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The Règlement de comptabilité of 8th Floréal an 8, says (Tit. 4, Art. 29):
All items of clothing [habillement] will be stamped [timbreés] with the year of their production.
Uniform coats [habits] and waistcoats [vestes] will be marked in the fold on the back [sur le pli de derrière], and the breeches [culottes] on the outer right side of the waistband [sur le côté droit extérieur de la ceinture].
All buffle [buffleterie], the muket slings [bretelles], backpacks [havre-sacs], [the portmanteaus (porte-manteaux)] and other items of equipment [effets d'équipement], will be marked with the number of the man and the letter assigend to each company.And in tit. 4, art. 47:
All muskets, bayonets and sabres will be marked with the letter assigend to the company, and with a number between 1 and the number representing the effective strength of the company.
The weapons of those who leave the company will be given to those who replace them, so that the order of the numbers of the soldier will not be altered in any case, but always remain as it has been originally fixed in the companies, divisions, subdivisions and squads.
The supernumerary weapons [armes sans destination], and those of the soldiers who are on leave [absens par congé] will be kept in the depot [magasin] of the company, and maintained by the soldiers on fatigue duty [hommes de corvée].In its articles 12 and 34, the Règlement d'administration of 10th February 1806, repeats these two preceding articles word by word, except that it adds to the third phrase of article 12 the words "the portmanteaus".
In 1808, the 2nd edition of the "Manuel d'Infanterie ou Résumé de tous les Règlemens, Décrets, Usages, Renseignemens, propres à cette Arme. Ouvrage renfermant tout ce que doivent savoir les sous-officiers." (Manual of infantry or summary of all regulations, decrees, usages and hints useful for this arm. A work which contains everything that the NCOs must know.) was published in Paris.
Author of this work was the then major Etienne-Alexandre Bardin (1774-1841). On page 380 f., he sums up:
319. The fourrier takes care that all effects of the soldier will be marked with the maring [marque] of the regiment and the numbers of the man and the company (Règlement de comptabilité of 8th floréal an 8, tit. 4, art. 29);
the uniform coats [habits] and waistcoats [vestes] must be stamped [timbrés] in the fold on the back
and the breeches [culottes] on the outer right side of the waistband (Règlement d'administration of 10th February 1806, art. 12).
The shirts [chemises] have got their imprint [empreinte] on the chest, in the height of the third button of the waistcoat;
the gaiters [guêtres] inside, near the knee;
the shoes [souliers] will be punched [poinçonnés] in the inside, close to the middle of the sole;
the sabre belts [baudriers] and cartridge pouch belts [banderolles] will be marked with the means of a punch [poinçon], in the part which is close to the middle of the chest;
the musket slings [bretelles], one pouce [27 mm] above the buckle [demi-boucle];
the sabres [sabres], on the outer side of the blade [sur le côté extérieur de la lame], on the outer side of the cross-guard [branche], and on the outer side of the scabbard [fourreau];
the muskets [fusils], on the thick part of the barrel [tonnerre], on the think end of the ramrod [poire] and on the socket of the bayonet [douille].In 1809, in Paris a two volumes work was published: "Mémorial de l'Officier d'Infanterie, présentant La Collection méthodique de tout ce que les Règlemens aujourd'hui en vigueur, et les Lois non abrogées, contiennent de particulier à cette arme; par l'auteur du Manuel d'Infanterie." (Notebook of the Officer of Infantry, consisting of a methodical collection of everything which the regulations valid today and the laws not abolished contain in respect to this arm, from the author of the Manual of Infantry.)
In this work (volume 2, page 550), Bardin writes in note (3) to the Règlement de comptabilité of 8th Floréal an 8, art. 29, tit. 4:
The letters G. R. 1, and G. R. 2, designate the two grenadier companies, and the first 16 letters of the alphabet designate the 16 fusilier companies.
The equipment [équipement] will be marked on the back [revers] of each item; to the right of the letter the year, in which the item has been issued, and on the left the number of the man in the follwing manner: 1791. A. 10.Below the markings on the inside of the flap of a cartridge pouch and on a saber belt are shown. Both pieces of equipment belonged to the 3e Régiment Suisse (3rd Swiss regiment) in French services.
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1811 2 G 3 REGT SUISSE 5 This is the cartridge pouch of the soldier with the number of clothing and equipment "5" in the grenadier company of the 2nd battallion of the 3e Régiment Suisse. The number indicates that he is a sergeant, this is the reason why the cartridge pouch is smaller than the model carried by simple soldiers. |
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1816 3 REG SUISSE 58 J 70 This saber belt was possibly carried successively by the soldiers with the numbers "58" and "70", who belonged to the 10th fusileer company (letter "J") of the 3e Régiment Suisse. |
Here the markings on the hilt of a saber of the model 1767. Probably, "COULA" stands for Jacques Coulaux, who owned an arms factory in Strasbourg during the 1790s, and who in 1801 together with his brother Julien Coulaux took over the arms manufactory in Klingenthal. The control punch with the cock (the head is erased) is typical for the revolutionary period. The hilt and the blade of this saber don't bear any other markings.
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2 G 22 Possibly the saber belonging to the man with the number of clothing and equipment "22" in the (only) company of grenadiers in a battalion of volunteers, produced in the year 2 of the Republic (between 1st January 1793 and 21st September 1794). |
For the different numbers of the soldier see here.
I wish to express my thanks to Jean Marie Teller for the text of the first edition of Bardin's "Manuel d'Infanterie", and Jan de Coster, Nicolas Salvetat, Philippe Richard and Jean Noel for photographs of original markings.