The uniforms of the Revolution and the 1st Empire.

History of the uniform.
3rd part: the uniforms of the Revolution and the 1st Empire.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, we adopted in France, but also in many countries, colorful combat outfits and chamarés of gold and silver, not to mention the plumes of the hairstyles.
The rifle range was low, and camouflage was secondary.
The uniform had to be above all distinctive, and as the Duke of Wellington said, I ask only one thing; that we are as different from the French as possible. It is difficult to imagine the inconveniences that result from any similarity of our uniforms, whether on foot or on horseback ...
This is because identification errors were frequent.
The colors and accessories were used to impress the enemy, as the men were fighting at close quarters.
The nuances helped forge a fierce esprit de corps specific to each regiment.
The requirements of efficiency and prestige went against efficiency, but during the 1st Empire, Napoleon wanted to strengthen the pride of combatants and had embellished the outfits.
Of course, the troops did not go into battle with the beautiful uniforms you see in the paintings, we wore threadbare outfits most of the time, items were missing and we did our best ...
I present to you the 3rd part of this little history of the uniform, with the military outfits worn by the French army during the revolution and the 1st empire.