Elite Cavalry #9 – Chasseurs a Cheval
The first in our Napoleonic Elite Cavalry series is of three Guard Chasseurs a Cheval.
Napoleon’s Elite Cavalry – Chasseurs a Cheval on a Sunday
Three Chasseur à Cheval de la Garde Imperiale, in Sunday “walking out” dress, Paris, between 1804 and 1814. They walk past a cafe called Au Tambour d’Arcole.
Napoleon’s Guard Chasseurs wore Hussar-style uniforms. They wear an under jacket called a dolman, and an outer jacket called a pelisse. Because it’s a Winter day, they wear the outer jackets buttoned up for the cold. In the Spring/Summer, the pelisse would be draped over the left shoulder. The troopers on the left and right wear green dolmans and breeches with tasseled Hussar boots. Their pelisses are red. The man in the center is a trumpeter. He wears different colors, to stand out in the line. That way, an officer giving orders knows here he is, so he can use his bugle to call out the commands. The trumpeter wears a blue dolman and breeches. His pelisse is rose colored.
The Chasseur on the left is a sous-officier, an NCO. The chevron on his pelisse indicate he is a maréchal des logis, a sergeant. His uniform has more gold lace and ornamentation.
The third Chasseur is a trooper. The lesser amount of gold lace and ornamentation of his uniform, and that of the trumpeter, indicates he is subordinate to the sous-officier.
So, the maréchal des logis is likely older than his companions. Napoleon’s army had two levels of sergeant. The maréchal des logis corresponds to the same rank in the modern French army (and US forces) as an E-5. The next rank was maréchal des logis chef, a modern E-8/E-9.
Headgear
All three men wear cocked hats rather than the big, cylindrical Colbacks worn on campaign. The colback offers protection from sabre cuts and bullets. Since they’re walking out in Paris, these men wear a lighter, simpler cocked hat, with plumes matching their uniforms.
All three men carry their sabres, as is required for walking-out dress, but not the ornate purse or sabretache that usually hangs from the sword belt.
Story Ideas
So, who are these men to each other? The sous-officier is several ranks higher than the trooper and trumpter. Are they related? Perhaps the senior man has been in Napoleon’s guides for years, and his younger brother, a musician, enlisted in the same regiment. Maybe the other trooper is a cousin, or perhaps just a friend in the same troop who came along on this lovely Paris afternoon.
Did they come to the regiment as skilled horsemen? Did they learn how to ride when they enlisted? The Chasseur à Cheval de la Garde were the Emperor’s personal bodyguards. A detail chasseurs and an officer accompanied him everywhere. The rest of the regiment stood in the line of battle, usually in reserve. Bonaparte would personally commit his Guard at tipping points in battles, to ensure victory.
While in Paris, the Chasseur à Cheval de la Garde participated in countless military parades and reviews, proud to serve their Emperor.
Lucien Rousselot Paintings of Napoleon’s Elite Cavalry
These wonderful paintings by Lucien Rousselot are great #writingprompts.
Napoleonic paintings by Lucien Rousselot
Beginning next month, we’re presenting the art of Lucien Rousselot. He was a brilliant artist and “uniformologist.” While he painted the French Army through many periods, much of his work focuses on the uniforms of Bonaparte’s army.
Rousselot was quite prolific. So, we’re starting with some of the most exciting uniforms of the period. This collection, Napoleon’s Elite Cavalry: Cavalry of the Imperial Guard, 1804-1815, contains ninety-one plates of Bonaparte’s bravest and best-dressed officers and troops.
#WritingPrompts
These illustrations offer so much inspiration for not only analysts and military historians, but writers as well. Rousselot presents these soldiers in active scenes. They’re not merely standing still, posing for the artist. The plates offer the writer context, from riding in the field to walking in the park with a young lady on the arm. We see not only campaign uniforms but court and evening wear. We see combinations of officers, NCOs, and troopers. Rousselot gives us nobles on down to the guys in the line.
