"Compagnie Franche de la Marine" Topic

One question I have is re the waistcoats (veste) of the above please – I have some (Redoubts) where the cuffs have been turned back but I cannot in photos of painted models make out the colour – were they lined with off white or similar neutralish colour cloth?

Try here:
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link Clothes

Also check out the Conquest figures. They have some great figures and some are painted!

Aside from that fatigue cap being totally undocumented, and the turned cuffs on the sleeved waistcoat being undocumented, and color of the waistcoat and breeches being wrong, that painting is pretty good. :-(

I think the truth might be that no one knows for sure. The clothing was designed for Northwest Europe. Probably worked okay in Canada, but pretty warm south of that come the summer months. The regimental coats were indeed lined, but whether the waistcoat body and sleeves, or just body were lined is perhaps conjecture.

Many years ago the British F&I re-enactment community went through some question about sleeved waistcoats, but a quick look at some of the 1751 Morrier paintings shows sleeveless waistcoats on British enlisted men in the background.

The question, I guess for you is, if the sleeved waistcoat sleeve is rolled up at the cuff (why would it be, by the way, it has to be shorter than the coat sleeve, right?), is it lined? I guess I'm not sure why a sculptor would portray it that way to begin with?

Maybe somebody smarter here than me on French uniforms can direct us to a period drawing or painting that shows the sleeved waistcoat sleeve so we can see if it had buttons,and was slit. If not, then it would not have been rolled at all, as you couldn't open it and roll it.

@historygamer:

So what is the correct waistcoat color? Every source I have mentions that they were blue.

I'll send a link to the color. That painting is kind of stylized.

The sleeve was very tight, with buttons to make it tighter, according to my French re-enactor contact. Their waistcoat sleeves are not lined. However, they could have been. If so, it would have been with a linen lining (kind of off white).

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Front rank, far left, two guys facings/cuffs in the back rank, far left

Note reddish waistbelt belly box, no painted design, though there is a stamped one you can't see.

Here is another good one

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If these are the figures, and you want to be correct, get out your file and file that stupid cuff off the figure. This is another case of a sculptor not knowing what he is sculpting. The only correct one seems to be the guy in the back left, with two hands on his musket, which is pointing in the air.

Some French marine re-enactment units are no longer wearing that fatigue hat, as it has no documentation.

Many people often think that soldiers all wore the santa elf hat off duty. Here is an example of a pre-Rev War British marine in fatigue hat.

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Here is another:

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If I had to guess, I'd say they cut down their old cocked hat and made those. Could be painted, or a combination of old hat and old coat parts. The point being, they don't all wear the fabled santa elf hats. :-)

@ Historygamer;

In your second picture the turnbacks on the Marines coat seem to be front corner only which would indicate Light Company. These might be Light Company caps.

Still the stocking caps have never found favour with me either.

Yes, the same thought occured to me as well – they could be British Marine light infantry, and they certainly had them. Hard to say for sure. They could also be old coats modified for daily wear.

Regarding the hat
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I know this link has already been posted, but in it lists documentation for some sort of "wool cap" issued to the Marines according "The Louisiana Recruits 1752-1758". I don't have this book but I'd like to see it's source for listing the hat to possibly find more info.