Musician Shako, 2nd Empire French Army
Musician Shako, 2nd Empire French Army
Portraits of Napoléon III
Napoléon III, Édouard Dubufe c. 1853.
Napoléon III, Alexandre Cabanel c. 1865.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. Prince Impérial of Napoléon III
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. Prince Impérial of Napoléon III
Shako for a Subaltern of the 1st Regiment of Voltigeurs de la Garde Impériale
Lancer of the Garde, 2nd Empire
Second Empire Hussar
Cuirassiers of Napoleon III’s Imperial Guard
Georges Bertin Scott, c.1905.
The steel blue, madder red and white colors of the cuirassiers remained relatively unchanged from Napoleon the Great to the Great War. Note that their steel cuirasse was at this point still impervious to handgun fire, and of course any cuts or thrusts from melee weapons.