NOLA Connection
So, these plates depict French soldiers. What’s the tie-in to New Orleans? Consider two possibilities. First, we know a number of members of Napoleon’s army made their way to America, particularly New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. C.S. Forester even included a story about an encounter (after the war) between Horatio Hornblower and soldiers of the Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, in “Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.”
The second possibility ties into the origin story of the Napoleon House Restaurant in the Vieux Carré. You may know the story, how Nicholas Girod, mayor of New Orleans in 1814, and his friends took Bonaparte’s defeat and exile to Elba badly. They always said that someone should rescue the Emperor from Elba and bring him to New Orleans. Girod promised to give Bonaparte the family home, located on Chartres and St. Louis Streets. Bonaparte is part of the city’s romantic past.
Our approach
We’ll present Rousselot to you once a week. Posts will appear on NOLA History Guy blog, Patreon, and Substack, Eloquent Profanity, and the Book of Zucker. Since we consider these writing ideas, that’s the angle you’ll read. If you find the plates appealing from a technical or historic perspective, comment or email us and let’s discuss!
Airport Drinking
Knowing how you behave when drunk is essential when Airport Drinking.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (Bart Everson photo)
Airport Drinking – Going home versus going to jail.
Police body cam recordings fascinate me. Social media creators curate these recordings, presenting the hysterical women who become unhinged during traffic stops and DUIs. The “American State Nationals,” aka “Sovreign Citizens” are particularly amusing. Still, there’s one set of cop videos that absolutely makes my day: airport arrests.
Airport cop bodycam vids remind me of that old show on A&E that followed around Southwest Airlines employees. While the show explored a lot more than troublesome passengers, bodycam scenes cut straight to the chase.
Airports and alcohol
Airport drinking is more than an American tradition. Airports all over the globe offer passengers the opportunity to get likkered up before boarding their flights. The conventional wisdom is, get a glass of wine into a nervous passenger, they relax. Road Warriors know that a Maker’s on the rocks will help them nap on that JFK-ATL flight. It’s all good, so long as drinkers stay in their lanes. When they don’t, well, that’s why there’s good bodycam scenes.
The key to airport drinking is knowing what kind of drunk you are. Airlines don’t care if you’re a bit tipsy when you buckle into your seat. They care when folks are disruptive. Gate agents want those boarding doors closed, so they can roll back that jetway and send those smiling pilots on their way. So long as you don’t cross the line into the Disruption Zone, the only person happier than the gate agent is the bartender you left a nice tip for. (You did tip, didn’t you? Don’t be that person. Tip those folks who deal with your drunk ass.)
Here’s the thing: most folks don’t know what kind of drunk they are in an airport. You go out to dinner with your partner and split a bottle of wine. That’s, what’ 2-3 glasses. If you got to the restaurant in a good mood, you’re likely happier now. Airport drinking just isn’t that dynamic. For starters, flyers don’t eat well. At best, maybe you grabbed something in the food court on the concourse. Sometimes, you’re just munching on a bag of Zapps or Cheez-its while you’re knocking back Tito’s bloody marys.
Things take a turn
That’s when you’re the most vulnerable. You get that buzz on the phone, telling you that your flight’s delayed 30 minutes because of weather in Chicago or something. It’s a clear night at BWI or Lurve Field, and you’re impaired. You’re not processing the whole weather thing.
You want to go home.
You tell everyone in earshot you want to go home. You get loud, possibly belligerent. The gate agent asks you to lower your voice.
But you want to go home.
You cross that line where the airline employees just get sick of your nonsense. They cancel your boarding pass and rebook you for a flight the next day, when (hopefully) you’ve sobered up.
This is where the cops enter the scene and the bodycam begins. The cops ask you to leave the concourse, get a taxi to a motel, and try again the next day. Those who don’t end up in jail.
What kind of drunk are you?
