MILITARY. MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES THE BRITISH ARMY IN-NORTH AMERICASERIES EDITOR: LEE JOHNSON THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AMERICA 1775-1783 TEXT BY ROBIN MAY AND GERRY EMBLETON NEW COLOUR PLATES AND TEXT REVISION BY GERRY EMBLETON Co TiTaa MILITARY,THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AMERICA 1775-1783 INTRODUCTION he British have rarely disliked a war more than the American Revolution and have never been less eager to serve in the armed forces of the crown. If it had not been for Scotsmen, who joined the army in considerable numbers, recruiting would have been an even bigger fiasco than it was, ‘The Whig Opposition was against the war to the extent of sometimes glorying publiely in British defeats, and, as history was mostly written by Whig historians in the following century, the notable achievements of the redcoats in America were played down, When battle honours were distributed none at alll w ded for the Revolution, a shameful that the troops fought so badly, but so ddeoats have been made in ie comm sion, yet the marvel is well, At American textbook level, the ogres, though to balance this, many of the more sympath on them have been written by Americans. Courage was never in short supply. For sheer guts, the redcoats’ behaviour at Bunker Hill, Saratoga and other bloody encounters has rarely been excelled. ‘The fact that some commanders reused to serve against the Americans harclly helped to achieve victory, while others, ineluding Howe and Clinton, only crossed the Atiantic out of loyalty to the king, So did Burgoyne, though, unlike the other two, he had no sympathy with che Americans, and later called them a ‘rabble in arms’. He simply did not want to serve in America, tough, in the event he was ambitious enough. Much may be forgiven ‘Gentleman Johnny’, however, for he was “the soldiers’ friend’ and was loved by them Howe ~ ‘Good-natured Billy Howe’ who continually let slip ¢ a suggard shing off the war in 1776. In fact, though no military genius and a lover of a quiet life, thanks 16 American historians, we can now see him holding out an olive braneh er hitting them too hard, but hoping to encourage them to make peace. And, as we shall see, he was also continually short of supplies which mostly had to be shipped across the Atlantic a fact buried under stories of troops living off the land, plunder is widely regarded a ices of fi to his enemies, n anel rape. The difficulties of campaigning in America and gross inc ciency and corruption at home \ ully enemies of the redeoats than the generals’ conduct, blundering as it ere far more di sometimes was The Americans won, but only just, and then thanks to foreign inter- imber of patriots dedicated, valiant and Lieutenant General John Burgoyne ~ ‘Gentleman Johnny’ ~ playwright, politician. vention and a small land ‘the soldiers’ friend. continually let down by their own people. Washington and a hard core 3of always loyal, always dependable regiments stand in magnificent contrast to a nean, bickering Congress, and parttime soldiers almost coming and going as they pleased. The standard generali sation about the American Revolution was first made by John Adams, the second President, who claimed that a third of his countrymen wanted a revolution, a third were against it and a third were neutral. If that was so, only a small proportion of the Rebels were prepared to be militant in the true sense of the word, As for George Washington, lost as he sometimes seems under a mountain of legend, because he was so let down by his countrymen and because he was no great gencral, his achievement was all the more extraordinary. This complex man, to whom duty and patriotism were not mere words, deserves more trom his compatriots than a halo. He was a giant, and Britons can be proud that he, too, was British. ‘The redeoat, having won vietory after victory execpt when victory most mattered, finally left for home in November 1783, his humour undimmed, The very last man to go, having lowered the Union flag on Sir Henry Clinton, Howe's Staten Island and cut the halyards, proceeded to grease the staff. As they successor as Commanderin-Ghiet rowed away, they were able to cnjoy the sight of their late enemies trying smanatics, to raise the Stars and Stripes and not succeeding until cleats had been hammered up the pole and the flag nailed into place. Some redcoats may have also chuckled a little at the final peace treaty, for though Britain lost her American colonies, she did not come out of the war so badly considering that she had France, Spain and Holland against her as well by the end of it. True, the glorious days of the Year of Miracles, 1759, were no more and the prestige of Britain, so high in 1763, had slumped badly. But Rodney's victory over de Grasse in. 1782 had saved the West Indies, Gibraltar had not fallen, France was almost bankrupt, Spain had problems at home and in North America, and though it was not realised at the time, the Loyalists who setiled i were a magnificent investment for the future, A few years later the redeoats would help to throw the Americans out of Canad: War of 1812. The book which follows is not an ace nt of the war and its strategy but offers short examination of the organisation of the British Army in America and Britain at the time of the Revolution, with partic emphasis on the redcoat and his war. RAISING AN ARMY When the Seven Years’ War ended in 1768, Great Britain proceeded to decimate the army which had done so much to win her an empire, All infantry of the line were disbanded above the 70th Foot, and all cavalry above the 18th Light Dragoons. The establishment was therefore am erable 17,500, 3,000 of whom were the emergency force so aptly known, as the ‘Corps of Invalids’, There were also 1,800 gunners and. sappers, and 12,000 men on the Irish establishment. The colonies were allowed 10,000 men, excluding 4,000 for Minorca a and Gibraltar, and, hough the East India Company had its own forces,this meant that the rest of the empire was pitifully under-policed. Hatred ‘of standing armies at home and abroad could hardly be taken further. jeading up (© the American Revolution are not the st be stressed where the The events concern of this book, but several points m redcoats were concerned, Firstly, though many Britons were not con- vinced that Canada was worth possessing, none doubted the importance of the American colonies and the sugarrich West Indies, The gov erament’s methods in this period were blundering in the extreme, True Britain had spent a fortune to win Canacla from the French and to make the 13 American colonics safe, so therefore felt obliged to extract money from Americans to help pay the cost of keeping troops in America, and also 10 ease the National D of tact to get the money from the independentar fatuous. Yet only the most farsighted could foresee an actual war breaking out between the mother country and her own people in America so soon after the bells had heen ringing for the destruction of New France. But the government, even if it could not foresee a revolution, should have realised the folly of cutting down the army be happened the very year the war ended, Pontiae’s dramatic rebellion, the last real chance the Indians ever had of driving the whites back to the Adiantic, should have made ministers at once aware of the folly of cuts as the better of two white evils, not least because Pontiae was pro-French. After sensational successes elsewhere, his main campaign against Detroit id not _grayp the ot Bur to nse sledge: aded Americans was just fa led, and perhaps because of this, the British lessons of his rebellion. So when the Revolution started in 1775, the British Ar 48,647 strong, with 39,294 infantry, 6,869 cavalry and 2.484 breakdown below of their locations comes to slightly fewer because it aves out the artillery, plus 20 independent companies of invalids on garrison duty, though it does include the 41st, a regiment of invalids. ny was only tillery, The LOCATION OF THE ARMY IN 1775 Infantyy —Etfectives Cavalry Effectives 19 reste 41,986 16 roa. aa5t 1109) 474 est Ircies Ametica 18 routs oral 6,880 This makes a grand total of 45,123 men to guard an empire gunners, some invalids, and the soldicrs of the East India C the Earl of Sandwich, who was "Too infamous to have a for bad men to commend,” | private of the Picket Company of the 11th Foot, in about 1771. ‘Those companies were the fore: runners of the regimental licht companies which aapeared very shortly afterwards. The eap ‘appears to be fur-trimmed; the ‘crown, royal cipher anc rect- mental number are in brass. The red coat of the 11th was lined white and faced dark green, with rod and green stripes in the regi= ‘mental lacs. (Reproduced by gracious permission of H.M. The Queen}A private of the Picket Company ‘the 13th Foot, in that regiment's yellow-faced coat; the ‘cap ornament fe brass, and the cap itself « particular example of Six years after this, when the military war was over in America except for skirmishes and the formalities, the army had reached the 110,000 mark, 57,000 of them stationed in America and the West Indies. This does not include the 70 or so Loyalist regiments and formations, the 30,000 German mercenaries and the fluctuating number of Indians who fought on the British side Recruiting had never been more difficult tha for this war. Apart from the unpopularity of the conflict. the 1770s were the last years before the Industrial Revolution introduced a I number of the working classes to a fate worse than taking the King’s Shilling ~ the nightmare world of prisonike factories. They were the last years when Britain was more an agricultural than an industrial nation, when even the poorest countrymen could expect to eat well, and when enclosures had not yet wrecked the