Tamburo-Maggiore, 1° Reggimento Fanteria Leggera
Drum-Major, 1st Light Infantry Regiment
From the Otto Manuscript
This exuberant outfit is the dress uniform of the regimental drum major. Official regulations called for such individuals to bear no "distinctive insignia beyond their stripes of rank", colonels frequently ignored such orders in an effort to adorn their regiment with colourful bands.
The Otto manuscript appears to have been painted in the summer of 1807, possibly by the German artist Carl Wilhelm Kolbe but more probably by an unknown French artist. It contains over a hundred figures, mostly of French subjects but with a small contingent of Italians. The 1st Light is particularly well represented with each of these types represented:
- Cacciatore (Chasseur)
- Carabiniere (Carabinier)
- Volteggiatore (Voltigeur)
- Zappatore (Sapper)
- Tamburo-Maggiore (Drum Major)
Source
-
DEMPSEY, G. C. (1994), Napoleon's Soldiers - The Grande Armée of 1807 as Depicted in the Paintings of the Otto Manuscript, Arms & Armour Press, London
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