Russian Infantry Facings - Inspection Era

Introduction

This page describes the facings of the Russian infantry during the Inspection period from 1802 until the introduction of divisions at the start of 1808. Most previous information in English relies on Viskovatov, who recorded an unimplemented proposal. New information has been published in recent Russian journals, most of which came to my attention in notes accompanying Conrad's exemplary translation of Viskovatov. I may extend the coverage to later dates, for, while the correct information is available, it is often miscompiled.

Line Regiments June 8, 1802
Inspection - miter bag, collar, and cuffRegimental - shoulder straps, miter head band, pompon center
redwhiteyellowlt.crimson13turquoiseroselt.greengraypurpleblue14
yellowVelikiye LukiRyazanNeva
redLeib-grenadierPavlovsk Gr.KexholmBelozersk1YeletsTenginsk2LithuaniaPetrovsk7
turquoiseSt. Petersburg Gr.Taurida Gr.ChernigovTobolskSevskDnieperRevalSofiyaKoporye
lt.greenYekaterinoslav Gr.PskovRostovMuromArchangelNizovTulaVolhynia
strawAzovViborgOld Ingermanland5ApsheronRyazhskPodolia
roseKiev Gr.1Little Russia Gr.SmolenskBryansk3Galich
purple8Siberia Gr.Kherson Gr.Nizhni NovgorodVladimir1YaroslavlLadogaAleksopolKozlovNew IngermanlandCrimea
ecruTroitskVitebskBelev1Sevastopol4
blue14Caucasus Gr.KazanSuzdalTiflisKabardalater Saratov6Vologda
whiteMoscow Gr.Phanagoria Gr.PermVoronezhUglichKurskPolotsk
lt.crimsonMoscow1NovgorodVyatkaNarvaButyrkiKolyvan2Poltava
orangeAstrakhan Gr.1SchlüsselburgNasheburgTambov3OrelStary Oskol5NavagaUkraineSaratov6 later KuraOlonets
camelRylskUfaYekaterinburg
grayShirvanTomskSelenginsk

Line Regiments July 3, 1805
Inspection - collar, cuffsRegimental - shoulder straps, pompon center
red white yellowlt.crimson13turquoiseroselt.greengraypurpleblue14
yellowVelikiye Luki Ryazan Neva
red Leib-grenadierPavlovsk Gr.KexholmBelozerskYeletsTenginskLithuaniaPetrovsk7
turquoiseSt. Petersburg Gr.Taurida Gr.ChernigovTobolskSevskDnieperRevalSofiyaKoporye later Kaluga9
lt.greenYekaterinoslav Gr.PskovRostovMuromArchangelNizovTulaVolhynia later Mogilev9Kostroma9
strawAzovViborgOld IngermanlandApsheronRyazhskPodoliaVilnaPenza
roseKiev Gr.Little Russia Gr.SmolenskBryanskGalich later Estonia9
dk.green piped redNizhni NovgorodVladimirYaroslavlAleksopolKozlovNew IngermanlandCrimeaOdessa
ecruSiberia Gr.Kherson Gr.TroitskVitebskLadogaBelev
blue14Caucasus Gr.KazanSuzdalTiflisKabardaSevastopolVologdaSaratov
whiteMoscow Gr.Phanagoria Gr.PermVoronezhUglichKurskPolotsk
lt.crimsonMoscowNovgorodVyatkaNarvaButyrkiKolyvanPoltava
orangeAstrakhan Gr.SchlüsselburgNasheburgTambovOrelStary OskolNavagaUkraineKuraOlonets
camelRylskUfaYekaterinburg
grayShirvanTomskSelenginsk

New Regiments Dec. 12 1806
collarcuffs10cuff flapsshoulder straps
Libauazure14redredred
Kamchatkawhite15white15white15red
Mingreliayellowyellowredred
Villmanstrandredredredwhite, piped red
Brestwhiteredredyellow
Kremenchugyellowredredyellow
Minskazure14redredwhite
Nyslottdk.greenredredwhite
Okhotskazure14azure14redyellow
Pernauwhiteredwhiteazure14
Yakutskdk.greenreddk.greenwhite

