Original Photographs of Napoleon's Veterans

[Correus]

Hello Everyone -

I thought you all might like to see these photos from Anne S. K. Brown Military collection.

The following info and pics are taken from the original site.

This is the first half of the post.

Some of the earliest photographs of veterans are a series of fifteen original sepia views of members of Napoleon’s army taken when these old soldiers were well into their 70’s and 80’s. It is not known how Mrs. Brown acquired them. They measure 12" tall by 10" wide and are mounted on stiff card. At some time in the 20th century, the name of each veteran and his regiment was inscribed in pencil on the verso of each. Twelve examples are pictured below.

These remarkable photographs provide probably the only surviving images of veterans of the Grande Armée and the Guard actually wearing their original uniforms and insignia, although some of the uniforms have obviously been recut by tailors of the 1850’s. Each is a formal portrait of an individual gentleman photographed in a studio. Some of the men stand in front of a blank or paneled wall on a elaborately decorated carpet, while others are seated.

It is not known who the photographer was and the blurring on one or two suggests the difficulty aging subjects had in standing still for several seconds while the plates were exposed.



Monsieur Vitry of the Departmental Guard leans against a piece of furniture by a curtain.


Wearing a fine shapka is M. Verlinde of the 2nd Lancers, 1815.


A tall soldier striking an elegant pose and wearing the grenadier bearskin is Sergeant Taria in the uniform of the Grenadiere de la Garde of 1809-1815.


Monsieur Schmit of the 2nd Mounted Chasseur Regiment (1813-14) wearing a floppy cap.


Seated in a grand hussar uniform is Monsieur Moret of the 2nd Regiment, 1814/15. A carte-de-visite does exist of Moret in a slightly different position than the studio photo.


There is Monsieur Mauban of the 8th Dragoon Regiment of 1815 seated.


M. Maire of the 7th Hussars circa 1809-15.


One old veteran who appears to have lost his right eye, Monsieur Loria of the 24th Mounted Chasseur Regiment and a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, stands against a piece of furniture that appears also in other portraits by a curtain.

Part II to follow.

[Correus]

Part II


Monsieur Lefebre, a sergeant in the 2nd Regiment of Engineers in 1815 standing wearing a plumed shako.


Quartermaster Fabry of the 1st Hussars.


M. Dupont who was fourier for the 1st Hussar, stands with a mameluke sword.


The Mameluke de la Garde is Monsieur Ducel who fought between 1813 and 1815.


The dashing figure holding a plumed shako in his right hand is M. Dreuse of the 2nd Light Horse Lancers of the Guard, circa 1813-14.


There is the portly Quartermaster Sergeant Delignon in the uniform of a Mounted Chasseur of the Guard, 1809-1815.


Grenadier Burg of the 24th Regiment of the Guard of 1815 with his white beard.

When and why these men were photographed is a mystery but some clues are offered in Henri Bouchot’s book L’Epopée du Costume Militaire Français published in Paris in 1898, and containing pictures by the famous French military illustrator, Job. There is a color plate with a transparent overlay bearing the titled ‘Les Vieux de la vieille, Le 5 Mai, 1855’. This depicts ten Napoleonic veterans in their full uniforms passing the column in the center of the Place Vendôme erected by Napoleon to commemorate the battle of Austerlitz. A Second Empire zouave of the current French army looks at the hunched and slow moving procession. Most significantly is the fact that two of the veterans are carrying wreaths. If one compares the individuals in the photographs, they match up very well with the figures crossing the square.

The date of the event – May 5, – provides the reason why these men were in Paris for that was the anniversary of the death of Napoleon and every year on that date veterans gathered in the capital, as the Times of London in May 1855 noted: ‘The base and railings of the column of the Place Vendôme appear this day decked out with the annual offerings to the memory of the man whose statue adorns the summit. The display of garlands of immortelles, and other tributes of the kind, is greater than usual…the old soldiers of the Empire performed their usual homage yesterday at the same place.’ On the same day, a funeral service was held in the chapel of the Invalides attended by Prince Jerome and other dignitaries. The entire personnel of the Invalides as well as soldiers of the First Empire were present.

A more likely date however, is May 5, 1858, because all the veterans are wearing the Saint Helene medal which had been issued on August 12, 1857 to all veterans of the wars of the Revolution and the Empire.

Here is the site link:

http://dl.lib.brown.edu/libweb/colle...b/veterans.php

Not sure who wrote the article.

[Zouave]

This is the mother of all coincidences!

I just posted a new link in my old "Rare photos of Napoleon's veterans" thread.

Anyway, thanks for this great post. Keep up the good work.

[Correus]

Zouave -

Not only are you shocked, but so am I.

I thought I had read through every-single-Napoleon-thread on the forum. I have no idea how I missed yours.

After I posted this I did a general search on Google to see if I could find more pics and at the top of the page was a link to your thread!!!

How in the h*** did I miss it?!?!?!

[Stratego]

Hey guys, great stuff !

I got an idea...

Why don't you sort all the pictures you have of these old veterans, add a title to it and post them together in our "Napoleonic Archives"?



Greets,
Stratego

[Zouave]

Originally Posted by Correus

Zouave -

Not only are you shocked, but so am I.

I thought I had read through every-single-Napoleon-thread on the forum. I have no idea how I missed yours.

After I posted this I did a general search on Google to see if I could find more pics and at the top of the page was a link to your thread!!!

How in the h*** did I miss it?!?!?!

Don't worry, mate... these things happen sometimes.

BTW, I have two threads with the same title. Make sure to read the latest thread ( lots of interesting links in there ).

