 It is more likely that he was , the height he was measured at on St. Helena (a British island), since he would have most likely been measured with an English yardstick rather than a yardstick of the Old French Regime.Napoleon surrounded himself with tall bodyguards and was affectionately nicknamed "le petit caporal" (the little corporal), reflecting his reported camaraderie with his soldiers rather than his height.When he became First Consul and later Emperor, Napoleon eschewed his general's uniform and habitually wore the green colonel uniform (non-Hussar) of a colonel of the Chasseur à Cheval of the Imperial Guard, the regiment that served as his personal escort many times, with a large bicorne.