Lucky Dogs, a New Orleans classic at MSY (moodiedavittreport.com photo)
Knowing how you behave when you’ve had too much to drink is important. That knowledge can make the difference in whether or not you’re able to come back to a restaurant, or if you get 86’d from the pub. It absolutely will determine if you’ll get home on your return flight.
Are you a loud drunk? Even if you’re a happy drunk, loud can be problematic at the airport. For those gate agents, it’s about disruption. If you’re a problem in the open air of the gatehouse, they’re thinking about how much of an inconvenience you’ll be to everyone around you when you sit in 15B.
Are you an emotional drunk? If you’re crying for whatever reason, you’re not listening. They worry you won’t comply when instructed to do things.
Are you a staggering drunk? Oh, hail no, if you’re not able to get up and down the aisle, you’ll be a problem in the event of an evacuation.
Forewarned is forearmed
Ask your friends. Ask your partner. Record yourself when you go out. You may find out that your fun-person persona after three drinks while the game’s on at the pub won’t cut it at Gate C19. You need to know that before you’re led out of the airport in cuffs.
Sorting out Substack…
My Substack usage evolved since the platform opened.
Sorting out Substack
QUICK SUMMARY: I have two substacks: @nola, which mirrors this blog and replaces my old “YatPundit” account on the bird app, and @NOLAHistoryGuy
When Substack first became A Thing, I wasn’t overly motivated to go there. After all, my blogs (here, YatPundit, and NOLA History Guy) rolled along just fine. With respect to the people screwed over by major publications, I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t require a landing spot. So, I read blogs of folks I enjoyed reading at their former homes, as well as supporting local friends and writers.
As the platform grew, Substack added their “notes” feature. I wasn’t overly moved to adopt it. While still a sewer, Twitter worked for me. The ownership switch that turned Twitter to Xitter created a vacuum for me. I lived-tweeted hurricanes, power outages, potholes, and restaurant reports since the early days of the platform. Substack, along with BlueSky, broke out of the pack of Xitter replacements. That’s when I installed the app on my Android device.
Notes replace Xits
Yeah, no Xitter for me, and that was before grok attained notoriety as a CSAM platform. Even though way too many writers and pundits I enjoy reading stayed (most notably for me, the ObamaBros), many of their followers shared and commented on their stuff via Substack notes.
This is where things got complicated for me. I usually stayed logged in as NOLA History Guy on the Substack app. Unlike the old bird app, there’s no provision for reading a note on one account and re-stack it to another. So, my history account evolved into an omnibus mess of politics, goofy shit, and, oh yeah, history. This broke a long-standing policy of mine that went back years on old bird app. I talked politics on one account, foodie stuff on another, and NOLA stuff on the history account.
Mind you, it’s not that I worry about offending people reading NOLA History Guy with all my liberal political positions. Don’t like it? Don’t read my stuff. I divided up the topics for my liberal friends. Like many folks, I have times when I want to read current events and times when I want to admire architecture of houses in Faubourg St. John. So, we’re going back to that. The Substack app primary device connects to Eloquent Profanity and my tablet to NOLA History Guy.
I hope y’all enjoy the split!
Mr. Stanley
Random photos often trigger memories, like a Tumblr image leading to memories of Mr. Stanley Canepa.
Mr. Stanley and the Men’s Department
I like to surf fashion-related blogs on Tumblr. They’re a treasure-trove of quick ideas that often work their way into stories. The photo above is one of those. This photo not only offered a writing idea, but also triggered a fond memory.
So, I posted the photo as one of my #writingprompts, a thought, a comment from the lady sitting at the table:
The trick to being left alone while sitting and reading is to make it look like you’re waiting for someone…
Then I noticed her bag.
YSL = Yves St. Laurent. It’s a brand whose reach extends from couture to department store. I chuckled as I passed by signs for YSL cologne at the front of the Dillard’s store in Lakeside Mall last week. That took me back to my days selling Men’s clothing at Maison Blanche in Clearview Shopping Center.
