madcam,
These are your figures, so do with them what you will. However, since you asked……
Wargamers love a "pot pourri" as it breaks up the boredom of painting large numbers of troops, especially where the infantry all have exactly the same uniform. In reality, it was the norm to attempt uniformity within battalions at least, if not entire regiments and brigades, to give a good appearance in terms of clothing. And in battle, the same norm applied – battalions either wore greatcoats or they did not – it wasn't an individual choice. Towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, admittedly, when the French supply systems were falling apart, the rank-and-file wore what they could get. But otherwise, unit commanders within a regiment would swap and share in order to achieve uniformity. In some instances, there are orders from brigade commanders as to whether men should wear their greatcoats or not – and these were not items that would wear out quickly, so a few men might have lost theirs, but the great mass of a battalion would have them on, or not.
I'd say John Armatys' suggestion of 2+2 and 1 mixed is the best option available to you. Btw, the official colour for French greatcoats was beige, not blue (Garde and artillery) or grey (captured items). Again, these would tend to be the same colour throughout a battalion, if not a whole regiment.
[To be completely honest, I'm mainly an AWI wargamer and I see a similar phenomenon in AWI units, with gamers mixing uniforms and hunting shirts willy-nilly, whereas the uniforms would be allocated to NCOs first, and then by company, not scattered about the battalion; hunting shirts ditto. AWI units should be a mix of uniform bases, not individuals.]
goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
