2-913-656 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Infantry of the French Imperial Guard, 1854. '...a new era has at length commenced, and the Imperial Guard of France once more starts into being...[illustrated here in] costume selected by Napoleon III...The entire force comprises a division, and musters about 10,000 men. These troops are, of course, picked, being chosen on account of their soldier-like bearing and martial carriage; and consequently present, either individually or when in the ranks, an imposing appearance. Their arms and appointments are unexceptionable, and a finer body of troops could not be paraded. They are generally quartered in Paris, unless urgent necessity demands their services elsewhere'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.