Uniforms at Waterloo

1. Certainly the Prussians were unable to obtain uniformity due to lack of supplies, reorganisation and in the main money. Many of the officers wore the M1814 uniform while the men were in rags.

2. The French were as bad in this. Many soldiers wore uniforms that had been hidden away when disbanded, versions of the new Borbon uniform and various locally produced uniforms. This is often ignored.

3. The Netherlands army was newly raised and had such a mixture of uniform/equipment.



There are many examples. The logistic side of arming, clothing and feeding such armies is rarely discussed. It was a miracle that the French Army was able to take to the field in such numbers.



Related to all this is the procurement of horses. The 1812-14 campaigns had made suitable horses a problem especially for the heavy cavalry and artillery. The distruction of the studs in France. Remember that a horse is only useful from the age of about 5 years to about 10 years. These boundaries were stretched in most armies. Only the British seemed to have enough.



Standards and whether they were carried let alone what type is a difficult area. The old Napoleonic Standards were supposed to have been destroyed but how many actually were hidden. What was the new design of the standards for the French?



Artillery is a difficult area as you say is often overlooked. We do not know the colour or shade of many of the combatants ordnance was painted in. Let alone precisely which equipment was used. Although your recent book has confirmed that it was French AnXI (M1808) Ordnance was used by the Netherlands Army rather than British as many had previously thought. It should be noted that serving a gun is hard work and parade uniform would soon be dispensed with for practical clothing often down to the shirt.



Another area that is often debated is whether parade uniform was worn in battle. For uniformility many contingents wore greatcoats at Waterloo. The amount of rain over the week would certainly have influenced the choise of cloths worn.Distinguishing friend from foe was more about the silhouette than the colour. Hence, Wellington's annoyance in changing uniforms in 1812 for the cavalry especially.




 what was warn. Examples of this can be seen in the wonderful Suhr plates. These show from life sketches what was worn rather than the theoretical parade uniform. It does not have the mud but that can be imagined.



Shakos, plumes and the carrying of non-standard waterbottles and food satchels/bags. The patching of uniforms. These are aspects that have been ignored by many artists. A modern exception has been Bob Marion and Chris Collingwood who I have advised upon uniform depictions.






 logistics and performance. wonderful example of the Nassau that only 12 were present at Waterloo.


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