by edward | Sep 2, 2026 | Writing, Writing Prompts
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.
by edward | Aug 31, 2026 | Writing, Writing Prompts
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!
by edward | Apr 8, 2026 | Administrivia, Featured, Substack, Writing
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!
by edward | Dec 19, 2025 | Family, School Memories, Writing, Writing Prompts
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.
by edward | Dec 5, 2025 | Pen and Ink, Tools
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.
by edward | Sep 3, 2023 | Talents, Talents Universe, Writing
“She sits on the Big Gray Rocks”
big gray rooks
Mississippi River at the Moonwalk, French Quarter, New Orleans, March 2019 02, by Infrogmation
Big Gray Rocks
Anil looked up from his workstation in Ops.
“Does anyone know where Mike is? I’ve texted him twice, no reply.”
“Marconi and the Lakefront?” Lyn asked.
“No, I had Kate check there,” Anil replied.
“Ask Mary Margaret. She’s best at predicting his moods,” Lyn said.
Anil nodded and texted Meg.
I’m not surprised he’s gone off the grid for a bit. You heard the news, right?
“News?”
“Yeah, Jimmy Buffett passed away last night.”
“That’s a shame, but it’s not something I’d put high on the ‘news’ list.”
“You’re not a Parrotthead, Anil. I’ve got this, I’ll have him call when I find him.”
“Thanks!”
Meg got up from the table in the courtyard at Celtic Bayou Gifts and Metaphysical Supplies and stuck her head in the shop. Tara looked up from behind the counter, where she was reading.
“Oui, Madame?” Tara asked.
“I’m stepping out for a minute,” Meg said.
“No problem!” Tara said.
Meg stepped out of the shop’s carriageway a few minutes later, after ditching her flip flops for a pair of Doc Martens. She stepped out onto Chartres Street and walked towards St. Louis Cathedral.
“Past the boutique — I guess Fleurty Girl counts as a Boutique?”
She paused in Pirates Alley
“Down the alley, to the river…he got the places out of order, but the spirit is there. Sorta like Williams did with the streetcar directions,” Meg thought.
And there he was, sitting on the big gray rocks.
“I’m not taking off my boots and socks down here, you know. Nasty funk in that water!” Meg said, as she made herself comfortable next to Mike O’Donnell.
“Hey. You figured my location out?” He asked.
“Yup. When I remembered you said you were saying Saturday morning Mass at the Cathedral, it wasn’t hard to suss out. Anil thought you’d be out at the Lakefront,” Meg replied.
“Legit, legit. But ‘In the Shelter’ is such a good song, and one of the men at Mass was humming it as he walked out of Church today,” Mike explained.
“How about you check in with Anil, make sure he’s not losing his mind, and we’ll go for a cheeseburger?” Meg suggested.