MB Clearview
That’s where Mr. Stanley comes into the story. Stan Canepa was a long-time Maison Blanche manager. He came to the Men’s departments at Clearview around 1979. Canepa was from Chalmette, a real Yat. When Men’s Furnishings started carrying YSL neckties, I remember him telling the ladies who worked up in that department to display the ties prominently. But Stan didn’t use a very French pronunciation for Yves St. Laurent. He said “Yves” as “Why-Vez.”
Now, I pretty much grew up in Gentilly while sleeping in Metairie. I didn’t know a lot of folks from Chalmette until I hit UNO as an undergraduate. The Yat accent was eye-opening at first, but you get used to it,, particularly when working regularly with a Chalmation. Mr. Stan’s absolute butchering of the French language was so perfectly New Orleans. So much so, when I saw that logo on the purse, it’s the first thing I thought of. Mr. Stanley was a smart guy–I learned a lot about people management just watching how he handled the department.
Christmas cheer
That brought me to an additional Stan Canepa memory. Back in 2012, when I wrote Maison Blanche Department Stores, I spent a bit of time up in the Special Collections section at the Main Branch of the New Orleans Public Library. Not only did they have a solid Vertical File on MB, they had almost every edition of “Shop Talk,” the store’s employee newsletter. I scanned many issues of “Shop Talk,” and read pretty much every one of them. In the process, a photo jumped out at me, from December, 1965. It’s the one up top. Here’s the caption, from Chapter 2:
Post-storm Christmas. Stanley Canepa, long-time Buyer for the Boy Scout department, posing with his family in their Chalmette home, December, 1965. Like many Maison Blanche families, the Canepas repaired their homes and life went on. (The author had the privilege of working for Mr. Canepa when he was Area Manager for Men’s wear at the Clearview store in 1979.) (NOPL)
The storm here was, Hurricane Betsy. Betsy hit New Orleans on 10-September-1965 as a Category 4 hurricane. St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward of the city bore the brunt of the wind and water. Finding this photo, thirty-three years after working with Mr. Stan (who had passed by that time), gave me pause. We endure hardship and keep going. I remember how happy we were to get back in our house after Katrina. The Canepas surely felt that way in 1965.
Hopefully we pass on our better angels to the next generation. Mr. Stanley certainly did that.
Shout-outs
Thanks to Wayne Everard, Archivist Emeritus, New Orleans Public Library, for being so accommodating to this geek author doing research up in his domain. Also, a recommendation: Feel free take inspiration from my ramblings, but if you really want to learn how to be a better writer, you absolutely want to follow Maurice Carlos Ruffin on Substack.
“to those who observe”
Reading someone end a greeting with “to those who observe” makes my ass itch.
Lightsaber menorah seen on Pinterest. Sorry to the creator, I know I shouldn’t use stuff from that copyright infringement cesspool.
Some criticism of “to those who observe”
It’s that time of year when folks in marketing-forward careers want to wish potential customers/clients good cheer and blessings. These folks often encounter a dilemma, though. If they wish someone a happy <insert holiday or religious occasion here>. will said well-wishes backfire? To put it bluntly, will Christians get offended when you wish them, Ramadan Mubarak?
Enter the subject phrase. Let’s say it’s the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got more than a few friends who are Jewish. While some are more religious than others (imagine that, it’s more than just Catholics who do that), most celebrate Hanukkah.
This should be so bloody easy. The years when Hanukkah and Christmas directly intersect are rarer than rare. It’s December 14th, wish your Jewish friends well on their festival. Same for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Wish your Hindu friends well in October or November (Diwali is determined based on a lunar calendar).
Overthinking
There’s no need to overthink this. Christians shouldn’t get upset that your circle of friends and associates extends beyond them. “But what about the ones who might get upset” you ask? I get that you might not have the immediate, oh-fuck-that-guy reaction I would. So, let’s consider the situation.
