  The bearskin cap was replaced by a shako decorated on the front with a plate with an eagle, on the sides a chevron appearing as a V of white wire lace twelve lines wide, a white cord and a red plume.
                The cloak (capote) was colored iron gray.
                The fusil bands iron:  the of the same saber models as those of the line.

Fusilier-Chasseurs.

                The same uniform as the foot chasseurs *. Shako and shoulder pads similar to those of the fusilier grenadiers, only the transverse lines instead of being red were green.

*  The parade uniform of the foot chasseurs of the Guard was similar, in the cut and the colors, as that of the foot grenadiers;  the reverses, as well as the facings, were cut in points;  the facings were bordered in white.
                The turnbacks were furnished with a grenade and a hunting horn out of yellow wool embroidered on blue.
                The epaulettes had red fringes and a green horn.
                The bearskin cap without plate, was trimmed on front and top with white cords with two tassels.  The plume
as red, and green on the bottom.
                The cartridge-box had a crowned eagle on it.
                The officers of chasseurs had the same dress as those of the grenadier officers, except for the differences mentioned above.
                The hat, in walking out dress, was furnished with double braids (cordonnets), in the place of laces (gallons) which the grenadiers carried.
                The heads of corps will added, at the expense of the chasseurs, various objects to the walking out dress, such as skin tight trousers of blue cloth and boots in the style of Suvorov for the winter; nankin breeches, with white cotton stockings, and shoes with silver buckles for the summer.
                The cloak blue cloth with two rows of buttons; collar fastened on right.

[Fusilier-Grenadier and Tirailleur-Grenadier, (first regiment)]

Dragoons.

                The clothing, the armament and the harness of the horse of this corps were the same ones as those of horse grenadiers.  Only all that was blue on the latter was green for the dragoons; then, in the place of the bearskin, the dragoons wore the brass helmet with hanging black horsehair mane, decorated with a red plume.
                The same overcoat (manteau) as the grenadiers.
                The walking out dress of the dragoons consisted of nankin trousers with a similar hat to that of the grenadiers.
                Boots in the style of Suvorov.
                The horse covers of the dragoons differed from that of grenadiers only in the color of the cloth which was green.
                As for the armament, the saber was the same as the grenadiers, the carbine called a fusil de dragon according to ordinance, horse pistols.

Train of equipment.

                Dress-jacket (habit-veste), similar in the cut, as that of the artillery train; base of sky blue of sky;  reverse, collar, facings and sleeve cuffs of the same cloth;  edgings royal blue.
                Sky blue waistcoat (gilet) hidden by the jacket; skintight sky blue trousers; Russian styled boots.
                Ordinary shako decorated with a crowned eagle and white metal chinstraps; ball pompom.
                Sky blue overcoat.
                Light saber of the infantry.

PAY.

FUSILIER-GRENADIER REGIMENT AND FUSILIER CHASSEUR REGIMENT.

DESIGNATION OF GRADES.		PRESENCE PAY.						ABSENCE PAY.				ALLOWANCES.				NUMBER of HORSES.
		per mos.		per day.		on march per day.		on quarter leave per day		in hospital and with army per day.		lodging per day.		clothing per day.*
Adjutant-general		"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"
Staff.
Major		516	66	17	22	"	"	8	61	14	22	4	16	2	08	6
Battalion head		416	66	13	88	"	"	6	94	10	88	2	50	1	66	3
Adjutant-major		300	"	10	"	"	"	5	"	8	"	1	33	1	11	2
Sub-adjut-maj		200	"	6	66	"		3	33	5	16	1	"	1	11	1
		175	"	5	83	"		2	91	4	33	1	"	1	11	1
Medical officer 1st class		300	"	10	"	"	"	5	"	8	40	2	50	1	11	"
Idem           2ndclass		200	"	6	66	"	"	3	33	5	46	1	33	1	11	"
Idem           3rd class		133	33	4	44	"	"	2	22	3	46	1	"	1	11	"
Drafting Master.		125	"	4	16	"	"	2	08	2	91	"	"	"	"	"
Writing    Idem		150	"	5	"	"	"	2	50	3	75	"	"	"	"	"
Small Staff.
Drum corporal		"	"	1	66	"	"	"	83	"	55	"	"	"	"	"
Master artisan (ovrier)		"	"	2	22	"	"	1	11	"	74	"	"	"	"	"
Companies.
Captain		300	"	10	"	"	"	5	"	8	"	1	33	1	11	"
First lieutenant		200	"	6	66	"	"	3	33	5	16	1	"	1	11	"
Second lieutenant		175	"	5	83	"	"	2	91	4	33	1	"	1	11	"
Sergeant major		"	"	2	66	"	"	1	33	"	88	"	"	"	"	"
Sergeant and quartermaster				2	22	"	"	1	11	"	74	"	"	"	"	"
Corporal		"	"	1	66	"	"	"	83	"	55	"	"	"	"	"
Fusilier		"	"	"	60	"	70	"	30	"	20	"	"	"	"	"
Drummer		"	"	1	38	"	"	"	69	"	46	"	"	"	"	"
Student drummer, treated in
all ways like a tirailleurs.		"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"	"

(SOULT, Marshal of the Empire.)

(Colonel-General, Commandant of the Foot Chasseurs)