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by Paul L. Dawson.
Hardback (7.2×10.0 inches). 293 pages. 2025.
If you need info about uniforms of the French Revolutionary forces, here it is. In painstaking detail, based on transcriptions of inspection reports, you will come to understand just how much the French scrambled to outfit their regular and volunteer infantry and cavalry.
Not every unit is covered, but so many of each type are that you can extrapolate for entire armies. Indeed, the inspections generate reports on the number of each uniform piece — coats, vests, shoes, and so on — as well as their current state of usefulness, uselessness, and need for repair.
During the Revolution, the soldiers’ pay was garnished to pay for uniforms and equipment. If it needed repair, it was up to the soldier to repair it himself or pay to get it repaired. No wonder the French of the period looked like proverbial bums.
Shortages of just about everything plagued the army and delivered quality often didn’t match standards and wore out quickly.
All of this is marvelously illustrated: 164 color uniform illustrations (most of a single figure, but many with multiple figures) and 105 color photos of uniforms and close-ups of uniform pieces held in museums.
I can’t say it was always scintillating reading. One unit reads like the previous with number of coats, number of shoes, number of vests, and so on and so on. I skimmed over a lot of the text, but I sure stopped and looked at the images, even when they showed pretty much the same ideal uniform.
If you are looking for a source of color illustrations for painting period uniforms for your miniatures, as well as charts for facings and other colored uniform pieces, here’s your book. Granted, French revolutionary armies were a hodge podge lodge of mismatched and raggedly clothing, but you won’t soon run out of ideas how to match tabletop figures with historical uniforms.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
