Soldier foot-artillery

Foot-Artillery

The foot gunner was armed with musket of dragoon model, bayonet, and a short infantry saber.

Foot artillery companies, or batteries, consisted of 100 to 120 men with 6 cannons and 2 six-inch howitzers. During a longer campaign the company would be reduced to 3 or 4 guns as there were losses among the gunners. Fewer gunners were able to serve fewer guns. Gunter Janoschke of Germany writes: "The main problems with fielding the standard number of guns was the shortage of horses, the capture of guns or the inability to repair them. The crew was not the problem, because guns didn't needed crews full of well-trained artillerymen. A few of them plus additional untrained men were enough. I can only speak for the Prussians, as they were used to fill the crew by the reserve men of the battery, placed somewhere in the rear. They get reinforcements from the depots, and if that wasn't possible, men from the infantry and cavalry were transferred to artillery service. The result was, that the batteries could field still a lot of guns even after a long campaing, apart from material losses. It´s known, that the French started sometimes war with leaving guns behind due to a shortage of horses.


The French foot gunners wore dark blue coats, with dark blue lapels, collars and red cuffs. In some aspects it was similar to light infantry uniform. The greatcoat was also dark-blue. The foot gunner wore, in addition to two white leather crossbelts for cartridge box and short saber called a bricole. It was a shoulder belt (not white) with an attached long drag rope.The bricole had a hook that could be inserted at the ends of the gun's axles and along the sides of the carriage.
Until 1812 the drummers of foot artillery customarily wore red coats with dark blue lapels.