We promised, and so we shall deliver! This is the culmination of the last 4-5 years of work, and means we're now approaching our current best guess as to what the Gatinois may have looked like on campaign in Virginia in 1781. In their debut, the Sergent is wearing his black summer service gaiters. These … Continue reading Kit Update! Le Gatinois on campaign
Guillaume and his Drum
We've recently received this wonderful photo from Martina Cammerata Photography from our trip to Versailles in July, featuring our dear friend and peloton tambour Guillaume! We've been thrilled to work with him this year, and we thought it a good time to address the obvious question: what did #18thcentury French drummers wear? As you can … Continue reading Guillaume and his Drum
Leadership in Battle
In the chaos of battle, soldiers looked to their Officiers and Bas-Officiers (or NCOs in English) for leadership, support, and alignement! This wonderful photo by Katie events Photography also highlights the most obvious distinctions between regiments in the French army: facing colour of lapels and cuffs. The violet of le Gatinois contrasts visibly with the … Continue reading Leadership in Battle
Morning Inspection
Inspecting the men was a tireless job! Every officer (commissioned and non-commissioned) performed the task (to varying degrees), from a Caporal up to Chef de Battallon - and indeed even higher. In this case, our Sergent is examining the sectione's havresacs for missing items...or contraband. This poor recrue appears to have lost his havresac entirely! … Continue reading Morning Inspection
Research in Action!
On the left, Charles M. Lefferts's early 20th century illustration of le Regiment de Gatinois; on the right is our impression! It is always interesting to see how far we've come in our understanding - but also what details differ from other interpretations. Photo kindly provided by Skipping Red Panda
Descendez vos armes / Lower your arms
Although not in the 1776 Ordonnance du Roi, a practical and period solution to the need to lower muskets whilst in wooded areas! Photo by kind permission of Skipping Red Panda
Sergent’s “Stripes”
The main distinguishing feature of our new sergent's impression is the lace band around his forearm. The 1779 Reglemente says that his lace should be "a simple silver braid on the forearm," nothing that to make it stand out more on the white uniform it should be piped in the facing colour. For ours, that … Continue reading Sergent’s “Stripes”
Making Cartridges – Part 3
Welcome back- at last we've assembled our cartouches and loaded the giberne! And how, you might ask? With the template cut out... ...we place a lead ball in the top of the mandrel, and then roll it into the paper. We use the "hole" in the table to secure the paper around the ball. Then … Continue reading Making Cartridges – Part 3
Making Cartridges – Part 2
The next step in our reproduction cartouche (cartridge) making is the necessary implements to shape them! The instructions that we are following, which were issued in 1777 to the officers in charge of ammunition manufacturing, state that you need: - a "wooden mandrel, 7 inches long and 6 lines 9 points in diameter; these must … Continue reading Making Cartridges – Part 2
Making Cartridges – Part 1
This weekend, a small detachment began the work on a project we've been researching for a while….reproduction cartridges. The first step is, of course, casting the lead musket balls! The main difficulty is the twin nature of molten metal and toxic lead, so appropriate safety precautions (as seen here) were an essential - but otherwise … Continue reading Making Cartridges – Part 1
