"Proxy Napoleonic French for Mexican 1848 Troops?" Topic

Hi,

I've seen it said that French Napoleonic troops are generally a good proxy for Mexican American War Mexican troops.

Does anyone have a good guide laying out what would work? I 3D print all my figures at roughly 15mm scale and have plenty of Napoleonic French from different creators.

I think that the basic Mexican line infantry could be modelled by late war "Bardin" French. Shako is slightly different but the cut of the uniform seems identical.

What about the regular cavalry (lancers/hussars/ and "line")? Artillery? I figure I can use some mounted Spanish guerillas with sombreros that I already have for the irregular cavalry.

If it matters, I want to refight Palo Alto, but I'll take resources and answers that cover the whole war.

Looked at the Osprey Men at Arms. Didn't cover all types of cavalry but the dragoon and Cuirassier regiments were basically perfect matches for Napoleonic French counterparts. Infantry and artillery were also very similar. I think it's safe to go with French versions for all regular units. The irregulars were definitely varied in appearance and type. Didn't know there were irregular lancers in the war.

I would check the Brassy book on Mexican troops in that war.

TVAG has republished the Hefter book on Mexican uniforms of that period. An excellent book !

From what I recollect, the Mexican line infantry used all sorts of shakos in the first half of the 19th century and I would hazard a guess that you would see a mix of styles within the unit. Don't fo get that they also wore the bonnet du police which was a soft forage cap. Most of the infantry uniforms had lapels on their coats so keep that in mind.

Everyone loves the Grenadier Guards and they could be proxied with Imperial Guard in bearskin. The first company/squadron in each line cavalry regiment had lances but the rest didn't. French cavalry in shako would probably be a good fit, the Mexican 1st Cavalry wore a Tarleton helmet so perhaps British cavalry might work (I'm not so up on my Napoleonic uniforms). Jalisco Lancers could be proxied as Polish lancers. The Mexican cuirassier and hussar units could be proxied with French counterparts.

All from this wonderful site:
link

i would say yes to Napoleonic uniforms for the Texas War of Independence but less so for the Mexican-American War. The Mexican regs were much more in line with current European styles in 1848. That said, in a desperate war for survival one uses what one has rather than what is regulation. My M-A war guys have a mixture of Nap, 1848 style along with longer tunics, sombreros and peasant clothing.