Epaulette
Epaulette is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes are referred to as shoulder scales.
In the French and other armies, epaulettes are also worn by all ranks of elite or ceremonial units when on parade. It may bear rank or other insignia, and should not be confused with a shoulder mark – also called a shoulder board, rank slide, or slip-on – a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform.
Etymology
Épaulette is a French word meaning "little shoulder".How to wear
Epaulettes are fastened to the shoulder by a shoulder strap or passenten, a small strap parallel to the shoulder seam, and the button near the collar, or by laces on the underside of the epaulette passing through holes in the shoulder of the coat. Colloquially, any shoulder straps with marks are also called epaulettes. The placement of the epaulette, its color and the length and diameter of its bullion fringe are used to signify the wearer's rank. At the join of the fringe and the shoulderpiece is often a metal piece in the form of a crescent. Although originally worn in the field, epaulettes are now normally limited to dress or ceremonial military uniforms.History
Epaulettes bear some resemblance to the shoulder pteruges of ancient Greco-Roman military costumes. However, their direct origin lies in the bunches of ribbons worn on the shoulders of military coats at the end of the 17th century, which were partially decorative and partially intended to prevent shoulder belts from slipping. These ribbons were tied into a knot that left the fringed end free. This established the basic design of the epaulette as it evolved through the 18th and 19th centuries.From the 18th century on, epaulettes were used in the French and other armies to indicate rank. The rank of an officer could be determined by whether an epaulette was worn on the left shoulder, the right shoulder, or on both. Later a "counter-epaulette" was worn on the opposite shoulder of those who wore only a single epaulette. Epaulettes were made in silver or gold for officers and in cloth of various colors for the enlisted men of various arms.
Apart from that, flexible metal epaulettes were quite popular among certain armies in the 19th century, but were rarely worn on the field. Referred to as shoulder scales, they were e.g. an accoutrement of the US Cavalry, US Infantry and the US Artillery, from 1854 to 1872.
By the early 18th century, epaulettes had become the distinguishing feature of commissioned rank. This led officers of military units still without epaulettes to petition for the right to wear epaulettes to ensure that their status would be recognized. During the Napoleonic Wars and subsequently through the 19th century, grenadiers, light infantry, voltigeurs and other specialist categories of infantry in many European armies wore cloth epaulettes with wool fringes in various colors to distinguish them from ordinary line infantry. Flying artillery wore epaulette-esque shoulder pads. Heavy artillery wore small balls representing ammunition on their shoulders.
An intermediate form in some services, such as the Russian Army, is the shoulder board, which neither has a fringe nor extends beyond the shoulder seam. This originated during the 19th century as a simplified version for service wear of the heavy and conspicuous full dress epaulette with bullion fringes.
Modern derivations
Today, epaulettes have mostly been replaced by a five-sided flap of cloth called a shoulder board, which is sewn into the shoulder seam and the end buttoned like an epaulette.From the shoulder board was developed the shoulder mark, a flat cloth tube that is worn over the shoulder strap and carries embroidered or pinned-on rank insignia. The advantages of this are the ability to easily change the insignia as occasions warrant.
Airline pilot uniform shirts generally include cloth flattened tubular epaulettes having cloth or bullion braid stripes, attached by shoulder straps integral to the shirts. The rank of the wearer is designated by the number of stripes: traditionally four for a captain, three for senior first officer or first officer, and two for either a first officer or second officer. However, rank insignia are airline specific. For example, at some airlines, two stripes denote junior first officer and one stripe second officer. Airline captains' uniform caps usually will have a braid pattern on the bill. These uniform specifications change depending on the company's policy.
Military-inspired civilian clothing became popular in the first decade of the 2000s, including epaulettes on shirts.
Belgium
In the Belgian army, red epaulettes with white fringes are worn with the ceremonial uniforms of the Royal Escort while fully red ones are worn by the Grenadiers. Trumpeters of the Royal Escort are distinguished by all red epaulettes while officers of the two units wear silver or gold respectively.Canada
In the Canadian Armed Forces, epaulettes are still worn on some Army Full Dress, Patrol Dress, and Mess Dress uniforms. Epaulettes in the form of shoulder boards are worn with the officer's white Naval Service Dress.After the unification of the Forces, and prior to the issue of the distinctive environmental uniforms, musicians of the Music Branch wore epaulettes of braided gold cord.
