"1813 Duchy of Warsaw gunners uniforms" Topic

According to Nafziger the 1810 regs. call for a company of artillery to have 24 1st class gunners and 76 2nd class gunners. The uniform seems to have changed from a green kurtka to a green short habit-veste and white waistcoat. Nafziger also mentions how the 2nd class gunners wore black shoulder straps piped with red. He doesn't mention what the 1st class gunners wore. Are they wearing red epaulettes, as all DoW gunners were wearing prior to 1810? Anyone know? Thanks.

From Rawkins CD:
"The coat was initially the same pattern of kurtka as worn by the infantry, and was dark green, with the collar, lapels and turnbacks faced black with scarlet piping. The cuffs were of the Brandenburg pattern with square cut cuff-flaps and the cuff and the cuff-flap were black with scarlet piping. Piping to the edges of the coat and the tail pockets was scarlet and all buttons were brass and embossed with the crossed cannon barrel motif. Full scarlet, fringed epaulettes were worn at the shoulders.

From 1811 new issues of coat were of the short-tailed habit-veste pattern with cut-away lapels. The coat was again dark green with collar, cuffs, cuff-flaps, lapels and turnbacks all black with scarlet piping. Buttons were brass and embossed with a crossed cannon and grenade motif. [21]

The artillery gunner was issued with a short coatee for fatigue wear of the same cut as issued to the heavy cavalry. This jacket was dark green with plain black collar and cuffs and a single row of nine brass buttons. Epaulettes were scarlet."

Foot note says:
"The Regiment of Foot Artillery and two companies of Horse Artillery formed from the survivors of the 1812 campaign in Russia received new uniforms in 1813. Both wore a French style shako with white cockade, yellow cockade-strap and scarlet plume and cords.

The coat was the habit a la Kinski with collar, cuffs and turnbacks black piped scarlet and all buttons brass. Epaulettes and aiguillettes were scarlet for both foot and horse companies. Conflicting accounts have this coat as the normal dark green or dark blue in 1813 but the change of colour to dark blue has not been confirmed at the time of writing although it is shown by Pouvesle. It is possible that this may be confused with the 1812 orders for the uniforms for Regimental Artillery. Other details remained as previously."

L Armee du Duche de Varsovie
by Malibran et Helminsky
Publication date 1913
Publisher Paris, Leroy
has the 1810 uniform regulations PDF link

See pages 262 & 263 – there is no mention of any difference between grades of gunners.

Ryzsard Morawski's WOJSKO KSIESTWA WARSZAWSKIEGO. ARTYLERIA, INZYNIEROWIE, SAPERZY. (ARMY OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF WARSAW. ARTILLERY, ENGINEERS & PIONEERS) has excellent plates that show everything from a full gun team in harness (foldout page) to button details. Although it's in Polish there are English, French and German summaries at the end of each chapter (from memory- they may be at the end of each section). You may be able to order it through your library, as an inter-library loan, mate.

Looking at "Polish Troops in the Service of napoleon 1797 to 1815" by George Street – page 180 has the basic answer – "Note that the Kanonier or 2nd Class gunners were the gun-team drivers.".

On page 185 he confirms the Nafziger uniform details for the Train Drivers. Note the horse artillery drivers are dressed differently.

below is an illustration of the foot artillery:

Super helpful info here, even though I wasn't the OP. Many thanks to the respondents.

To complete the picture – Horse artillery gun drivers (colpacks are for full dress):

OK. So green short tailed habite-veste, white waistcoat, closed black collar, black facings, cuffs & cuff flaps, turnbacks all piped red. Brass buttons. Red fringed epaulettes, white trousers for summer, green for winter.

Thanks all.

@Major Bloodnok,
The foot note in my first post from Rawkins says for 1813 jackets "a la kinski" – in other words, closed off at the bottom, not cut away.