French Dragoons Uniforms
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Headdress
A fatigue cap, bordered with a 2.7 cm wide woolen braid, of the colour assigned to each regiment. Dragoons also wore a 10.8 cm high black woolen tricorne bordered with a 3.62 cm wide silver braid (0.9 cm inside and 2.72 outside) in full dress or on parade. A black cockade was fastened to the left side of the tricorne by a narrow black strap and a small button.
Coat, Waistcoat, Breeches
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Boots, Gaiters, Shoes
French dragoons were wearing the very distinctive bottines, a type of strong blackened leather gaiters fastened on the outer side of the leg with straps and buckles. A spur was also affixed to each bottine. This type of gaiters was a compromise between the light gaiters of the infantry and the strong boots of the cavalry.
Armament and Leather Equipment
Every trooper was equipped with an infantry musket with a bayonet, 1 pistol, 1 tool (hatchet, pick, spade or sickle) and a sword.
A natural leather bandoleer was worn across the chest and a natural leather swordbelt around the waist.
The grenadiers carried a grenade pouch.
Horse, saddlery and harnessing
Horses of the dragoon regiments were usually smaller than those used by the line cavalry.
The saddle cloth and housings were made of Lodève or Berry woolen cloth lined with plain fabric and bordered with a wide woolen braid in the distinctive colour of each regiment.
The saddle was à la Royale, of the same model as the saddle of the cavalry regiment but slightly smaller. All harnessing was of black leather.
Peculiarities of Musicians
Drummers of the royal regiments wore the king's livery while the uniforms of drummers of other regiments wore their colonel's livery.
Since they carried no tools nor musket, drummers were armed with 2 pistols.
At the time of the War of the Spanish Succession, each regiment had one oboist in each of the three first companies.
Peculiarities of Non Commissioned Officers
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Peculiarities of Officers
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References
Hall, Robert: Guidons and Uniforms of the French Dragoons under Louis XIV 1688-1714, 2001
Menguy, Patrice: Les Sujets du Bien-Aimé (a very interesting website which seems to have disapperared from the net)
Sapherson, C. A.: The French Cavalry 1688 - 1715, Raider Book, 1990
Vial, Jean-Louis, Nec Pluribus Impar