rural way of life So the te ptation to join up was minimal: poor pay, savage discipline and bad food, combined with the prospect of fighting fellow Britons, was cnough to put off all but born fighters and adventurers. Fortunately, Scotland, at leas was full of both. The pay of a private soldicr was eightpence a day, but most of it was taken away from him, Sixpence allegedly went for subsistence, though some of the precious pennies were put aside to pay for clothing, medicine and the repair of arms, Much of the rema prompt! ng twopence was deducted to pay the Paymaster-General, the Chelsea Hospital, a place a recruit was so unlikely to reach, the regimental agent, etc. The system of pay and stoppages was unbelievably complicated, but the result was the ne — the soldier got next to nothing. Barracks were few in Britain in the 1770s, so the recruit was likely to be under canvas, or, more probably, in lodgings where his presence was greatly resented. Discipline was [8th-century traditional, the only dif- ference from earlier times being that the lash was the universal penalty for most crimes. Other tortures like the *horse’ and ‘running the gauntlet’ were not being phased out for humanitarian reasons, but simply because flogging was simpler: 1,000 or more lashes was still a frequent sentence. Food was gencrally appalling, and continued to be so when the soldier reached America. Legend has it that the redcoats lived com- fortably off the land; legend is wrong. Reeruits in Britain were often so underfed in their dingy billets that they were scarcely able to endure the drill that turned them into remarkably good soldie Most of the major battles of the Revolution were fought on Furope: patterns, so the uniform red coats of the men were not in themselves a menace to safety, even though the Americans from the start picked off the officers, As the war progressed dress regulations were relaxed, making it casicr for the soldier to fight. The stock was not yeta tortuous high leather collar, but was more often made of velvet or horsehair, and gaiters had been black since 1768, But it still took the average soldier up to three hours to get himself ready for a parade, where a slight moven badly arranged head of hair (covered in unhygienic grease according to regulations) could get him 100 lashes or more and powder As for equipment, it might weigh as much as 60 pounds, though some have claimed — probably wrongly — that it sometim twice as much. Burgoyne considered 60 pounds too m weighed almost h, and the fol-wing revealing report about equipment, dated 15 June 1784, soon after over, shows that notice was taken of complaints if senior s made them. It isa Report of the Proceedings of a Committee of General Officers Regarding the Equipment of Soldicrs, and the listed recommendations ceived approval: 1 Ordnance Cartridge Box at present in use found to be inconvenient 2 Powder- Horns and Bullet-Bags of Light Infantry were never used during the late war. 2 Matchos & Match-Cases of Grenadiers are becoming obsolete. 4 Grenadiers’ swords were never used during the last war. [it was proposed that all these articles be abandoned] 5 The whole battalion to be accoutred alike, with the addition of two articles for the Light Infantry, e.g., Hatchet & Priming Hom. which may be carried either with the knapsack or as the Commanding Officer shall think most convenient. 6 Shoukier-bols to be of equal breadth, and to have the Ammunition divided; to carry the Pouch on the right side, and the Magazine on the left. 7 Pouch & Bayonet-Belts to be of Buff Leather & both to be 2 inches broad, the Bayonet-Carriage [frog] to slip on & off the belt with two loops. Goneral Sir Guy Carleton, saviour 8 A Leather cap worn by some of the Light Infantry during the late war is of Canada and later, as Lord Dorchester, the first governor strongly recommended. 9 Propose a black woollen cloth gaiter with white metal buttons & without stiff tops in place of the black linen gaiters at present in use. So something had been learnt from the campaign in America, Back in 1775, it must have seemed to some that there would be no campaigns from which to learn, for recruiting was practically stationary. In December, Edward Harvey, the AdjuiantGeneral, lamented: ‘Sad work everywhere in recruiting, In these damned times we must exert zeal.” He was right, for apart from the many reasons for not joining the army | there were other disadvantages. Service was normally for life and postings abroad could go on for decades. Notoriously, the 38th Foot was tapped in | the West Indies for 60 years! And the deep unpopularity of soldiers was as rampant as at any time in the century. At least the sailor, pressed, flogged and wretched, could — and often did, even at this dismal time in naval history - comfort himself with the thought that he was the nation’s pride. Volunteers joined up for three years or the duration, but, except for in Scotland, there were pitifully few of them in 1776. Some recruiting parties in their despair levied invalids and pensioners, and even Roman Catholics, unwelcome before 175, were recruited. Less successfull was an attempt to enlist 20,000 Russian mercenaries, or to entice a Scotch brigade back from service with the Dutch. This led to the hiring of Germans from Hesse-Cassel and elsewhere, However, the Highlands proved good ground for recruiting parties, many clansmen coming forward to get away from grim conditions at home, or to seck glory, or both, Lowlanders also came forward, some even refusing bounty, and in certain towns, the families of those who went were sup- ported by those who stayed behind. The English, Irish and Welsh showed no such ardour 7osten . in clon Cor eles cling ‘A British soldier stationed in Canada in 1778 = not, as the icture's caption suggests, 1766. (Al Frisdrien von Gormann's thor crzwings In this series bbear the later date.) He wears & white blanket coat, or capote, with a heed; it has light blue trim at cuff and hom, a light blue rosette on the hip, and is fastened with tapes of the same colour. Long blue overalls, or ‘gaiter trousers, ore worn, and cn lundor|ackot with sloovos of ‘strong white corduray would have been typical. The red- ‘skulled cap has brown fur trim ‘and tail. (Mow York Public Library) lomertiiehara Seclaticupidere Until 1778, ‘received one-and-chalf guineas, but as) far too few of them, pardoned ni and deserters were welcomed. Five ft Gin. was the required height, though youngsters Who looked as if they might grow were enlisted, whereas the lame, the ruptured and those prone to fits were not. Alter 1778, when Saratoga brought the French 10 the war, reenuiting became more urgent Volunteers got three pounds and, as in 1775, a dis- charge in three years or at the end of the war: and in Scotland and the London area, the ‘able- bodied idle and disorderly’ were pressed for at least five years or until the end of hostilities. The age limits were 17 t 45. The ‘idle’ persons elsewhere in Britain were left to work the land. This scheme, too, failed, so in 1779 volunteers got three-and-chalf guineas and the right to set up in business after service wherever they chose, whatever local corporations might say. The wounded were to get similar privileges. The pressed men, meanwhile, could now be as short as Sit. din, ancl as old as 50. New soris of rogues could be taken, and the whole country could be scoured for them. The only escape was to join the militia, a fair ploy as Britain seemed to be in danger of invasion Despite desertions, self-maimings and fights with the pressgangs, just enough men were found ~ 1,463 in southern Britain berween March and October 1779 ~ but what saved the army was the faet that many now came forward to volunteer to avoid being pressed and to benefit from the very fair terms. 1778, 12 new regiments of foot were raised and 17 more had been ised by 1780, Four regiments of light dragoons were raised between 1778 and 1781. Old regim ferred ay he suspected (rightly in many cases) that colonels of the new regiments would place too many relatives in them. Towns, too, raised regiments the 80th (Royal Edinburgh Volunteers) was one = and also gave generous bounties. Less happily, the system of drafting was much in evidence, a badly mauled regiment being forced to send its officers, NCOs and drummers home Co recruit while its surviving privates wans- ferred to another regiment also in need of men, but not destitute. This seriously interfered with esprit de corps, Some draftees of the Black Watch mutinied rather than join the 83rd and be forced to abandon their kilts, and 30 were killed in a pitched battle The recruit to the infantry found himself in a regiment of some 477, 1 divided into ten companies forming a single battalion, One company consisted of grenadiers, who no longer hurled grenades, but were the tallest and strongest men in the regiment. Another was macle up of light infantrymen, wiry troops who were the regiment's crack shots. These chosen men were placed on the flanks. Recruits were subjected to endless arms drill, ofien a rugged ordeal sas the ‘Brown Bess” eel ivehen 766. nts were enlarged, a system the king pre= on inadequate rations. The basic infantry weapon,‘An gental view of Fort Niagara, which could hardly b the log stockade of Hollywood legend. Ite string history strotehes from 1679 to 1815, when it was handed back to the USA - it had Deen taken from the French in 1759. The redoubts date from 1770-4, while the stone blockhouses, each ‘mounting two cannon on the un-deck, have walls five feet thick. In the foreground are the gate and the south blockhouse; ‘on the right Is the north block- house; in the far backround is, the ‘castle’ with its bokehouse; isolated on the left is the ‘magazines and t0 the left of the blockhouse In the foreground is 2 range of atore buildings. (Old Fort Niagara