Jaeger Regiments
pompon center,cuff,collar, and cuff, turnback, and pants piping
straw131st
rose2d
red3d
gray4th
turquoise5th
fire136th
white7th
blue148th
yellow9th
black10th
apricot1311th
lt.crimson1312th
ecru1313th
chestnut14th
lt.iron15th
camel16th
violet17th
brown18th
purple19th
cuff and collar and pants piping/cuff and collar piping
dk.green/?1720th
red/white21st
white/red22d
orange/white23d
(lt.green)16/azure1424th
straw/red25th
blue14/red26th
collar/cuff and collar, cuff, turnback, and pants piping
(lt.green)16/red27th
(lt.green)16/yellow28th
(lt.green)16/turquoise29th
(lt.green)16/white30th
(lt.green)16/crimson31st
(lt.green)16/black32d

Garrison Regiments
Inspection - collar, cuffsRegimental - shoulder straps, pompon center
redwhiteyellowlt.crimsonturquoiseroselt.greengraypurpleblue14camelorangestrawblack
yellowViborgFredrikshamnVillmandstrandKexholmNyslottRochensalm
redKronstadtSchlüsselburgNarvaNovgorodPskovMitau
turquoiseRigaPernauDünamündeReval13Arensburg
purple8KhersonOchakov
ecruPerekopAkhtiarlater Yekaterinoslav11
blue14AstrakhanDmitriyevTsaritsynAzovTaganrogKizlyarMozdokVladikavkaz
whiteSmolenskVitebskMogilev
lt.crimsonKievYekaterinoslav
orangeMoscowVoronezhSaratovTambovArchangelVladimirNizhni NovgorodTver later VologdaVeliki Ustyuglater Tver12Penza
camelKazanOrenburgKizelVerkhne-UralskTroitskZverinogolovskoyeOrskSimbirskVyatkaUfa1st Orenburg2d Orenburg3d Orenburg4th Orenburg
grayIrkutskSelenginskTobolskOmskPetrovskSemipalatinskBiyskKamchatkaZhelezinkaTara

Battalion Pompon Colors
1st2d3d4th
independent battalionswhite
2 battalion regimentswhitered
3 battalion regimentswhiteyellowred
4 battalion regimentswhiteazure14greenred

The outside of the pompon was colored by battalion, but the sequence was determined by the number of battalions in the unit.

NOTES

    For aesthetic purposes, the miter head band of some regts varied:
  1. black
  2. blue14
  3. as Inspection
  4. lt.green
  5. Kosmolinskii gives Stary Oskol a dk.green miter hat band, but Ulyanov has a dark band for Old Ingermanland instead and this seems more likely.
  6. Saratov was displaced by Kura Jan. 10, 1803
  7. Petrovsk took dk.green facings
  8. becoming dk.green piped red Nov. 27, 1804
  9. New regts created Sept. 10, 1805 displaced the existing regiments. The facings the latter had June 21, 1805 may indicate they took new colors in anticipation: Koporye - violet Volhynia - dk.green Galich - azure14
  10. The new regiments had 5 buttons on the cuff, except the Yakutsk which had 3.
  11. Yekaterinoslav was moved to the Crimea Inspection.
  12. Most likely, Tver was displaced to this position when Vologda and Veliki Ustyug were raised Aug. 15 1804.
  13. Some regiments used lt.green pompon centers to avoid clashes with battalion color, including all line regiments with lt.crimson distinctives.
  14. Russian distinguishes between lighter and darker values of the blue hue. I have used azure for the former and blue for the latter.
  15. Follows Ulyanov and Zweguintzow. Viskovatov gives red.
  16. It is not clear if these facings changed when the Jaeger coat changed to dk.green on November 19, 1807.
  17. It is not clear if the cuff and collar were piped, and if so whether in dk. or lt.green.

REFERENCES

Conrad, M., trans. Historical Descriptions of the Clothing and Arms of the Russian Army Vol. 10a&b by A. V. Viskovatov. Eatontown, NJ, 1993-4.
Korolev, V. “Kisti grenaderskikh shapok, mushketerskikh i yegerskikh shlyap v 1802-1807 godakh” Orel no. 1 (1992) St. Petersburg.
Kosmolinskii, P. Tseikhgauz no. 3 (1994), cited in Conrad.
Ulyanov, I. Regulyarnaya Pekhota 1801-1855. Moscow 1997.
Zweguintzow, W. L'Armée Russe. Vol. 4 1801--1825. Paris, 1973.
© July 8, 2000 Jonathan Gingerich
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