Hi all
I have an urgent enquiry for the hive-mind related to a documentary project I'm helping with.
The 1st Foot Guards were given their new title the Grenadier Guards in 1815 in commemoration of their role in defeating the French Imperial Guard at Waterloo. But did the Waterloo distinction and the subsequent change in title result in the Grenadier Guards "winning the right to wear" the famous bearskin cap?
This claim is repeatedly made around the internet (eg https://ageofrevolution.org/200-object/modern-bearskin/), and in several books (unsourced!) but is not mentioned as far as I can tell in comprehensive 1870s regimental history "Origin and History of the First Or Grenadier Guards". I am a bit skeptical because bearskin caps (often referred to as grenadier caps) obviously existed in the eighteenth-century and were worn pre-Waterloo. That said, it seems plausible that the 1st Foot Guards' new title from 1815 would have allowed the entire regiment to sport bearskins, everyone now being grenadiers - but I'd feel more comfortable with some evidence to back up this tradition.
But does anyone here have any information that might be able to verify this claim? I'd be enormously grateful for any help Napoleon Series members could provide.
All the best
Eamonn