Association Incorporated) Fort Niagara ~ the south lockhouse is shown - was not ‘only vory strongly built, but was strategically Important. During ‘the Revolution it was the main base for Leyelist and Indian ‘guerrillas, notably Butler's Rangers ang the troquots lod by Joseph Brant. (Old Fort Niagara Association Incerperated and Grove McClellan) rousket, with a carbine for the cavalry, while fusiliers carried a fusil. The linest British firearm of the war, the Ferguson breech-loader invented by the dashing Major Pavick Fergus sed by 100 or so picked marksmen in Americ Regimental doctors, as recruits found, varied from good to ghastly. religious age, and And as for the consokitions of religion, it was an though each regiment officially had a chaplain, few ever appeared. Sergeant Lamb, the diarist and surgeon’s mate of the 9th, claimed he knew many pious soldiers, and there was no reason for him to Tie. Despite the origins of many men, and the brutish lives they had endured, the average redeoat cannot have been so very different from his:suc- the great radical cessors a century or more later politician and writer, thought hi He joined the army in 1784 and became a sergeantmajor. He once wrote: “I like soldiers, 28 a class in life, better than any other lescription of men. The n is more pleasing to me; they have gencrally seen more than other me they have less vulgar prejudice about them. Amongst soldiers, less than amongst any other description of men, have I observed the vices of lying and hypocrisy.” Written permission from an officer was needed for Cobbet’s admired private soldiers to marry. ‘The regulations for wives and women on campaign belong to the next chapter. In barracks at home = though true barracks only date from the 1790s ~ husbands and wives were entitled to screened-off beds in barrack rooms. As for the standard of pfficers, it was perhaps higher than it had been im the Seven.10 ‘Years’ War, in which so many of them had pre- viously fought. This is not the book to argue the few pros and many cons of the purchase system ‘of commissions which resuicted so. many officers without private means to junior ranks and allowed mere youths to command th ‘There was no general in the Revolution q so ineffective as Abereromby of Fort Ticonderoga (1758), but nor was there a Wolfe. And Sir William Hove, regardless of his fcelings about the war, was not the equal of his incomparable elder brother, Lord George Augustus Howe, killed at Ticonderoga just before Abereromby did his worst, which included allowing the Black Watch to be massacred, Ironically, Howe, Burgoyne and Clinton were all Members of Parliament and it was not considered wrong for a general-politician to return to London in the winter and speak in the House. One often fortunate factor at this time was that no officer was forced to serve overseas. This not only meant that lunaties and infants were not obliged to take the field, but that the ambitions might rise faster because tnany officers preferred to stay at home on half pay rather than serve. reach the top in the 1770s it was best to be in the Guards or the cavalry but that was to hole! good for many years 1 come ‘The real stumbling-block was the number of serving soldicrs who simply did not owish to fight Americans. Lord Percy, later Duke of Northumberland, whose conduct on the first lay of the Revolution helped save the retreating British Army, was one of many officers who could not siomach the wat, After distinguished service in 1776, he returned home. Fortunately for British arms, there were plenty who could, plenty of career officers who got on with the job along with a hard core of fine NCOs, And under them was that muck-abused, sorely tied, sully valiant and humorous man of war, the redeoat. RECRUITING Two contrasting methods Major Boyle Roche in action in Ireland in August 1775, as reported by the Dublin Journal. First he organised a procession: ‘Major Roche, bearing a large Purse of Gold, Captain Cowiey A great number of tkoly recruits An elegant Band of Music, consisting of French Horns, Hautboys, Clarionets, and Bassoons, laying ‘God Save the King’ A large Brewers Dray with five Berrats of Boor, the Horse rehly caparisonad end ornamented ribbons, ‘Two Draymen with Gockades, to serve the Beer, The Recruiting Serjeant, Drums and Fites, ‘Another Division of Recnuts, ‘The Recruiting Sokilars, A prodigious concourse of Spectators, Engraved powder hom of ‘unueual interest, Inscribed with a detailed map and the legend: PER ROBERTSON / CORPLL IN ‘CAPT PEYTONS COMP:Y/ IN THE STH REGT. / 1ST AUGUSTINE / MARCH 11 1767, and: THE CITY (OF HAVANMA ILLUMINATED AT ‘THE EMBARKATION OF THE: BRITISH (sic) TROOPS JULY THE ‘TH 1763 (Metropolitan Museurn oraryInside of a reconstruction of a late 18th-century British Army knapsack. The light tan blanket, with tio brown stripes woven in one side, and 2 broad arrow and royal cipher stamp, 12 copied from an original trom MMS Jersey of 1783 vintage, now in the New Windsor, WY, Cantonment Collection. (P. R. N Katcher Collection} Britich intantry omicor's sword, now in the City of Lancastor ‘Museum, of the type commenty carried just before and during the Revolution. A orimeen and gold owordknet wae uauolly attached to the guard. (Peter W. Jos The following speech was then made by Major Roche to the Populace. “Gentiemen and Fellow Countryman — "Being appointed, through the Favour of our most excelent Governor, to raise a Body of Men for the Service of his Majesty, think & the mos! happy Croumstance of my Lie to be the Instrument ofeacing you forth to Honour end Renown. “The Laurols fought for anc obtained in all Parts of the Globo last War have procured.us a Fame so glorious as not tobe equalles by any People in any Age (a Fame not to sulled by the Assaults o Prejudice nor the Efects of Te. Not an Action in which we were not ictorous, not Slage in which we were not honoured. Wit you, sry dear Gountrymen, permit those Laurels to fade or those Actions tobe forgotien? No. forcid Heaven, Let us now that we Neve iin our Power, convey to latest Postenty a Fenewal of ou Fidelity, and a Confirmation of our Loyalty. A more crtcal Perios never presented sof, nor hac! we ever a falrer Opportunity of shewing our Atacrment to the Istious House of Hanover, than the present, as his Majesty's deluded subjects in America {are in oper Rabelion, and, like unnatural chidron, would dectroy their evorinduugont Paront, forgetting tre Torrents of Blood spit, and Heaps of Treasure axtandd for their Preservation. His Sacred Majesty now cals us, and our Fidelty ablges us, and ! hope your Inclination prompts you. to obey he dictates o' so good end lenient & Master Let us then, my brave and leyal countrymen, join Hearts anc Hands, anc cheertuly step fortn inthe glorcus Cause of ‘our Creator, ou King, end our Country. We have it in our Power by Unanimty and inaxe hhaustble Resources, to recuse those daring Rebels to 8 cue Obedience to thait Sovereign, and Submicion to the Laws oftheir Country, hich vill vo a tosh eorwiction to al Europa ‘hat Hibernian Laurels have not fedad by Time, but on the contrary are increasing in Bloom and Verdure. Barrels of beer and grandiose speeches might suit the Irish, but not the Black Watch, whose 2nd bation was raised again in 1779 after having been disbanded for some years. Stern Highlanders expected, and got, stern ing posters. Here isan excerpt clea men of iron: ‘You who, uncorrupted by the universal clepravity of your southern countrymen, have withstood, unmoveable as rock, all the ascuilts of Surrounding Luxury and Depravity. You who, while others, effeminated by voluptuous refinements, and irrecoverably lost to honour, lolling in the arms of Pleasure, can see the danger of their country with a criminal indifference . ..” ete. reerui lyaimed THE PRICES OF COMMISSIONS IN 1776 Listed below are the most expensive commissions and the least expensive, those omitted being those for the Dragoon Guards and Dragoons, and the Foot Guards. Artillery commissions were not pu @ Ww42 chased, When itis realised that an infantry major got a mere 17 shillings a day less heavy stoppages, and how much it cost him to buy his com mission, it canbe seen how important private means were. The whole purchase system was a highly organised and profitable business, the key figure being the colone! of a regiment who, having bought or obtained his command, could do what he liked with it, recouping his expenses by selling commissions, and using his annual allotment of fimds to the benefit of his men or to Tine his own pockets. The nation aceepted the purchase system, not just because it was a corruptage, but because it was felt that well-heeled officers would have a stake in the status quo and not be a menace to the state. FIRST AND SECOND TROOPS OF HORSE-GUARDS ‘Commissions Prices Fst Lioutenant-Cclona 5.500 ‘Second Lputenant-Celona 85,100 Comet and Major 4,360 GGuidon ana Major £4,100 Exempt and Capicin 52,700 ‘Brigadier end Lieutenent or Acjurant fared Levterent 1.800 ‘Sub Brigadier and Comet £1,200 MARCHING REGIMENTS OF FOOT Commissions Prices Leutenant-Colone! 