Shako Of The 79th Line Infantry Fusiliers Regiment, Model 1812, First Empire.

Shako of the 79th Line Infantry Regiment, Model 1812, First Empire. 4227. Body in black felt, 18.8 cm high. Crown in very strong waxed cowhide leather, 25 cm in diameter, folded down over the felt to a height of 3.5 cm. At the bottom of the felt is sewn a plain cowhide leather bourdalou (strap), 2 cm wide, with a brass buckle and its prong, also in brass, at the rear. Buckle height 2.2 cm, width 2 cm. Below this buckle is a simple calfskin gusset to facilitate the movement of the bourdalou. A rounded visor of strong varnished cowhide leather, 6.2 cm wide, is sewn to the front of the shako. A stamped brass plate (or escutcheon) is affixed to the front, depicting a crowned imperial eagle holding Jupiter's thunderbolt in its talons, resting on a shield-shaped base. The center of the shield is cut out with the number "79," bordered at the bottom by an oak branch and a laurel branch. The lateral ends of the shield are decorated with a lion's head. It measures 13.5 cm high and 11 cm wide. A tricolor painted leather cockade is placed above the plate and attached to the shako body with a clasp on each side. It measures 6.5 cm in diameter. The outer circle is white, then scarlet and blue in the center. Below the cockade is a gusset for the tassel, attached to the body by a seam. Chin straps are also included. On each side of the shako is a chin strap, made of a double leather thong, onto which are mounted 14 brass scales, alternately cut into two or three scallops, plus a fifteenth circular scale at the end. The first scale is 3.5 cm wide, the second slightly less, and so on, decreasing in size to the last, which is 1.9 cm. Each of these scales is held in place by a flat wire. The chin strap is fastened by a rosette, called a "large button" in the 1812 regulations, made of the same metal as the chin strap, 4 cm in diameter. It is stamped in its center with a five-pointed star. Each chin strap is finished with a canvas cord. Above the cockade is a round, daffodil-yellow wool pompom, 7 cm in diameter. Black sheepskin lining, 5.5 cm high, surmounted by a thick ecru canvas lining approximately 10 cm high, adjusted at the top by means of a white wool cord. France. First Empire. Good to very good condition, some rubbing and wear to the girdle and visor, gusset located at the back of the tightening buckle damaged, complete but worn lining. Perfectly homogeneous shako, never restored. PROVENANCE: Formerly in the Bernard Belluc collection. HISTORY: The 79th Infantry Regiment (79th RI) is an infantry regiment of the French Army, with a dual heritage, created during the Revolution from the Boulonnais Regiment, a French regiment of the Ancien Régime, and recreated in 1854 from the 4th Light Infantry Regiment, formerly the Corsican Chasseurs. [...]In 1813: German Campaign, October 16-19: Battle of Leipzig. In 1814: Spanish War of Independence, February 27, 1814: Battle of Orthez. On January 30, 1814, the 6th Battalion of the 79th Infantry Regiment was formed in Nîmes, comprising 19 officers, 79 non-commissioned officers and corporals, and 664 conscripts. With incomplete training and equipment, the reserve division from Nîmes was sent as reinforcements to Lyon. Informed of the deplorable state of this division, Marshal Augereau ordered them to be stopped in Vienna and entrusted them to General Bardet, who managed to bring them all to Lyon, rather poorly organized, by February 18.