Good day,
can someone confirm this list of Armes d'honneur and my assumption of what that exactly is:
Sabre d’Honneur - Sword
Fusil d’Honneur - Rifle
Mousqueton d’Honneur - Hook
Carabine d’Honneur - Carabine(Cavalry rifle)
Grenade d’Honneur - Grenade(Grenade like grenadier grenade or grenade like artillery grenade?)
Baguettes d’Honneur - Drummsticks
Trompette d’Honneur - Trumpet
Hache d’Abordage d’Honneur - Axe(board ships)
Haches de Sapeur d’Honneur - Axe(pioneer work)
Pistol d’Honneur - Pistol(1 or were it 2 pistols?)
The last 3 are not mentioned in the decree of Bonaparte from 25th December 1799. Has anyone details for them?
So far the articles of Tony Broughton showed that only 1 Hache d’Abordage d’Honneur and 1 Pistol d’Honneur seems to have been awarded, and no Haches de Sapeur d’Honneur.
Forgot, somewhere a Fouets d'honneur (whip) was mentioned, it was for civilian drivers of artillery, is that true?
'Mousqueton d'Honneur–– Hook" Definitions of mousqueton- Dictionaire Larousse noun 1.Fusil à canon court. Arme à feu individuelle, plus légère et plus courte que le fusil. En service dans les armes montées. 2. Boucle métallique à système de fermeture rapide et sécurisé. Système d'accrochage rapide, constitué par une lame métallique recourbée formant boucle à ressort. Perhaps the former, rather than the latter? There is a corresponding term in English, 'musketoon,' but not, I believe, in use until later in the C19th. General the moussqueton/ musketoon would by used by mounted troops. Translations between English and French are complicated by a skewing of terms. In English usage , 'carbine' tends to cover all short, light muskets, but especially for cavalry. The older term 'fusil' or 'fusee,' which at this period was falling out of use, was reserved for lighter infantry weapons. Both terms are French loanwords, which is were the confusion lies "Fusil d’Honneur - Rifle"
"Carabine d’Honneur - Carabine(Cavalry rifle)" I believe that in this period 'fusil' in a French military context most commonly meant the standard flintlock 'long arm' rather than, specifically, a weapon with a 'rifled' barrel used by sharpshooters, or 'rifle' as it is termed in English. Hence fusilier in the French army signified a infantry soldier of the rank and file, armed with a smoothbore musket rather than a rifle-armed specialist. For the latter, who were not employed in great numbers and found little favour with Napoleon, their rifles were described as carabines or carabines rayées [rifled]
To sum up, in English translation those categories are more likely to be: Fusil d’Honneur - Musket
Mousqueton d’Honneur - Cavalry carbine
Carabine d’Honneur - Rifle [as in 'rifled carbine'] Time for a cup of tea and a lie down.
"12 haches d'abordage d'honneur are known, 4 are in museums."
https://en.empirecostume.com/hache-d-abordage-d-honneur-copy-of-course-a5319.htm
And interesting fact is that, although a little more then twice as many Mousqueton d’Honneur then Carabine d’Honneur were awarded, the Guard cavalry received clearly more carabines then mousquetons although all other cavalry types received clearly more mousquetons then carabines. Coincidence?