23,500 Mayor 2800 Captan 1,600 Captain-Lioutenant £800 Llsvtenant 500 Enogn e100 THE REDCOATS’ WAR When the ‘shot heard round the world’ rang out on Lexington Green on 19 April 1775, some recenats at least must have sighed with relief. For LEFT A Royal Artillery cartridge: pouch; the large pouch conceals, ‘a wooden block drilled for nine cartridges. The frog at the front of tho bolt hold fact the core of a priming flask and may Rave nett vent prickers. (Charleston Museum) RIGHT The badge on the Royal Artillery pouch illustrated left ie made of brass and backed with red leather. Many intantry rog- ments had special badges of ‘their own. (Charleston Museurn)inost of the previous seven or so years, life in Boston for unwelcome British troops had been not unlike their successors’ life in Ulster in the Jate 20th century, though even more unpleasant. The food in the 1770s was worse, billets were worse, restrictions on any sort of action were worse, to say nothing of the harsher discipline and the distance from home. The classic confrontation, the ‘Boston Massacre’ of 170, found nine men of the 29th driven beyond endurance to shoot at a murderous mob, whose victims were prompily canonised. The soldiers were saved from being convicted ‘of murder on the most tainted evidence by the hon- ourable lawyer, John Adams, cousin of the revolutiona propagandist and hate-monger, Sam Adams. The one olficer involved and six of his men were found innocent, wo others were branded on their thumbs for manslaughter, ‘There was no reason for Bostonians or, indeed, any Americans to love the redcoats, even though they were the soldiers who hac freed them from the French menace, but it was hard that they should become the whipping-boys for their country’s mistakes. Afier Lexington the redcoat found himself transformed by the New England propaganda machine into a monster, the machine ensuring that stories of rape, arson and tmurder reached England before the official account, ‘ive oe The flood of troops needed to fight in America, once the scope of Tipe ormcre reer the War was realised after Bunker (Breeds) Till, created a major Although the 18th Dragoons did —_tranisport problem. Cork was then the main embarkation port for North not gorve in America, tne America, and ships used a3 transports varied from fine East Indiatnen to seening eve ef Reimer. Mee 6d and uunseaworthy hulks. Convoys of up to 12 ships, sometimes more, ae ne ere cree nerea — crossed the Atlantic, and there was an endless flow of victuallers as well And of this class of troops. Officers seem to have made real efforis to keep their men happy on (tational Army Museurn) the transports, but it was uphill work, The situation was candidly summed up by a Guards officer on his way to join Howe in New York, who wrote, “There was continued destruction in the foretops, the pox above-board, the plague between decks, hell in the forecastle, t devil at the helm.” The loss of horses could be terrible if’ a voyage went on longer than expected, and their destruction undoubtedly affected the results of certain battles Howe could have turned his vietory at Brandywine in 777 into a total rout if he had commanded a well mounted corps of light cavalry, and as for Clinton, on his expedition from New York to Charleston in 1779-80, he lost every single horse. Sailors were in short supply to man the transports and victuallers, and there was usually @ shortage of ships, t00, made worse because the author 2 America failed to turn the transports round and send them home quickly enough. Add bribery, corruption, gross inefficiency in many quarters and interdlepart- mental quarrelling, and it is hardly surprising that the redcoats were usually short of food and equipment Snowshoes, dating from c. 1780 = the essential requirement for all troops in the North Amorican winter. (Courtesy, City of Liverpoo! museums)14 the The wansport situation in America was slightly better than French and Indian War when Braddock and other British commanders sometimes despaired of getting hold of wagons. Everything from four horse wagons to sledges were usually hired during the Revolution Special vehicles were used as ammunition carts, others as hospital wayons and forge carts ‘compleat with anvils and bellows’. Horses, too, were bought or captured. The drivers of the vehicles were hired civilians, A single statistic will show the scope of the problem: from December 1776 to March 1780, Howe and rally used an average of wagons, 1,958 horses and 760 4 Rivers and lakes were a vital form of transport in the war, especially as good roads were in almost as short supply as they had been in Wolle’s day, and fleets of flathoats, fatemux, stoops ancl other vessels were in constant se, some from Britain, many more bought, hired or scized locally, The organisation, 3,000 tiles fiom Lome, needed for such enterprises was so vast that the wonder is that the system worked as well as it did. There was so much incompetence in the administration of the army at home that honest, efficient men often desp: vine istrative machine would have been hard put w onganise the conquest o! ved, yet even a good ad the Americans in a country of such yast distances, and where so little food from the land. The redeoats could be obtained — usually by fair money ‘often starved and sometimes froze in their ragged uniforms. Washingion’s valiant men at Valley Forge may have been the champions in the misery stakes, but there were plenty of British challengers. Starvation could sometimes be warded off by plunder, Yet the ‘n compared with continental armies of ord of British troops, especially wh od in America, as every reputable American has always the day, w “Tho burial of Gonoral Frazer at ‘Saratoga, 1777: an engraving by W. Mutter after J. Graham, pub- lished in 1794, Although stylised, the costumes of the figures in this painting are correct in thelr details of campaign dress in North America. Kneeling and kissing Frazer's hand Is his nephew, who served In a bat- talion formed from regimental light companies. He wears a very ‘short jacket (waistcoat?) and Indian leggings. Other figures wear short jackots and long overalls. On the loft fo a grenadier, the match and brace ‘grenades visible on the back of his pouch belt. (National Army Museum)ABOVE, LEFT The regulation oarekin eap of the period. Tho plate fe white metal, five inchoe high, with the background Japanned black to maka the motif tand out. The cap is 12 inches igh without the fur. Sometimes the backs were omamentod with ‘corde and tasgolo. The plate war ‘more or less the same design for both drummers and grenadiers, the drummers! being embellished ‘with drums and trophies of flag: (tional Army Museum) ABOVE, RIGHT Baek view of a ‘srenadior’s cap of the 37th Foot, 1794-6. On the back was an oval red patch usually bearing the regimental number, and bedge if any. The shape and decoration varied, some regiments adding ‘special badges, tassels and ‘cords, cr front plates ot special rogimontal design. (National ‘Army Museum) agreed. This was partly due to the attitude of the British commanders. Howe, Burgoyne and others demanded high standards of conduct, which naturally could not always be maintained = Tory ‘cowboys’ sold stolen livestock to Burgoyne’s army. But because Briton was fighting Briton it was regarded as vital that thieves, rapists and marauders should as Mac Mahan of the 43rd got 1,000 lashes g stolen goods in Boston in 1776 and his wife got 100 lashes and three months in prison; and ovo privates of the 59th were hanged for robbing a store be discouraged. Private Thos There was no stopping crime, of course, especially with so many criminals in the ranks. The German mercenaries naturally had no great ine ation and, though not the monsters of legend, were notorious for their plundering in New York and on Long Iskand and around Trenton. Howe sinply ¢« st in the sensibilities of the local pop Hdl not stop this, nor could he control some of his newly arrived and more blood. thirsty officers. The Hessians had a reputation as butchers of surrendered troops in 1776, but they were sometimes put up to it by the British, 0 took care to tell the Hessians that the Rebels had resolved 0 give no quarters to them in particular, which made the © officer wrote: W 1 fight desperately and put all to death that fell into their hands, You know all strategems are lawful in vile enemies to their King and country, Afier such a brutal sentiment, it may seem optimistic to claim th American Revohition was a ‘Gentleme civil war between Patriots and L especially against such 's War’, yet except where it was a valists in cemoter areas, that is exactly16 what it ofien was. Occasionally, in the heat of batle or the moment of surrender, revenge and misundersianding might provoke a ne ‘atrocity. But this wasa war where Colonel Simcoe, the brilliant British commander of the Lovalist Queen’s Rangers, could send a message to an enemy sentry telling him that he would be shoc if he did not retire, and shout to an Ameriean officer "You are a brave fellow, but you must go away.’ Americans can cite the tough tactics of Banastre Tarleton in the South, but by the standards of warfare in that or any age, the American Revolution was mainly inh: ‘The frontier saw raids by Tories and Indians out of Niagara but this was the civil war situation referred to above. Ii was also good tactics, for by devastating the Mohawk Valley, Butler's Rangers and Joseph Brant’s Iroquois reduced Washington's starvation. Both sides tied to idded with the lanc-hungry colonists. As allies army to a state of nea Indians, but few they varied in usefulness and quality, but they would have said the same about the British as allies. Their use inflamed public opinion in Ameriea and in Britain, but they could never have remained neutral. The fabulous, well-educated Joseph Brant, a Mohawk who knew Boswell, George III and the Prince of Wales, was their inest leader He was reviled thanks to Rebel propaganda and natural enmity, but hac nothing to reproach himself with at the end of the war except a terrible November day when he and Walter Butler lost control of their Indian followers at Cherry Valley, As for the alleged massacre of Wyoming. it was a straight victory by Walter's father, John Butler, with no women or children killed. Brant, execrated for his part in it, was not even present! Redeoats often fought alongside Indians and continually with the 70 or so Loyalist regiments, Being Britons and ordinary humans, they had mixed views on their allies. Some soldiers who detested scalping — Goat of the 404at Foot, 1764-5. | encouraged by whites as evidence of death — were quite prepared to view This valuable and all-toc-rare (00 lashes. Fach to his own atrocity: the slow burning at ee ieeraeon re the stake, the flogging to death, piv rear a dg ast the Even discounting Rebel propaganda, there were plenty of instances Crowned regimental number on of rape, for which redeoats coud be court-martialled. The Hessians were the buttons. Note tne poekete in less subject to military punishment for the crime. the tals, and the unusual button The most famous quotation on the subject was penned by Lord — !