SHAKO OF THE 79th LINE INFANTRY FUSILIER REGIMENT, model 1812, First Empire. 4227

SHAKO OF THE 79th LINE INFANTRY RIFLEMEN REGIMENT, model 1812, First Empire. 4227

Body made of 18.8 cm high black felt. Crown in very strong waxed cow leather, with a diameter of 25 cm folded over the felt to a height of 3.5 cm. At the bottom of the felt, a plain cow leather chin strap of 2 cm in width is sewn, with a brass buckle and its brass prong at the back, buckle height 2.2 cm, width 2 cm. Under this buckle, single calf leather gusset to facilitate movement. A rounded visor made of strong varnished cow leather stitched at the front of the shako, width 6.2 cm.
Plate (or badge) attached at the front, made of stamped brass depicting a crowned imperial eagle holding Jupiter's thunderbolt in its talons resting on a shield-shaped base with the number "79" cut out in the center, bordered in the base by an oak branch and laurel branch; the lateral ends of the shield are decorated with a lion's head, height 13.5 cm, width 11 cm.
Tri-color painted leather cockade placed above the plate and attached to the shako using a clip on each side. Ø 6.5 cm. White outer circle, then scarlet and blue at the center. Below the cockade, a small pocket for the pompom, attached to the shako by stitching.
Chinstraps. On each side of the shako, a chinstrap is attached, consisting of a double sheepskin strap, on which 14 brass scales are mounted alternately cut into two or three scallops, plus a fifteenth circular one at the end. The first scale is 3.5 cm wide, the second slightly less, decreasing in width until the last one, which is 1.9 cm. Each scale is secured with a flat wire. The chinstrap is fastened by a rosette, called in the 1812 regulations a "large button" of the same metal as the chinstrap, Ø 4 cm. It is stamped in the center with a five-pointed star. Each chinstrap is finished with a cord made of fabric.
Above the cockade, a round jonquil woolen pompom, Ø 7 cm.
Interior liner in black sheepskin of 5.5 cm in height, topped with a thick cream-colored canvas of about 10 cm in height that adjusts at the top with a white wool lace.

France.
First Empire.
Good to very good condition, some rubbing and wear on the chinstrap and visor, pocket at the back of the strap buckle damaged, complete but worn inner liner.
Perfectly homogeneous shako, never restored.

PROVENANCE:
Former Collection of Bernard Belluc.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The 79th Infantry Regiment (79th IR) is an infantry regiment of the French Army, with a dual lineage, created during the Revolution from the Boulonnais regiment, a French regiment from the Ancien Régime, and reconstituted in 1854 from the 4th Light Infantry Regiment, formerly the Corsican Chasseurs.
[...]
In 1813: Campaign in Germany, October 16-19: Battle of Leipzig
In 1814: War of the Spanish Independence, February 27, 1814: Battle of Orthez
On January 30, 1814, the 6th battalion of the 79th Infantry Regiment was raised in Nîmes, comprising 19 officers, 79 non-commissioned officers and corporals, and 664 conscripts. With incomplete training and equipment, the reserve division of Nîmes was sent as reinforcements to Lyon. Informed of the pitiful state of this division, Marshal Augereau ordered them to halt at Vienne and entrusted them to General Bardet, who managed to bring them all to Lyon by February 18, albeit poorly organized.