![]() ![]() It meant that he was immediately recognisable amongst his troops on the battlefield. His simple and sober outfit contrasted strongly with the officers around him, glorious in their plumed hats. Whilst most of his officers wore their hats “en colonne”, that is, perpendicular to the shoulders, Napoleon wore his “en bataille”, that is, with the corns parallel to shoulders. ![]() ![]() He chose two military uniforms, one of the Grenadiers à pied and the other of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Garde, but the way he wore his hat was entirely his own. Fully conscious of the force of this symbolism, Bonaparte made it part of his image early on in the Consulate. No symbol ever so completely represented a historical character. This line is the opening of a remarkable monologue in which one of the emperor’s most implacable enemies expresses his hate for the hat which has become the embodiment of the emperor himself.įor most people, Napoleon and his hat are one. “There you sit, infamous hat!” was Prince Metternich’s famous address to the hat in a scene from Rostand’s Aiglon. ![]()
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