¥0lt on the cuffs, (National Francis Rawdon. It defies comment except to note that for once the — “7s Museum) redcoats were being properly fed: ‘The fair nymphs of this isle [Staten Island] are in wonderful tribulation, as the fresh meat our men haye got here has made them riotous as satyrs, A girl cannot step into the bushes to pluck a rese without running the most imminent risk of being ravished, and they are so litle accustomed to these vigorous methods they don’t bear them with the proper resignation, and of consequence we have the most entertaining court-martial every day ‘Women followed the flag in disputed numbers. Howe allowed six to every company in 1776 and 1777, while Burgoyne had three per company for his expedition. He always denied that there were 2,000 women on that campaign. Like Howe, he had a mistress to console him {and, according to the wife of the Hessian commander, Baroness von Riedesel, in her marvellous account of the ilMated march which ended at Saratoga, he had the bottle as well towards the end). But few 18th-Another expedient adepted before the oficial sanction fer a tight ‘company In each rogiment was the ‘Highland Company? = this plate illustrates a private of the Highland Company ot the 25th Foot. Lowland Scottish regiment. The men of this company evidently had their coats cropped to the length worn by Hightana regiments. Tho uniform Is scarlet faced yellow, with red fand blue striges in the lace. The ap is of black fur with a red front fap worked with a white device, (Reproduced by graciows per- mission of HAR. The Queen) Century Commanders were more loved by their men than “Gentleman Johnny’, not least, perhaps, because he was no great flogger and was known to mention common soldiers in dispatches. Women, whether wives or ‘wives’, acted as laundrym: sometimes as nurses on campaign. They and their children were fed from the public stores, and clothed as well. There was at least one nei mutiny at Gork when a ship without women did not set out because the redeoats aboard threatened to desert unless the matter was put right. Sadly little is known of the ordinary women who went to America. honically, the bestknown woman of the Revolution on the British side was the unfortunate Jane McCrae, famous because she was murdered by some of Burgoyne’s Indians, who neither knew nor cared that she was a Loyalist, due to marry a Loyalist officer, Her cruel death was turned to, jum advantage by the Americans, with justification; yet the worst incident of the entire Revolutionary period was committed by American frontier militia who, systematically and in cold blood, butchered some 100 Christian Delawares, men, women and children, A worse fate than being butchered awaited many prisoners on both sides. Just as in the Civil War one is confronted by the nobility of Robert E, Lee and the horror of Andersonville prison camp, so in the Revolution the deceney of many British leaders is in striking conuast to the terrible prison hulks off New York, where perhaps 7,000 Americans perished in utter squalor and misery. And the redcoats (and especially the Loyalists) suffered almost as badly. The Americans imprisoned some of the British in the nightmarish Simsbury copper mines. Fortunately, the redcoats suffered less because the Americans had fewer prison facilities, Not that that can excuse the shameful treatment accorded to Burgoyne’s surrendered army. His vietor’s very generous terms were quashed by Congress, but it has since come to light that Howe was eager to use the men again rather than, as the treaty specified, have them sent back to Britain, which puts both sides in the wrong. But Congress dicl not know of Howe's secret letter to Burgoyne. Burgoyne's men first endured harsh weaunent in New England, were then marched south, partly to make the men desert ~ which many Hessians did — and were finally like Sergeant Lamb, escaped, a few redeoats, ed Joyal unl, in 1781, they were separated Jow many of the original ids and quartered in Virginia, Mam deserted, and the rest rem: fiom their officers and vanished from histo 8,000 redcoats disappeared is uncertain. Many of the Hessians and some of the redeoats who did desert no doubt settled down to a new life in America. The war saw hundreds of deserters, only a small percentage of them redeoats, but not so many traitors in the conventional sense. Naturally, the Loyalists regarded all Rebels as traitors, and viee versa, and it could be argued that many of the Opposition in London were traitors! But in the full sense of the word, of men who betrayed their side as opposed to changing sides in the manner inevitable in a civil war, there were few, the most notable being the Rebels’ best general, Benedict Arnold. Hospitals on the American side were much worse than British ones. Not all can have been as bad as Ticonderoga’s in 176, which “beggars description and shocks humanity’, as Anthony Wayne wrote, But the general standard must have been in stark contrast (© the British ones. Dr Rush, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, paid a fulsome 1718 ‘omicor’, by Gainsborough. A flank company officer of the 4th Feet, c. 170, Is shown in campaign dress in this painting, ‘now in the National Gallary of Victoria. Grenadier and light Infantry officers were bearskine and caps or helmets respectivaly, but the normal cocked hat seems to have been worn extonsivoly, prooumably to save the more expensive special headgear from hhard wear in the field. The luniform hae dark blue facings, a silver epeulette, silver buttons, @ silver gorget, and a silver snordbelt plate engraved with a ‘crown and ‘vey. Noto that tho are partly buttoned acros: uibute in a letter to John Adams about Howe's hospitals and his doctors, even stressing that wounded American prisoners were much better looked alier by the British (before going to the hulks?) than the wounded in American hos- pitals. The British ‘pay a supreme regard to the cleanliness and health of their men’, wrote the doctor after his inspection, and contrasted American hospitals most unfavourably Of course, temporary hoypitals on campaigy must have been akin to butchers’ shops, and it must not be supposed that the chances of recovery from serious wounds could ever be high in the 170s and 1780s; but this tribute is signif concern for his men, which made him such a popular commander, Rush cven paid a tribute o the British for filling their men with veg- etables, Regimental doctors, many of whom were most dedicated, were paid so badly that some bought an extra commission and fought as well as healed, Disease was a greater killer in the war than battle, though, strangely, British casualties are not known, The American figures are mere guesswork, perhaps 12,000 killed, which may be not so different to the number of British deaths action, It was not a very sanguine war When the war finally ended the redcoats had nd unpleasant experience of sailing y defeated d contrast to the more usual British technique of ultimate victories after disastrous early campaigns. Their record was good, for honours could have included Long Island, White Plains, Fort Washington, Brandywine, Germantown, Savannah, Charleston, Camden and Guilford. Saratoga and Yorktown, those crucial defeats, were lost because strategy, comm tions ancl liaison were at fault, Though the war was frequently fought fon the European pattern, rigid formations often gave way to looser, more open tactics The very finest ant, not least because it shows Howe's the rare ay pite many victories, in units Were both Loyalist formations led by British Regulars: Simeoe’s Queen's Rangers and ‘Tarleton’s British Legion, mounted troops as dashing as have ever served the crown. The infantry fought in uvo ranks, in open order: In the pitehed battles of Brancywine, Camden anc Guilford, the redcoats, infantry and gunners excelled them selves, while all four leading British commanders, Howe, Burgoyne, Glinton and Cornwallis, were usually (after Bunker Hill) able, if not inspired. As for the redcoat, 200 years on, and despite Sir John Fortescue’s History of the British Army, and the writings of friendly Americans and understanding native historians, his achievement, courage and famous discipline in adversity in the Revolution will probably never get its due 1. was not he who lost George TI his American Colonies. Memorials toMeticulous reconstruction of @ Grenadier of the Hesse-Cassol Fusilier Regiment Von Ditfurth showing the Prussian style of Uniform and full marching order. Photo © GAE Uniform Seams Historic him are few, but there is one near the spot where the war began, which commemorates those who fell at Concord Bridge. It is quaint, perhaps, but none the worse for that — and it was written in sincerity and by the enemy: ‘They came three thousand miles and died, To keep the past upon the throne: Unheard, beyond the ocean tide, ‘Their English mother made her moan A DIARY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1775 19 Ar atte of Lexington and Concord, ending in fighting retreat by the Brith to Boston. 47 ire atte of Breed'/Burker Hil 'A dear bought vctory wots Canton, ‘another such woul, avo ruined ue SJuly Washington takes command of Arrerican Army a sect Chev Siege and loss of St Johns TUUet Sr Willan Howe eusooede Gago ae C n-C in America, Caton given ‘ommand in Canada, 17 Oct Fall of Chambly after a chort sioge. 