"WSS French sash question" Topic

After a 4 or 5 year hiatus I'm getting back to painting up my wss units. Wondering what color the French Foot officers sashes might be?

I do not recall ever seeing French officers with sashes, foot or mounted.

Gorgets at the throat when on duty, but no sashes

GdeP

Hi there, according to my Osprey Louis XIV Army book, white was the colour, and the sash was worn round the waist or across the shoulder.
Very senior officers could wear Light blue (Order of the Holy Spirit)- or Scarlet (order of St Louis)
I am the first to admit, though, that I have not seen many pictures of the white sash on any but wargames figures!!!

Waist sashes were used, the color varied by nationality and unit. Shoulder sashes were frequently worn by standard bearers. Sashes were more common in the Spanish. Portuguese, and Italian armies.

In the French Army, they were not common and if they occurred it would be on the upper levels of staff and generals. There was quite a range of dress for this group in the WSS, and portraits can be misleading as armor breastplates were seldom worn. There were wide and colorful baldrics and sword belts worn by general officers, Maison Cavalry, etc. It is safe to say that a sash was worn by a French General Officer at some time and somewhere, but they were rare. In the French Army, white and silver would be the best guess on color.

In much of the WSS period, details of dress leave some latitude to say, "Prove me wrong!" The period certainly leaves less room for certainty (and pedantry) than the Napoleonic period.

I usually paint mine red.

They are my figures.

Allen's "Armies and Enemies Of Louis XIV" shows some white waist sashes on French Officers. Kemp's older, but still wonderful, "Weapons and Equipment of Marlborough's Wars" also mentions officer's sashes worn about the waist or shoulder on page 140, though not specifically referring to the French.

Thanks everyone for your input.

My "French" officer figs with are from ebor. I don't know, maybe they just use this particular officer pose with the sash as a generic fill-in for all nationalities?