There was a recent inquiry (9 March, 2010) about this. Rigo in his Le Plumet "planche 68" portrays the uniform of Capitaine Albert de Watteville, Aide de Camp to Marshal Lannes, Duc de Montebello, and dead at Essling without being titled a "Prince." The uniform seems to match Berthier's order of 3 May, 1801, for aides de camp to marshals who were not Princes:
It is a classic hussar officer uniform.
Black colpak with red bag edged gold. Gold ball pompom with tall white feather plume extended upward. No cords shown.
Dark blue dolman with scarlet pointed cuffs. Three wide gold chevrons above the cuffs. Scarlet collar with wide gold edging. Wide gold edging at bottom of the dolman, up the front (hidden by the overlapped closure) and up around the bottom of the collar, so the collar appears edged top, front and bottom. Gilded cords across the chest, five rows of gilded buttons. Oddly, there is no barrel sash shown!
Dark blue tight breeches with 3 wide gilded "bastion loops" down from the waist onto each leg. A mounted figur shows gold stripe down the outside of the legs. Scarlet hussar belt and straps down to the sabretache, all edged gold. Sabretache seems to be scarlet, then wide gold edge all around, scarlte center with gold crowned eagle in the center. A hint of gold and green laurel leaves below. Saber scabbard is white metal, hilt Brass.
A mounted figure is shown with brass scabbard and hilt; black sabretache with gold eagle in the center. Dark blue shabraque with wide gold edge all around, pointed at the rear, no devices in the angle at the rear. Cylindrical cantlepack of dark blue with wide gold circle at the ends. Black leather strapping.
Dark blue pelisse with black fur. Same 3 wide bastion loops up the sleeve above the black fur. Gilded cords across the pelisse, wide band around the bottom and rear between the dark blue cloth and the fur.
Crossbelt holding bullet pouch seems to be scarlet with wide gilded band in the center.
The standing figure has scarlet hussar boots edges gold with gold tassles. The mounted figure wears black boots, edged gold. The brass stirrups are held by crimson leather straps up into the saddlery.
The horse harness is black. The "Y" on the chest has a gold disk there the three straps join (often a heart-shaped device for French light cavalry) and the black straps are studded with brass "buttons", or disks. The reins are black leather, and no brass studs. The black leather belting on the horse head is underlaid with scarlet around the horses neck, brass studs on the wide strap on the side of the head from the back of the head below the ears down to the bit in his mouth which appears to be steel. The black leather "X" belting on the horse's face is studded
with gold disks. The wide black belt around the horse's muzzle where the bottom of the "X" joins has a brass oblong device, but no others studs.
As an aside, The Hourtoulle plate #69 shows a wide variety of uniforms for the 2nd Hussars on service in Spain. One on the left foreground has a light blue shabraque edged with a narrow outer scarlet band, next a wide gold band, next a narrow scarlet band, and finally a wide inner gold band. Rear point is turned up, obscuring details in the angle. The cylindrical cantlepack is light blue with wide gold circle. It seems to have a narrow scarlet circle making it look like wide gold, narrow scarlet, wide gold bands.
The officer wears a brown "habit" as for Chasseurs a cheval", not a dolman/pelisse rig. Gold, fringed epaulette on left shoulder, nothing on right. Collar and pointed cuffs are brown as is the uniform. The brown seems lighter than for the regiment in general, and I seem to remember seeing the coat illustrated years ago a yellow. Light blue edging on collar, pointed cuffs and pointed lapels. vest is browh edged and corded gold. Gilded narrow waist belt centered scarlet. Do not know is he wore a sabrtache, or chassuer belting, as not shown or commented.
Tight light blue breeches with gold stripe on sides, a suggestion of Hungarian knots down the front of the legs fron the waist. Black hussar boots edged gold, no tassle shown. Stirrup belting seems to be white. "Y" belting on horse's chest seems to be brown with white metal device at joint of the three straps. Some scarlet under-strapping suggested behing the horse's head and under the wide strap down the side of his face.
The shako is light blue with a large white pompom. Wide gold banding; leaves, or whatever at top. Narrow gold band at bottom. Black visor, no edging shown. Appears to have a large Tri-color cockage in the center front of the shako, gold button in center, and white straps holding it to pompom area of the top of the shako.
Another aide de camp is shown on foot. Light blue cover on shako, even covering the visor! He is wearing a White pelisse with white fur with gold cording. All-crimson light cavalry belting to sabertache which is shown from underside, front facing away from the viewer. Tight light blue breeches with gilded bastion loops down the front of the legs with extra gold "squiggles." Black boots not well detailed – they look almost brown.
These uniforms may have been taken from Commandant Buquoy's series of card on the French army.
I see them described in Philip Haythornwthaite's "Uniforms of the Peninsular War, 1807-1814" published 1978. This book also shows illustrations of British cavalry uniforms and their transition, during the Peninsular war.
GdeP