10.Now Americans under Montacmery occupy Montiwal ‘Americans Beeiage Q 5506. Great Bridge, Vgria. Srtsh tops defeated, 176 27 FeO. Mores Crnek Fringe, Norn Caroina. Severs Loyalist date. 17 Mat British evacuato Boston, 5a) Rela! of Quebec. Caretan and his men having saved Canada, 18Mey Bate of two Cacers. Amarcane defeated oy Fans, mith ome Canedians and raccoats, June Carieton fees rere New York, bul does not rk altacking Ticonderoga anc retres 1 St Get Johns for the winter. 3 June: 21 Juy _Baitsh campaign in South Goroina Fale o! attack on Charleston, 3.July” Declaration of indepandanc= Aug.-Dse British campaign in Now York and Now Jersey, 27 Aug. Beth vitory on Long Ista 15 Soot, Bato of Harlem Highs. Britoh victor But haavy ceeuaties. Howe cocuries Netw York 110: Battie on Lake Champlan. Brave fight by Banaciet Amo’ anc! a sora fest cis tion victory, 18.021, Sharp delaying action by Americans at Pes Point, New York Bato of White Peano, Now York. Indoosive vitory Fort Washington, Han York, fas to Bish Wiachington crosaes tho Dolawaro an cofoats fossiana at Trenton, one ofthe Feclution’s Turning-points, because it mpxesses Europeans, basties rasing his oan men's mera. 1777 Suen. Americans take Pricetan, New Jersey 9 May Minor campaigning in New Jersey uy Bognning of Burgoyno's campaign. Suuly Rebels evacuate Tcondaxoga © Aug, Forccicus batto at Crs-ary bolwoen Brtieh, Loyalets and Indians versus Rabe. A bloody ictory. Indians under Joseph Brant. 22Aug Siege ot Fort Stan (Sohaver) ends i fale, h.s thishng St Leger's sneep frern the ‘West along the Ivciawe io assist Burgoyne, GGarmane detested at Sernington Howe deleats Weshingion at Brandywirns Geek. [Bato of Freeman's Ferm. Bish win costly fort 20Sepi. Americans attacked al Pact Howe takes Priaceipna, Battle of Baris Heights or second bale of Ferraris Farm), Another near-clsastousSir John Caldwell in Indian costume, c. 1780. This officer, who served at Detroit with the 8th (King's) Regiment of Foot, acquired this magnificent example of Ojibway chiet's dress ‘when he spent some time amens the Indians organizing ‘thom for raids on the Americans and leading them in action. Dyed ostrich and peacock plumes (trade tems) crown hie ‘turbaned head, and silver brooehes and ‘tinkling cones’ decorate head and shoulders. The pipe-tomahawk and short ‘sword were both popular trade items, and the shirt clearly, came from the same source. Broech-cloth and leggings are red, the latter with a light blue tapo, and tho blanket is red ‘and blue. Me woars four eilver gergots, and silver ear and ‘nose ornaments; in hie hand is a belt of nampum. We have Very little information on native American costume of this, Period. The paintings of Benjamin West ~ and this one ~ are ‘our principal sources, and even they may be misleading. ‘They are ususlly formal portraits of Indian chiefs or inci- Widuals who were in very close contact with the Indians, and who may be wearing native American ‘costume! solely for the painter, in fact, Wast seems to have uscd prope from his own collection, [Courtosy, City of Liverpool Museums) lrtish acton. Arnold cistnguishes himsat 17 Oot. Bargoyno eurondore at Saratoga, The tuning point ofthe enous, 22.0ct. Britis fal to capture Fort Veron. ‘5 Nov, Fort Mifin taken by Bris 8 Dec shingion in wnter quarers at Valey Forge 1778 6 Feb. Franco-Amerizar alliance signee May Cinton takes over fern Howe as Oi- 28.June atte of Monmouth. Indcisivo, Last mor engagement in tho Nowth, 4.Jdy Butlers Rangers and indians victory at Wyoming, Ferrsyania, wnongly Arrercansto be an atroot, 29 tug. Faro of Frorch ana Amotioans to take Phode Isler 11.Nov. Cherry Valey Mascacro. Wator Butler at Brant il to contra tht lens 28Dec. iis take Savanna 41779 Jan Ceptre of Sureury and Augusta by Bis Feb. Oulmination of trae carcaign n the West by Vnconmes fals Mat Juno tor ovl worn the Gout tay Seain doalaree war on Brain '5.Juy Wayne captures Stony Port tom Bech 13.Aug, Dsastrous Massachusote attack on Penodscot Bay 29Aug Sulizan’s expedton, sent io cectoy the toans ofthe Sk Nations George Rogers Clark when (que), cefeets them at Newtown, New York, and burns their crops and homes 90s. Frecti anei Amesicane falta tke Savarreh, 26 Doo. Bish feet sais o attack Chaoston, 1780 44 Mar, Fall of Mebie to Spanieras. 12 May Beh captire Charleston, Vi duty Fravch troops arrive at Newtort, hice Islan 16 ug. Battle of Camcen. Total ccfoat of Americers uncks Gites 26 Sepl.Weason of Bercolet Anal, Oct — Hangig of Mags Anus 7.Gct—Eritsh and Loyaisss under Ferguson csfeatea A surviving Hessian Fusilier cap. at Kiro's Mountain (Drawing G.A. Embleton)1781 Tuleh, Morgan defeals Ertsh uncer Taveton a the Cowpens, 16Ma Grome.and Gornnelie "ep tindaoaive batts a Gulf Cour House. Hoavy casuals 25 Apt HEIR Pawien nine enother expensive veto. June By the 070 of ure, Bish poner in te Coroinas is broken. Sept, atte ct Eutew Serge Greone Cotaats Bullsh, who retreat to Crerkaton 28 Spt. Washington and Rocrambeau march form Wilamsburg towards Yoru, 0c. Brn bosezed 90s Conwalis surendiss at Yorktown 1782 23 feb, Cereton bacomes C:inC, recaong Citon. ar-bug ster ferter warere cominuas 12am. Rocney cctoa's Fronch foot n West Indias 11.uySovenrh anandoned by Eten. SONoy Fr pence uesty signa 1 Peas. 14Doa Bitch evacuate Chatosion. 1783 IDAp. Ere of restitiss proctaras by Congress 3.Sept, Fral peace bealy sored. 25 Nev. Man Beran evacuation o! New Yor. 2a0e2 Grange dasnrgen sind WoW, The Regiments Which Served {sins te 170 cui. te gms of Beh rao rdauere ray Sangeet eed srg. Ae iret urnonn by be nro ef et Oserel, tay ere ern rer of eOACrtY oe 17S. 71782, VIL the wer nNerh Arercavwat Dora fy most ragrent wer std cosa err ike lacing the ‘neon fee wich they ore supped 0 cru Prost ay ies EE) anonn below arorsty thoes the “te! anciganatad exports nto Ac theragererts 177585 have aon Pages eed. ree ‘Secondary Present Anived Denard (9, te Namerion ier Tho 1th of say 776 tem Trecueere Newrone ed Ue bragoone The 7th Lett ne 1775 tras Bageore ‘Beer tenn Thott Rogirert ay 776 ra 2 Poot Same Rete Internet ‘he coldrear aay-776 var FRamont of Feet Guards New vote rreries tye ara Foot aay 776 va Glade Reo eens Teed te East Kors ane 1781 yr Eimer ‘Btaieton wireee Teancte Tre tHinghOws ne 1778 v7 ‘e's Con i Foy BorderRegirert Beton wires Fearn 91 Foot Teen cortunberad Teor ey 74 wa Fegan of Foot Reiman of Fusers Beaton whee ren stnawesiie) “Teo! ont 776 1773, Fegan ot Foot Regime ouster: Newverk crated remo: De hore sy 1773 1733 Foye Pars) Regiren Ponies Caras Ber ream. Te vias 1703 1735, ng’ Hoghare Thegerere crea Sar ren (roe ner Te Ror Mey 1770 wre Fegan or Fon voli Ragirere——"Gurbs tomes tre tor Regirere or Lreory We Ror we ial crest anger Ragirert Crue ested atTro 1am (Bodtowst} We Pincw of ee wz Pogirant ot Foe Noms Ove Hae rates Regent of Yerare Te 13h ohttArd — ermeot tay 78 170 Rermrecrrt Wawtown — Geleloe wis Peart tee Paton @aingemen{ Tho sre re Ramet oot rier ates erm aera) “ Rovs om 1703 vat Ropar tot sogentogrert “Boson we Tm Demiosioce aor 8 Uo Hin) wtwroya emacs, chad React to naam “1 Cie Render a 734 wea Foner Fat vows Seen Wades a. 29% (Decrsie —maraa ay 78 17 epee trot reormetctteios “Saber ee ste Tefoal Mey wm oaltern ss Mone Zt tars ft Syme iy “The zane “The Choshies Joy 775, 1733, Major John André of the S4th Regret trot "Soran cn ten Foot, ¢- 1779, the year before he Teaad “he oat ve tra Pvt en Fosters) vast et tre eet ae treacherous general, Benedict reaan na Reneicie) The ord bw 37 vet Armols. André diod with moa Rene ct oot agra cttrne “Seta view Sete oon nnaeere crowd of admiring and grieving P25 Caveonens) —_oheriat seer tro enemies. Born in Sutzorand in cae “oa ee ee ‘7, be btn the ery tn 1774 i es ‘end rose to be Cilnton'ssejutant- pe, rem 1 Ramee eH alias ‘general. (Courtesy the Curator, apr rot bein orsot itary Museum) vrozsn sath Tefen sy n178 16 Repreciteot — Gousaarvwe —gauasuatie Gra we eters on vate Reoret ez orcnsoctee| The Neredtstio Ney 78 sar Faget tect Nrucmancoa” au Stn fore agree, exe (Cmensoetie Teds re 78 ve eso ict Lanseria egret Sraeson Ws Tost tmearasneins —_Tesrewesct May 176 rer Pepe oft raat aegrnt “Slee Shar Tread Yale Ne Ret Mennuwar—Mayt776 sot RometorFoct Wagons Dibero lars Pager es eg Tse (Cmeetand —_ekrgbom M173 28 Roem Ponda Pirert Rat onan Ten ccc Tefreass dum irre tra Part Fo: ctvaccenoys egret “Eesn wee Tear NemHanpii Tepes fay 173 te Bier ot Wok Aon Ren Cert poo beta (im sereane) The Stitie yt 1 rear Seton Let or ine tor GrdSomersie) — Tmomens ane 173 ime Fiero Pt tematotiaret “Bian wide he tana The Bock ven uy 76 v8A.typical example of the rather ‘splonaid Light Dragoon helmet of ‘the day. (National Army Musou) Foal Hahand egirare oe ‘he 4 Pagano! Foor pment ot Fot The se, Fgimento Foot The 40m opment Foo Peguero Fook Theat Fapment ot Foot ogee ot Foot The sa Fogment ot Feet ‘The sam Roget oct “he 52h Pogment of ct Tm sa Fearent of Feet Tre sath Foprnent ot Foot Trees Rogen Foot Tre 04h ageart ot Feet The ca ensnert of oct Repent of oct Tre ris Mernere Pageet Fort fr Fraan’s Hotanders (uonseanre cori voces — oe rome at ones on ets Outncad | me ae sere) Tang anne ooeey Ta wins onan nage (meoad| Taion re ee we ce ot eae Geetuoog) intnnter fvmars mato oe cress (cee en Rae on cisely ee tm eanas Cmistnmy funncistd . Waies's Royal Ragarent ae {he 74% Highland Rogrent fot ofthe Ny Mepionce Palos 1770 {he 70m Herter Roginert of ck oe Ditences 1704 Mastonaste Haardere Raves 1770 Dieters 1704 “he 800 Fey Eartasgh Viet) Ree Fo dno 1778 May 1778, ‘Suetee toy 1778 Cave! Dee 1775 Boston May 1778, (Cape Four May 178 ‘outee ‘eet 700 Becton 1700 Beaton ‘sao 1701 New York “ven aay 1176 gure 179 ewer aw rk Let Now Yor a1 1700 1778 raed 1778 wis Let Nw York 778 wins Lot