First, just how many people are we talking about? I note with interest that one of Earl Higgins’ 100 Catholic Things To Do Before You Die is to put a “Keep Christ in Christmas” sticker on your car. A lot of Catholics just ain’t gonna do that. Same for other followers of the Prophet from Nazareth. Still, we wish them “Merry Christmas.” We might even say “Happy Holidays” if we’re unsure just what they’re happy about during the winter holiday season. If they don’t observe another religion’s special time/celebration, their brains process it and move on.
Second, why are you worried about those who do care you recognize other religions? We’ve pretty much established that your “to those who observe” target audience is pretty small. Why do you give a shit? Is your mortgage brokerage limited to Our Lady of the Holy Bigots Catholic Church, or the First Evangelical Church of My Religion is the Only One? If so, well, you probably hit the X in the top right corner of your browser on me already.
Third, who are you looking for in terms of clients/customers? Muslims, Hindus, and Jews get in auto accidents and need PI attorneys. Their kids get into shit with cops and need representation. They buy houses and borrow money. While I admit that wishing someone, Ramadan Mubarak, isn’t all that much effort, it’s a start. The more we acknowledge the individual ingredients of the gumbo, the better it tastes.
Happy Almost Mardi Gras, to those who observe!
Ellington Pens Set #FountainPenFriday
An old feature returns, talking about a recent set purchase.
Fountain and Ballpoint pen set from Ellington Pens
Ellington Pens fountain and roller ball set
It’s been a moment since we did a #FountainPenFriday. The main reason for this is that I traveled with very inexpensive fountain pens for so long. There wasn’t much to say about them. When one is on the road or 30+ weeks a year, things go missing or get left behind. Pens in particular.
The one good thing about using fountain pens is folks are less likely to walk off with them. Someone asks if you have a pen they can borrow, you give them your backup up plastic ballpoint pen. Invariably, those were hotel pens. It was easy to say, just keep it, and grab another one when you got back to the hotel.
Bargain basement Chinese pens
So, I ordered several under-ten-dollar pens from a Chinese company called Jinhao. They’re serviceable, and easily available from eBay vendors. When the work switched from in-person training to remote (via WebEx), I felt comfortable looking at better pens. As anyone who uses Facebook knows, once you look at an ad, the Zuckerd00ds push five alternative items into your feed. If you’ve already made up your mind, this is annoying, particularly on a larger-ticket item. When it’s a pen, however, the suggestions offered new possibilities.
Matching set
Zuckerd00ds pushed Ellington Pens at me after several other brands. The notion of a decent ballpoint pen appealed to me. Tossing a tech geek a hotel pen in a computer class. Retirement enabled me to do more NOLA History Guy speaking engagements. Someone asks to borrow a pen to write down the title of your book, offering a better pen ups the game.
I spotted this set of black pens in an Ellington Pens ad. The price was right, under $50 for the set. So far, so good. The nib on the fountain pen is fine. I occasionally use the ballpoint, to make sure it’s OK, should I loan it to someone.
The bottom line
Having a nice, heavier pen to hand to someone is not going to make a lasting impression, but if it makes a first impression, then it’s helpful.
So long, Bodie
Bodie, friend and guardian, crossed over recently.
Bodie the bodyguard.
Adios, Bodie
Bodie, crossed the rainbow bridge last week. He left at the age of 17. Bodie was my daughter-in-law Tegan’s doggo since college. When she moved in, Bodie naturally joined the new family. Her parents loved him as well, but agreed that she was better suited to caring for an older dog. Even though Bodie’s mobility was getting more and more limited, the addition of our grandson to the household gave him new purpose. He was the guardian.
Bodie and the Halloween dogs!
While my boy loved our cats, he began in a dog home. We had Pippin, my cairn terrier familiar when he was born. Brandy the cat (same age as Pippin) performed guardian duty for Justin as well. Brandy lived to ten, Pippin, 16, We decided not to get another dog, but we did adopt Amber, another orange tabby. The boy bonded with Amber, but then grew apart, as he went away to uni and joined the Navy. He loves animals and handles pets well. He and Bodie got along famously from the start.
