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Old French measurements, and their relationships to modern heights

In the older texts, French soldiers are referred to with heights listed in Pieds, Pouce, and Ligne. These heights translate to modern American measurements as such: 


  Pied:  1.066 feet   (12 pouce)
  Pouce: 1.066 inches (12 ligne)
  Ligne: 1/12 of a Pouce, or .088 inch.
calculation form
The common perception is that modern men are, on average, much taller than our ancestors. This is partially true, but not by as much of a margin than one might expect.

For instance, my research into the regiments shows that the average height of a soldier was about 5 pied 3 pouce tall (about 5'7''). I do not have the current average height of a French citizen handy (if anyone knows of a Gopher, or Web site that has such data, it's address would be much appreciated - otherwise you'll just have to wait until I get to a library!).

This statistic, however may be swayed to a certain extent. Remember that the military did have height regulations, thus excluding from the calculations the entire population that fell below the minimum height requirement. Also, the age of this population mostly falls within those soldiers born between 1730 and 1739 (ages 16 to 25), a fairly wide expanse of years.

Also, the bell curve shows a fairly wide range of heights. For instance, in the regiment of La Sarre, 212 soldiers fall below the 5-3 standard, 108 are listed as 5-3, and another 183 are taller than the 5 pieds 3 pouce. (with an entire range of 5 pied 0 pouce (about 5'4'') through 5 pied 8 pouce (about 6'4''), with the majority of soldiers (The fattest portion of the Bell curve) falling between 5 pied 2 pouce through 5 pied 4 pouce).

This information comes from research gleaned from the records of troops destined for America, showing name and height of each soldier. This information can be found in the F-7xx reels at the National Archives in Ottawa, Ontario. (See references for further information)

I have also received notification from Brett Charbeneau, member of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA, who verifies that their studies indicate that the difference in height between enlistees of the Revolutionary War and World War II differ by only 1/4 of an inch. Thank you very much, Brett, for this bit of information.