Ni Ye vegies 100 veins 176 701 Wins vee ceraa 101 vores wor teresFaced 1778 Disberced 178 Ag 1778 vee ‘Theszre Cute ot i Lat Charest amtond} Regent ot Foot The Roe in rant Denso 1 2a tra Gaps. The Bath Ploy wmahedincaeca asin Highland Emigrare Bidetnseved south tt Chenosin opment of Foot fer 1770, aves 1778 cseereno 1783 oad v2 ‘The oarers of lar marneca Ler crereeton Became to 105th (tunoore frelon) egmentn 1782 | Dialed, hen 2 agree fol alow an eocive svonge) fs cca arc men Nore ated 15 vervocmante fo bo raga “rterrment. cacy was ne me of tase repmans mice surender ch as Sxstogs, TPP ane vant, 1781 SOME FOOD FACTS As described earlier, mast of the food eaten by the redcoats in America i to be shipped across the Atlantic: 2,032,538 Ib. of bread were received by Daniel Chamier, Commissary-General in North America between 6 February 1775 and 9 January 1778 (and 10,739 gallons of vinegar, etc. Here is one account in full: Ac unt of provisions recelved by Commissary-General Daniel Weir at Now York between 7 Oct. 1774 and & Sopt. 1781 Kind of Provision ‘Amount Vatu glia, brea 572.192 4020 9 6 Spinte 42.655 gals see? 7 0 Beef 42.852 269 6 2 Pork 83,269 1b geo 11 1K Flour 164,884 Io. 1009 10 8 Raisins 2574 45 10 9 Peas 1,148 bush. 2 9 2 atime 412,007 oa, wu 4 Rice 911557 Ib s7 5 1% at 2385 gale. sar 15 te Butter 143516 1b 46 14 6x Choose 251 Ib ‘310 Th rece 4,518 gals, 1 0 2 Cask. 4,052 tune Hoorss 12.255 wm 24 age sia be 8 10 ars 8 20 0 Gandes 120 doz © 5 0 59 Sauerraut 123 em, 215 fon 12 4K Quoting a soldier's daily ration is more hazardous than reciting a pro- visions’ list, for the obvious reason that the delivery of provisions to armies or regiments or detachments was bound to be erratic. Nathaniel Day, Commissary-General in Canada, wrote to Burgoyne on $1 May 1777 that the Treasury Board had ordered one man’s rations per day th be as follows1: Corporal, Bettalion Company, 52nd Regiment of Foot, 2: Grenacier, 49th Foot, marching order 3: Privato, Battalion Company, 37th Regiment of Foot 4: Ensign, 58th Foet, with Regimental and King’s colourwouiSoy Aquoyy) yomoursg ‘pispueis ren kL "Romdgug yLowBoy AUo}Uy1: Corporal, Foot Jigers, Hesse-Cassel Field wager Corps: 2 Captain / Lieutenant Fraser's Company of ‘Markemon in 1776 2: Britsh Officer, 1777 a 4 Sorgoant, €2nd Foot, 1777g 5 i : i 5 Z g i r 5) Light Dragoons, 1776-81 Ib, Broad or Flour 1 tb, Beef or 9 and one-seventh a2. pork “Three-sevenths pints pease Siesevenths oc. Butter or in lieu 1 one-seventh oz. Cheese 2 two-sevenths oz. flour or in eu 1 one-seventh o2. Rice or 1 one-seventh oz. Oatmeal. Like the Royal Navy, the redcoats enjoyed a rum ration, usually diluted. It was up to commanding generals what other drinks were issued. These included claret, porter and spruce beer, the latter being most popular as it did not entail pay stoppages. As for paticnts in hos- pitals, here is an official menu for 1778-81: Full Diet Breakfast Rice gruel, or Water Gru, with Su Dinner ‘One Pound of Fresh Meat: Viz: Beef, Mutton, or Veal, with Greens. Susper Two ounces of Butler, or Cheese Halt Diet Dinner Rive, and Pudding, and half a Pound of Fresh Meat; four times a week Breakfast & Sugper, as Full Diet Low Diet Breakfast, and Supper, Rice or Water Grusl; Milk; Porridge, Sago or Salop Dinner Broth & Pudding (One Pound of Bread; each Man por Diom, with three pints of Spruce Seer in Summer ard a Quart in Winter Rico Water: for common drink in Fluxes; and Barley in Fovers . .. Tt cannot be stressed too strongly once again that for all the talk of rations per man there was a constant shortage of food and that much of it was rotten ~ uneatable even in those tough times and unthinkable to us today. Surveyors checked the food when it left Cork and when it reached America and kept finding such itemsas ‘very old Bread, Weavile Eaten, full of Maggots, mouldy, musty and rotten and entirely unfit for men to eat. To end with, here is a classic quotation of life aboard a transport, All honour to redcoais, Hessians and Loyalists who fought like lions even on empty bellics, and to those who sailed to America under conditions like thes: “Pork ancl pease were the chief of their diet. The pork seemed to be four or five years old. It was streaked with black towards the outside and was yellow farther in, with a little white in the middle, The salt beef was in much the same condition. The ship biscuit way so hard that they sometimes broke it up with a canonball, and the story ran that it had been taken from the French in the Seven Years’ War and lain in Portsmouth ever since... Sometimes they had groats and. barley, or, by 33way of a treat a pudding made of flour mixed half with salt water and hall with fresh water, and with old mutton fat.” ARMY ADMINISTRATION During the American Revolution the army was still legalised annually by a Mutiny Act passed by Parliament. The following is a brief breakdown of che English establishment, Captain-General— The King Commanderin-Chief = Vacant 1772-18 Sir Jeffrey Amherst 177882 Seoretary at War Viscount Barrington Lord Barrington’s was the key post, especially, of course, before Amherst was appoimed, An able man, his duties were manifold. It is interesting that, like so many others, he sympathisec with the American The War Office Seoretary at Wer— Viscount Barrington Deputy Secretary avid Firsi Clerk — Matthew Lewis (sho had ten or so cris) Paymaster of Widows? Pensions ~ Hon, Henry Fox Deputy John Powell Examiner of Army Accounis = Willi Assistant ~ Z. R. Taylor The Paymaster-General’s Office, 1775. PaymasterGeneral~ Rt. Hon. Richard Rigby, MP Deputy Paymaster-General = Anthony Sawyer Accountant — John Powell Canaprater of Ojpreckonings ~ Charles Bembridge Cashier of Half Pay— Robert Randall Korper of the Stons ~ P. Burrell Also eight clerks. There were eight subordinate paymasters abroad. ‘The office of paymastergeneral was the equivalent of b licence to print money. Civil Branch of the Office of Ordnance Master General — Rt. Hon, Geo. Viscount Townshend Liewtenant-General ~ Sir Jeflrey Amherst, 5% Surveyor General — Sir C. Frederick, K.B. RRS. Clerk of the Ordnance ~ Six CO Storekeeper— Andrew Wilkinson Clerk of the Deliveries — Benjamin Langlois, Fsq Treasurer and Paymasier— Jolin Ross Mackye, Esq. Seerctary to the Master-General= John Courtney, Esq. Undersecretary to the Master Geneval ~ T. Masterson, Esq. Menuting Clo ~ M1. Simmonds There were also eight clerks. Cocks, Bart Military Branch of the Office of Ordnance Chief Engineer and Colonel - Lieutenant-General W. SkinnerDirectors and Lieutenant-Colonels ~ Zolonel James Montréssor, Licutenant-Colonel Arch. Patoun Sub, Directors and Majors ~ Four Engineers in Ord. and Captains ~ 12 Engineers Extra, and Captains and Lieutenants ~ 12 Practitioner Engineers and Designs ~ 16 ‘The Ordnance Department was in eharge of everything from arms munition to prisons and maps, and controlled the gunners, sappers and Woolwich Military Academy. Both the army and navy depended on its efficiency and rules. Townshend was the thorn in Wolfe's flesh at Quebec and Amherst the final conqueror of Canada. Among other functionaries were the Judge Advocatc-General, the Apothecary-General and the Comptroller of Army Accounts, and there were various other boards, notably the Treasury which fed and equipped the army, and the Admiralty Board. There was also a 30-strong board of officers wo advise the King and the Secretary at War. It sat when required and discussed commissions, abuses, pay, courts martial and many other matters, And the clothing board had, as its name suggests, to decide on niform patterns and inspect them. Though the general officers did not make contracts ~ this was left to colonels and regimental agents ~ they approved them. There was alto a board which ran Chelsea Hospital. ‘Troops were affected by the Navy Board and victualling boards when they sailed on transports. ‘At first glance, these lists may seem impressive, but there was far to0 much oxetlapping and not enongh ceniral authority, The result was often a shambles, and this affected the outcome of the war anda THE ROYAL WARRANT OF 1768 FOR INFANTRY CLOTHING, COLOURS &C. (vot including the devices and badges of the Reyal Regiments, arid of the six: Old Corps) GEORGE R. Our will and pleasure is, that the following regulations for the colours, clothing, &c, of Our marching regiments of foot, be duly observed and putin execution, at such times as the particulars are or shalll be f No Colonel is put his arms, crest, device, of livery, on any part of the appointments of the regiment under his command. nished. Colou: The King’s, or first colour of every regiment, throughout. ‘The second Colour to be the colour of the facing of the regiment, with the Union in the upper canton; except those regiments which are faced with red, white, or black, The second colour of those regiments which are faced with red or white, is to be the red cross of St. George in awhite field, and the Union in the uppet canton. The second colour of those which are faced with black, is to be St, George's cross throughot Union in the upper canton; the three other cantons, black. to be the Great UnionRegimental similarities and differences. Officers’ dress, hat ‘and hair otylos. Loft to right: 4th King’s Own Rogimont; tioutonant, 38th Regiment, ¢.1770; captain, Royal Merines, c.1760; 20th Rogiment of Foot ¢.1775. (iustration copyrignt G. A. Embleton) In the centre of each colour is to be painted, or embroidered, in gold Ro nber of the rank of the wreath of roses and thisdes on the same stalk; except those regiments raracters, the num egiment, within the which are allowed to wear any royal devices, « colours the rank of the regiment is to be painted, or embroidered, towards the upper corner. The size of the colours to be six fect six inches flying, and six feet deep on the pike. The length of