During Tegan’s pregnancy, Justin took up the dog care duties, most notably walks. For an older dog, that meant multiple trips daily. When Caleb came home, Bodie’s walks included the baby, as a rule. Since the boy works remote most of the week, he had a shadow, office to kitchen to den. In particular, the two of them watched TV together, Bodie claimed a comfy den chair when he wasn’t on the sofa with mom and dad.
Long and short friendships
In he last month or so, the poor guy’s health declined sharply, Like many of us, Bodie appeared ready to let go. On the fateful day, he sat with my boy while he did a conference call. When he went down to get coffee and check the TV, Bodie curled up next to him, went to sleep. The boy moved him to the comfy chair and mom, dad, and baby sat with him until he was gone. Naturally, mom was devastated.
I met Bodie when we went up last year for the wedding. We renewed our friendship when in September when we visited the baby. Like so many dogs, he knew who is and isn’t a dog person. He took to me right off, sitting with me on the sofa like he did normally. I hesitate to call him a “grand-dog,” though. He was definitely a friend I wish I had had more time with.
Friday Cat Blogging
I call this fruit box Arwen’s “Fishing Camp.” She’s got boxes everywhere. In wife’s study/office (the firstborn’s old bedroom), there’s Arwen’s office cubicle. In the kitchen, she has an Amazon box that’s her condo. In the den’s there’s a shoebox I call her summer home, and this flat. She fits, she sits.
The YatCats, Arwen and her Ginger pal, Nala, have their own BlueSky account: @yatcats.bsky.social
LSUNO to UNO to LSU New Orleans
Still processing the name change to LSU New Orleans.
UNO becomes LSU New Orleans
The announcement and approval of a name change for the University of New Orleans generates mixed feelings. In high school and as a UNO undergrad, I was proudly in the “Fuck LSU!” camp, particularly as we lobbied for the Lakefront Arena through the Student Government Association. You’d think I would be adamantly opposed to this name change/re-branding, but I’m more open to the notion.
Not your father’s UNO
Its more than just the switch from the LSU System to the University of Louisiana system and back to LSU now. When I graduated (BA, Secondary Education) in 1980, there were 25K+ students on the lakefront. Now, enrollment is more like 7K. There’s legit reasons for this dramatic drop that require a history post to explain. Given the downsizing the school experienced, it didn’t feel like a horribly bad decision. The basketball advocates favor the return to the LSU fold. That makes sense, since LSU is more of a minor league sports holding company than university anyway.
Academics
The drop in enrollment the school’s endured took a toll on the faculty. It’s not that the quality of teachers dropped as much as the…looking for the right word…stature, maybe…of the faculty has diminished. A great example of this is Stephen Ambrose. Ambrose raised the university’s profile dramatically, through his writing, particularly “Band of Brothers,” and the creation of the National World War II Museum. The Chemistry Department produced some ground-breaking research. Naturally, the teachers on that level moved on to better offers and positions. It’s the way of the world.
Will returning to the LSU System help boost the faculty? I’m no expert, but will be monitoring this.
Silver and Blue
I don’t see a problem with the name change. If the branding experts think being “LSU” brings something to the table that will keep the school moving forward, OK. I most definitely do not want UNO going purple and gold. I’m glad Master P agrees with me. In the 1930s, Brother Martin Hernandez, SC, changed the colors of St. Aloysius High School from purple and gold to crimson and white, mainly because the former were LSU’s colors. I see no reason an LSU-New Orleans can’t still be silver and blue. I’ll miss the seal (see my polo shirt), of course.
Further monitoring
The media present the change as a fait accompli, but it’s all nebulous at this point. Hopefully we can, at a minimum, influence the colors.
Trusted Talents