[CWalkerloo]

Hi,

I'd seen some of these photos in 'Military History' magazine a while back... I bought the mag immmediatly I saw the pics, they're great! Photographic source of actual participants from this pre-photographic age is ... errr unexpected! ...

My favourite is the Dutch Lancer M. Verlinde, great angle on the chapaska.

Grenadier Burg wasn't in the magazine article... but is there an error in his designation... 24th reg. of the guard? ... with the plated bearskin, cuffs and open fronted
coatee he's surely a Grenadier of the Guard...

Oh I also checked out the photos on the previous thread... excellent thanks so much for the links guys!

[Legate]

Originally Posted by CWalkerloo

Hi,

I'd seen some of these photos in 'Military History' magazine a while back... I bought the mag immmediatly I saw the pics, they're great! Photographic source of actual participants from this pre-photographic age is ... errr unexpected! ...

My favourite is the Dutch Lancer M. Verlinde, great angle on the chapaska.

Grenadier Burg wasn't in the magazine article... but is there an error in his designation... 24th reg. of the guard? ... with the plated bearskin, cuffs and open fronted
coatee he's surely a Grenadier of the Guard...

Oh I also checked out the photos on the previous thread... excellent thanks so much for the links guys!

Welcome to the forums!

[dgfred]

Most of the dudes look a little elderly, I was quite surprised.

[Centrix Vigilis]

well done to both threads

b
CV

[Battalion101]

Originally Posted by Correus

Hello Everyone -

I thought you all might like to see these photos from Anne S. K. Brown Military collection.

The following info and pics are taken from the original site.

This is the first half of the post.

Some of the earliest photographs of veterans are a series of fifteen original sepia views of members of Napoleon’s army taken when these old soldiers were well into their 70’s and 80’s. It is not known how Mrs. Brown acquired them. They measure 12" tall by 10" wide and are mounted on stiff card. At some time in the 20th century, the name of each veteran and his regiment was inscribed in pencil on the verso of each. Twelve examples are pictured below.

These remarkable photographs provide probably the only surviving images of veterans of the Grande Armée and the Guard actually wearing their original uniforms and insignia, although some of the uniforms have obviously been recut by tailors of the 1850’s. Each is a formal portrait of an individual gentleman photographed in a studio. Some of the men stand in front of a blank or paneled wall on a elaborately decorated carpet, while others are seated.

It is not known who the photographer was and the blurring on one or two suggests the difficulty aging subjects had in standing still for several seconds while the plates were exposed.



Monsieur Vitry of the Departmental Guard leans against a piece of furniture by a curtain.


Wearing a fine shapka is M. Verlinde of the 2nd Lancers, 1815.


A tall soldier striking an elegant pose and wearing the grenadier bearskin is Sergeant Taria in the uniform of the Grenadiere de la Garde of 1809-1815.


Monsieur Schmit of the 2nd Mounted Chasseur Regiment (1813-14) wearing a floppy cap.


Seated in a grand hussar uniform is Monsieur Moret of the 2nd Regiment, 1814/15. A carte-de-visite does exist of Moret in a slightly different position than the studio photo.


There is Monsieur Mauban of the 8th Dragoon Regiment of 1815 seated.


M. Maire of the 7th Hussars circa 1809-15.


One old veteran who appears to have lost his right eye, Monsieur Loria of the 24th Mounted Chasseur Regiment and a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, stands against a piece of furniture that appears also in other portraits by a curtain.

Part II to follow.

Please see and enjoy historic battles on : www.Excel4Gallery.com , artist : Ferrer Dalmau, who is the best military painter

[Legate]

Originally Posted by Battalion101

Please see and enjoy historic battles on : www.Excel4Gallery.com , artist : Ferrer Dalmau, who is the best military painter

Good link! Welcome to the Forums.

[Zouave]

Originally Posted by Stratego

Hey guys, great stuff !

I got an idea...

Why don't you sort all the pictures you have of these old veterans, add a title to it and post them together in our "Napoleonic Archives"?



Greets,
Stratego

Excellent idea, Jason.

[Zouave]

Originally Posted by CWalkerloo

Grenadier Burg wasn't in the magazine article... but is there an error in his designation... 24th reg. of the guard? ... with the plated bearskin, cuffs and open fronted
coatee he's surely a Grenadier of the Guard...

You are absolutely right. He probably served in the 2nd or 4th Grenadiers a Pied ( Foot Grenadiers ) of the French Imperial Guard. Grenadier Burg fought at Waterloo.

2nd Grenadiers ( Old Guard ): The 2nd battalion ( II/2nd Grenadiers ) fought like lions against the Prussian onslaught at Plancenoit. Just on a side note, the drum-major of the unit, Stubert, used his baton as a club. This unit was one of the four battalions of the French Guard formed in squares to cover Napoleon's retreat ( the square was never broken ).

4th Grenadiers ( Middle Guard ): The 4th Grenadiers took part in the final assault against Wellington's centre.

[Compans]

I first saw these in 'The Anatomy of Glory'. The most amazing thing is gazing on these men who were actually there. Having said that, most of these guys look as though they were dressed up for the event. I've seen these posted elsewhere and people have claimed they were posing in their 'old uniforms'. Many are clearly 2nd Empire uniforms (look at the length of the epaulettes in most shots). However, the lancer and chasseur have the bearing to still pull it off and their uniforms look right. The lancer's tilt of sabre has a knowledge and familiarity to it. The Chasseur has this steely glint that just exudes the period and, give or take a grey hair or two, could be out of a Detaille painting. I've often wondered how the era would have looked in photographs. Maybe it's best that photography didn't come along for another 15 years. It takes a certain vision to imagine the period.