France
Until 1914, officers of most French Army infantry regiments wore gold epaulettes in full dress, while those of mounted units wore silver. No insignia was worn on the epaulette itself, though the bullion fringe falling from the crescent differed according to rank. Other ranks of most branches of the infantry, as well as cuirassiers wore detachable epaulettes of various colours with woollen fringes, of a traditional pattern that dated back to the 18th century. Other cavalry such as hussars, dragoons and chasseurs à cheval wore special epaulettes of a style originally intended to deflect sword blows from the shoulder.In the modern French Army, epaulettes are still worn by those units retaining 19th-century-style full dress uniforms, notably the ESM Saint-Cyr and the Garde Républicaine. The French Foreign Legion continued to wear their green and red epaulettes, except for a break from 1915 to 1930. In recent years, the Marine Infantry and some other units have readopted their traditional fringed epaulettes in various colours for ceremonial parades. The Marine nationale and the Armée de l'Air do not use epaulettes, but non-commissioned and commissioned officers wear a gilded shoulder strap called attentes, the original function of which was to clip the epaulette onto the shoulder. The attentes are also worn by Army generals on their dress uniforms.
Germany
Until World War I, officers of the Imperial German Army generally wore silver epaulettes as a distinguishing feature of their full-dress uniforms. For ranks up to and including captain these were "scale" epaulettes without fringes, for majors and colonels with fine fringes and for generals with a heavy fringe. The base of the epaulette was of regimental colors. For ordinary duty, dress "shoulder-cords" of silver braid intertwined with state colors, were worn.During the period 1919–1945, German Army uniforms were known for a four cord braided "figure-of-eight" decoration which acted as a shoulder board for senior and general officers. This was called a "shoulder knot" and was in silver with the specialty color piping and silver with red border. Although it was once seen on US Army uniforms, it remains only in the mess uniform. A similar form of shoulder knot was worn by officers of the British Army in full dress until 1914 and is retained by the Household Cavalry today. Epaulettes of this pattern are used by the Republic of Korea Army's general officers and were widely worn by officers of the armies of Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia; all of which formerly wore uniforms closely following the Imperial German model. The Chilean Army still retains the German style of epaulette in the uniforms of its ceremonial units, the Military Academy and the NCO School while the 5th Cavalry Regiment "Aca Caraya" of the Paraguayan Army sports both epaulettes and shoulder knots in its dress uniforms. Epaulettes of the German pattern are used by officers of ceremonial units and schools of the Bolivian Army.
Haiti
Gold epaulettes in Haiti, were frequently worn throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in full dress. During the Haitian Revolution, Gen. Charles Leclerc of the French Army wrote a letter to Napoleon Bonaparte saying, "We must destroy half of those in the plains and must not leave a single colored person in the colony who has worn an epaulette.”Ottoman Empire
During the Tanzimat period in the Ottoman Empire, western style uniforms and court dresses were adopted. Gold epaulettes were worn in full dress.Russian Empire
Both the Imperial Russian Army and the Imperial Russian Navy sported different forms of epaulettes for its officers and senior NCOs. Today the current Kremlin Regiment continues the epaulette tradition.;Types of epaulette of the Russian Empire
1. Infantry
1a. Subaltern-officer, here: poruchik of the 13th Life Grenadier Erivan His Imperial Majesty's regiment
1b. Staff-officer, here: polkovnik of the 46th Artillery brigade
1c. General, here: Field marshal of Russian Vyborg 85th infantry regiment of German Emperor Wilhelm II.
2. Guards
2a. Subaltern-officer, here: captain of the Mikhailovsky artillery school
2b. Staff-officer, here: polkovnik of Life Guards Lithuanian regiment.
2c. Flagofficer, here: Vice-Admiral
3. Cavalry
3a. Of the lower ranks, here: junior unteroffizier of the 3rd Smolensk lancers HIM Emperor Alexander III regiment
3b. Subaltern-officer, here: podyesaul of Russian Kizlyar-Grebensky 1st Cossack horse regiment.
3c. Staff-officer, here: lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd Life Dragoon Pskov Her Imperial Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna regiment
3d. General, here: General of the cavalry.
4. Others
4a. Subaltern-officer, here: Titular councillor, veterinary physician.
4b. Staff-officer, here: flagship mechanical engineer, Fleet Engineer Mechanical Corps.
4c. General, here: Privy councillor, Professor of the Imperial Military medical Academy.