Sabre and bayonet: reenactment

Thursday, 16 July 2026

from Gatinois UK

Twice this year we have been privileged to deploy as part of a combined force of more than 70 reenactors of #AncienRegimeFrance. Historical reenactment is so much about people, and it has been our pleasure to build professional and personal relationships with so many wonderful people across the channel!

Photo credit to Sortiraparis.com, featuring La compagnie la Courbière, Régiment de Navarre, and 7eme Régiment de Champagne
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Friday, 15 August 2025

Napoleon Bonaparte 1793 by Anthony le Hussard of France

. He says

Bonaparte Project 1793.

August 15, 1769 – August 15, 2025, 256th anniversary of the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte in Ajaccio.

A few days before the 256th anniversary and after almost two years of research and work, I have the pleasure of presenting to you my reconstruction of Bonaparte of Toulon in 1793...

Indeed, in historical reenactment, Napoleon is only depicted as a General or Emperor, but the Bonaparte of Toulon is always forgotten, so I decided to remedy this at my humble level and bring the Bonaparte of 1793 out of oblivion.

However, it was in Toulon that the eagle took flight, history was on the move with a young man with an extraordinary destiny who would shape France and the world, let's not forget that!

For the reconstruction of this uniform, I therefore based myself on the regulation of October 1, 1786, modified by the provisional instruction of April 1, 1791.

The coat is adorned on the back of the tails with grenades in gold cannetille. The buttons adorning the coat and vest are revolutionary artillery buttons with the fasces topped with the Phrygian cap.

Regarding the weaponry, I went with the model of the officers' sword from the 1767 regulations, still widely used during the revolutionary wars.

The hat, on the other hand, is made of so-called "taupé" felt, which means it is made from hare fur or some other animal and not from wool felt as is most often seen. It is one of the characteristics of officers' hats, which were made from more noble materials.

Also, I would like to thank the artisans who worked on this project and without whom it would never have seen the light of day:

- The Florence Couture Workshop for the creation of the coat, vest, and breeches.

Florence did a remarkable job, following the specifications I gave her to the letter.

All the visible seams, topstitching, and buttonholes were done by hand!

- Labortemporis for the creation of the buttons, based on an original model that I provided him with in a photo.

The buttons were also all gilded!

- Mr. Brenckle, Hatter. for the making of the taupe felt hat!

A big thank you to all of you for contributing each and every one of you on your own scale, now all that's left is to bring the History of the Bonaparte of 1793 back to life.

Onward to adventure...

Thursday, 15 February 2024

Memories of Kevin Garlick and the 3e de ligne. Known for his shoes I used to be in his regiment in the early 90s. Kevin is the corporal with a pennant in the pictures. A sad loss to reenactment.