Kingdom of Naples

In early 1806, Napoleon, having temporarily squashed the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz, dealt with the degenerate Bourbon rulers of Naples, who had signed a treaty of neutrality with him in September 1805 - and welcomed and assisted an Anglo-Russian invading force (which hastily re-embarked on learning of Austerlitz) in November. Napoleon replaced them with his elder brother Joseph. In 1808 he promoted Joseph to King of Spain, and gave Naples to his brother-in-law and cavalry commander, Marshal Joachim Murat. In 1813, Murat turned against Napoleon and so kept his kingdom; in 1815, however, in hopes of making himself King of United Italy, he sided with Napoleon, but attached prematurely (against Napoleon's advice), was defeated, and subsequently captured and shot by the restored Bourbons.

Neapolitan troops had long had the reputation for fine appearance, coupled oddly with outstanding poltroonery. Joseph, who lacked any military interests, did little to build a new army, except for a strong guard (mostly French) and introducing a weak form of conscription. Murat and his officials worked energetically, achieving an army of 70,000 men, of which 50,000 were trained and organized. It was, however, still a Neapolitan Army, needing a backbone of foreign officers and units.

Little is known concerning this army's uniforms during 1806-1809, except that French styles were followed. Thereafter, it became a colorist's delight. Murat was full of projects for new uniforms, especially for his big Royal Guard, but many of these never got beyond experimental models for jack of sufficient funds. Unfortunately, many of these proposed uniforms were accepted as actual issue, even by reliable authorities such as Richard Knötel in his Uniformkü,de. Also the situation was further complicated by Q. Cenni (Italian artist, late 19th - early 20th centuries) who produced large numbers of uniform plates, most of them imaginative and some outright fakes, and by the looting of private collections by at least one of Mussolini's officials.

Only during the 1960s did the researches of Herbert Knötel and Roger Forthoffer uncover the surviving, basic documentation necessary for an accurate reconstruction of the Neapolitan Army's uniforms.

It was a beautiful army - consequently I covered it in more detail than its military value deserved. As Napoleon told Joseph, "Your soldiers, or no soldiers at all - it's the same thing!”

Index Plate 1. Murat, (Joachim I), King of Naples, 1812. Plate 2. General of Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to Murat, 1812. Plate 3. Royal Orderly Officer, 1808-1809. Plate 4. General of Division, 1812. Plate 5. Light Infantry Regiment "Royal Corsica", Chasseur Private, 1808. Plate 6. 3rd Light Infantry Regiment, Voltigeur Private, 1814. Plate 7. 4th Light Infantry Regiment, Carabinier Officer, 1814. Plate 8. 1st Line Infantry Regiment, Standard Bearer, 1806-1811. Plate 9. 1st Line Infantry Regiment, Standard Bearer, 1812 Plate 10. 2nd Line Infantry Regiment, Drum Major, 1812.

Plate 11. 2nd Line Infantry Regiment, Bandsman, 1812. Plate 12. 2nd Line Infantry Regiment, Fusilier Private, 1812. Plate 13. 3rd Line Infantry Regiment, Voltigeur Private, 1813. Plate 14. 4th Line Infantry Regiment, Grenadier Private, 1812. Plate 15. 5th Line Infantry Regiment, Fusilier Sergeant, 1813. Plate 16. 6th Line Infantry Regiment, Bandsman, 1812. Plate 17. 6th Line Infantry Regiment, Grenadier Captain, 1812. Plate 18. 7th Line Infantry Regiment, Sapper, 1812. Plate 19. 7th Line Infantry Regiment, Officer, Undress Uniform, 1812-1813. Plate 20. 7th Line Infantry Regiment, Regimental Artillery Company, Private, 1813. Plate 21. 8th Line Infantry Regiment, Regimental Artillery Company, First Sergeant, 1813. Plate 22. 1st Light Cavalry Regiment, Elite Company Trumpeter, 1813. Plate 23. 2nd Light Cavalry Regiment, Private, Field Uniform, 1813. Plate 24. 3rd Light Cavalry Regiment, Sapper, 1815. Plate 25. 4th Light Cavalry Regiment, Elite Company Trumpeter, 1814. Plate 26. Cuirassier Regiment, 1808-1809. Plate 27. Foot Artillery, Private, 1812. Plate 28. Artillery Train Battalion, Officer, 1812. Plate 29. Engineers, Private First Class, 1811-1812. Plate 30. Provincial Dragoons, Basilicata, Elite Company Officer, c. 1812. Plate 31. Provincial Legion, Calabria Ultra, Fusilier Private, 1814. Plate 32. Provincial Legion, Cantado di Molise, Fusilier Private, 1814. Plate 33. Naples Municipal Guard, Hussar Company Officer, 1814~1815. Plate 34. Naples Municipal Guard, Voltigeur Private, 1813-1815. Plate 35. Departmental Company of Naples, Private, 1813. Plate 36. Royal Guard: Grenadier Regiment, Private, 1812. Plate 37. Royal Guard: Grenadier Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Provisional Uniform, Private,

1812. Plate 38. Royal Guard: Voltigeur Regiment, Sergeant-Major, 1809-1811. Plate 39. Royal Guard: Regiment of Velites-Chasseurs, Corporal, 1809. Plate 40. Royal Guard: 1st Regiment Foot Velites, Sapper, 1813. Plate 41. Royal Guard: 2nd Regiment Foot Velites, Proposed Uniform, Private, 1812. Plate 42. Royal Guard: Guides of the Guard, 1st Company, Sergeant, (no date). Plate 43. Royal Guard: Light Cavalry Regiment, Private, Full Dress, 1813-1815 Plate 44. Royal Guard: Light Cavalry Regiment, Trumpet Major, Full Dress, 1813-1815. Plate 45. Royal Guard: Mounted Velites, 1st Squadron, Private, c. 1810. Plate 46. Royal Guard: Mounted Velites, 1st Squadron, Trumpeter, 1808-1813. Plate 47. Royal Guard: Hussar Regiment, Private, 1813. Plate 48: Royal Guard: Hussar Regiment, Trumpeter, 1813. Plate 49. Royal Guard: Guards of Honor, Private, 1813. Plate 50. Royal Guard: Cuirassier Regiment, Private, 1813. Plate 51. Royal Guard: Lancer Regiment, Private, 1814-1815. Plate 52. Royal Guard: Horse Artillery, Undress Uniform, Private, 1812. Plate 53: Royal Guard: Horse Artillery, Trumpeter, 1812. Plate 54. Royal Guard: Naval Battalion, Private, 1812. Plate 55. Royal Guard: Gendarmerie d'Elite, Private, 1812. Plate 56. Royal Guard: Company of Veterans, 1812-1815. Scheme 1. Royal Guard, Grenadier Regiment Scheme 2. Royal Guard, Gardes d'Honneur/Gardes du Corps Scheme 3. Royal Guard, Velites/Hussars