The 26 Marshals of the Empire wore a single rank uniform, but each man personalised it so completely that no two Marshals looked alike.
Quick answer. Napoleon created 26 Marshals of the Empire between 1804 and 1815. The regulated Marshal's uniform was a dark blue habit, heavily embroidered in gold oak leaves on collar, cuffs and lapels, worn with white breeches, high boots and a bicorne with white ostrich feathers. In practice, each Marshal added personal flourishes: Murat's leopard skin saddle cloths, Ney's hussar fittings, Davout's plain black boots, Berthier's quill case worn as a badge of staff office.
The regulated dress of 1804
When Napoleon revived the medieval dignity of Marshal in May 1804, Imperial decree set a specific habit. It was a dark navy blue, almost black, cut long in the French habit long pattern. The collar, cuffs and lapels were embroidered in gold bullion in a dense oak and olive leaf pattern, the olive representing peace and the oak civic virtue. The design was by the Imperial embroiderer Picot and cost around 2,500 francs per coat.
Breeches were white kerseymere wool, worn with gold embroidered knee bands. Boots were polished black with a top band, often with a gold tassel for grande tenue. The bicorne was black beaver, bound in gold lace, with a plume of white ostrich feathers and a cockade. A ceremonial sword with a gilt and tortoiseshell hilt completed the kit.
Twenty six men, twenty six variations
Napoleon made 18 Marshals in 1804, then 8 more between 1807 and 1815. Four of the original eighteen were honorary. The other fourteen plus the later promotions led armies in the field, and field conditions encouraged personalisation. Louis Alexandre Berthier, Chief of Staff, carried an embroidered quill case on his sash and wore cuff embroidery lighter than regulation so his writing arm stayed loose.
Joachim Murat, King of Naples and Napoleon's greatest cavalry commander, is the most famous example. He designed his own coats, often in sky blue with a leopard skin pelisse, cherry red trousers with gold stripes, and curled hair down to his shoulders. He attracted bullets like a magnet and the Emperor let him.
Michel Ney and the hussar influence
Michel Ney, Prince of the Moskwa, had come up through the hussars. He kept hussar touches throughout his career, including a dolman style undress coat and the pelisse habit of carrying his second coat slung from the shoulder. At Waterloo he was dressed in a plain blue frock, not his full Marshal's habit, which is why eyewitnesses described him as unmistakable only by his red hair.
For a fuller sense of the hussar aesthetic that influenced him, our deep dive on the French hussars of this era is a useful companion read. Ney never lost the hussar's taste for personal courage, which cost him five horses killed under him at Waterloo.
Louis Davout and the quiet Marshal
Davout, Prince of Eckmuhl, dressed exactly to regulation. He was the only Marshal never defeated in a battle he commanded, and he scorned flamboyance. His uniforms were ordered from the official Imperial tailors and worn without alteration. His only concession was a pair of plain black boots when others wore top boots with gold tassels. Reports from Auerstadt in 1806 describe him as indistinguishable from a staff colonel, except for the Marshal's baton holder on his sash.
The baton itself was the Marshal's rank badge. It measured about 50 centimetres long, wrapped in dark blue velvet, studded with gilt eagles, and inscribed with the words Terror belli, decus pacis (Terror in war, ornament in peace).
What they wore under the embroidery
Marshals wore a plain white linen shirt with a stock, a white kerseymere waistcoat, and sometimes a sash of the Legion of Honour. The red sash of a Grand Aigle sat over the shoulder in grande tenue. For field dress, Marshals often wore a plain blue surtout, a long single breasted plain frock coat, over the breeches and boots, with the embroidered habit kept for levees and reviews.
The habit was expensive to maintain, and officers often ran up large debts to the Imperial embroiderers. Marshal Jean de Dieu Soult left debts of 60,000 francs on his dress uniforms alone when the Empire fell.
At Waterloo, 1815
Only three Marshals fought at Waterloo on the French side: Ney commanded the centre, Soult acted as Chief of Staff, Grouchy pursued the Prussians (and never arrived). Ney wore undress blue. Soult wore the embroidered habit under a plain cloak. Grouchy, 30 kilometres east at Wavre, wore field blue. For a wider view of the battle's dress, our Waterloo uniforms piece covers every side.
Napoleon himself wore the simple undress grey redingote of a colonel of the Chasseurs a Cheval of the Guard, not the Marshal's gold. That contrast, the plain Emperor among the gold Marshals, was deliberate theatre.
Common questions
How many Marshals did Napoleon create?
Twenty six in total: eighteen in May 1804, then eight more between 1807 and 1815. Four of the original eighteen were honorary.
What was the Marshal's baton for?
Rank badge. About 50 cm long, wrapped in blue velvet, studded with gilt eagles, inscribed Terror belli, decus pacis. It was presented personally by Napoleon.
Did the Marshals wear Marshal uniforms in battle?
Rarely. Field blue frock coats were far more common. The embroidered habit was for levees, parades and formal reviews.
Which Marshal was the best dressed?
Murat, by a wide margin. He invented his own uniforms in dramatic colours, often included leopard skin and ostrich plumes, and dressed his aides to match.
What did Napoleon himself wear?
The plain grey undress redingote of a Chasseurs a Cheval colonel over the dark green habit of the Guard. His simplicity was a political choice.