the pike (spear and ferril included) to be nine fer ten inches. The cords and tassels of the whole to be crimson and gold mixed. ancient badges; on whose Drums The drums to be w: The front to be with the King’s eyph nied with the colour of the facing of the regiment, and the number of the regiment under it rand crow’ Bells of Arms ‘The bells of arms to be painted in the sume manner. Camp Colours The camp colours to he eighteen inches square, and of the colour of the facing of the regiment, with the number of the regiment upon them. The poles to be seven feet six inches long, except those of the Quart. and rear guards, which are to be nine feet Uniform of Offic The number of each regiment to be on the buttons of the uniforms of the Officers and men. The coats to be lappelled to the waist with the colour of the regiment, and th ticularly specified hereafter, They may be without embroidery or lac but, if the Colonel thinks proper, either gold or silver embroidered or laced button-holes are permitted. To have cross pockets, and sleeves with cuffs, and po slits. The lappels [sic] and cuffs to be of the same breadth as is ordered for the men colour not to be varied from what is patEpaulettes The Officers of grenadiers to wear an epauilette on each shoulder. Those of the battalion to wear one on the right shoulder. They are to be either of embroidery or lace, with gold or silver fringe Waistcoats ‘The waistcoats to be plain, without either embroidery or lace. Swords and Sword-Knots ‘The swords of each regiment to be uniform, and the sword-knots of the whole to be crimson and gold in stripes. The hits of the swords to be either gilt or silver, according to the colour of the buttons on th Hats The hats to be laced either with gold or silver, as hereafter specified, and to be cocked uniformly. Sashes and Gorgets The sashes to be of crimson silk, and worn round the waist. The King’s arms to be engraved on the gorgets; alto the number of the regiment, They are to be either gilt or silver, according to the colour of the buttons ‘on the uniforms. The badges of those regiments which are entitled to any, are also to be engraved. Caps, Fuzils, and Pouches, for Grenadier Officers The Officers of the grenadiers to wear black bear-skin caps; and to have fuvils, shoulder-belts, and pouches. The shoulder-belts to be white or buff, according to the colour of their waistcoats Espontoons The battalion officers to have espontoons, Gaiters ‘The whole to have black linen gaiters, with black buttons, and small stiff tops, black garters, and uniform buckles Serjeants’ Coats The coats of the Serjeants to be lappelled to the waist, with the colour of the facing of the regiment. The button-holes of the coat to be of white braid. Those on the waistcoats to be plain, The Serjeants of grenadiers to have fuzils, pouches, and caps. Those of the battalion to have halberts, and no pouches. Serjeants’ Sashes The sashes to be of crimson worsted, with a stripe of che colour of the facing of the regiment, and worn round the waist. Those of the regiments which are faced with red, to have a stripe of white Corporals’ Coats The coats of the Gorporals to have a silk epaulette on the right shoulder. 37Grenadiers’ Coats The coats of the grenadiers to have the us round wings of red cloth on the point of th _phoulder, with six loops of the same sort of lace as ‘on the button-holes, and 2 border round the bottom, Private Men’s Coats The men’s coats to he looped with worsted lace, but no border. The ground of the lace to be white, with coloured stripes, To have white buttons. The breadth of the lace which is 10 make the loop round the button-hole, to be about half an inch. Four loops to be on the sleeves, and four on the pockeis, with two on each side of the slit behind, Lappels, Sleeves, and Pockets ‘The breadth of all the lappels to be three to reach down to the waist, and noc wo be wid top than at the bottom, The sleeves of the coats to have a small round cuff, without any slit, and to be made so that they may be unbuttoned and let down, The whole t have cross pockets, but no flaps to those of the waistcoat. The culls of the sleeve which turns up, to be three inches and a halfdcep. The flap on the pocket of the coat to be sewed down, and the pocket to be cut in the lining of the coat ches, Shoulder Belts and Waist Belts The breadth of the shoulder belts to he two inches and three-quarters; (hat of the waistbelt to be wo. inches; and those regiments which have buff waistcoats, are to have bufl-coloured accou- == trements. Those which have white waistcoats, are wo hare white Drummers’ and Fifers’ Coats The coats of the drummers and fifers of all the royal regi red, faced and lappelled with blue, and laced with royal lace. The waistcoats, breeches, and lining of the coats, to be of the same colour as that which is ordered for their respective regiments. The coats of the drummers and fifers of those regiments which are faced with red, are to be white, faced, lappelled, and lined with red; red waistcoats and breeches, Those of all the other regiments are to be colour of the facing of their regiments; faced and lappelled with red. The waistcoats, breeches, and lining of those which have buff or white coats, are to be red. Those of all the others are to be of the same colour as that which is ordered for the men. To be laced in such manner as the Colonel shall think fit. he lace to be of the colour of that of the soldiers’ coats, The coats to have no hanging sleeves behind. nis are to be Ojibway garters and moccasins ating from about 1780, col lected by Colonel Arent De Deyster, commandant at Michilimackinac in 1774-0. This attractive quill and bead deco. ‘ation, with brass or copper ‘tinkling cones’ typical of frontior ‘ornamentation of hair, clothes and equipment, must surely nave caught the soldiers’ oyos, if only 2s souvenirs. We have been tuneble to find contemporary ‘evidence that it was adopted to decorate the equipment of British soldiers in the field. (Courtesy. City of Liverpool! Museums)Lieutenant Thomas Aubrey of the 4th Foot, ©.1774 ~ a portrait by Nathaniel Hone, The scarlet coat faced dark blue is trimmed with silver ‘metal’. Note the con- ‘etruction of the unetifiened ‘opaulette = a flat knot of ace braid. (By permission of the National Museum of Wales) Drummers’ and Fifers’ Caps The drummers and fifers to have black bear skin caps. On the front, the King's crest, of silver plated metal, on a black ground, with trophies of colours and drums. Th of the regiment on the back part; as also the if entitled te any, as ordered for the bad enadiers. The caps of the grenadiers to be of black bea skin. On the front, the King’s crest, of silver plated metal, on a black ground, with the motto, Nev aspera terrent. A grenade on the back part, with the number of the regiment id the six old corps, are to have the crest and grenade, on it, The royal regiments, a so the other particulars as here specified. The hadge of the royal regiments is to be white, and set on near the top of the back part of the cap. The height of the cap (without the bear-skin, which reaches beyond the top) to be twelve inches ter Hats of the Whole ‘The hats of the Serjeants to be laced with silver. Those of the Corporals and private men to have a white tape binding. The breadth of the whole to be one inch and a quarter; and no more to be on the back part of the > have black cockades. brim, than what is necessary to sew it down. Caps for the Officers and Men of Regiments of Fuzileers k bearskin caps. They are to be ner as those which are ordered for the grenadiers, ¢ on the back part. nents of filers to have bl ‘The regi made in the same mai but not so high; and not to have the grenad Swords All the Serjeants of the regiment, and the whole g1 have swords. The Corporals and private men of the battalion companies 1s) to have no swords short sword with a scimitar blade. er company, to (excepting the regiment of royal high! All the drummers and fifers to have a Gaiters The Serjeants, Corporals, dramm black gaiters of the same sort 2 ers, fiers, a nd private men, to have ordered for the Officers; also black garters and uniform buckles. Pione. Each pioneer to have an axe, a saw, and an apron; a cap with a leather crown, and a black bear-skin front, on which is to be the King's crest in white on a red ground; also an axe and a saw. The number of the the back part of the cap. regiment to beTHE PLATES A: REGULATION UNIFORMS AA: Private, Light Company, 33th Foot The 98th, later the South Staffordshire Regiment, had yellow facings, and aiNer laos tor officers. It served throughout the War of independence, notably at Lexington, Breed's Hill, Long Island, Fort Lee, Chestnut Neck, | Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth Courthouse. Light troops had been used in America during the French and Indan Wars, ard some regiments ad ‘picket’ and ‘Highians” companies; but in 1771 alight company was oifleialy added to each regiment. Active and agi men were preferred, and their training leid some stress on initiative ‘The light companies of 2 number of regiments serving together were often detached into a Separate light battalion; sometimes the light and ‘grenadier companies of several regiments would be grouped in an élite formation. Light company men were to wear short jackets with shoulder wings, red waistcoats, and short black gaiters. A black leather cop with three chains round it and a piece of plate upon the centre of the crown, ike a exull-cap, wae die: tinguished by the regimental number and the royal cipher beneath a crown on a large round peak standing straight up in front. A large varety of caps were made or cut down from ‘cocked hats: some hac peaks in front, others at the back, some had horsehair crests, others were made of leather and brass like dragoon nelmo:s, The men were supposed to carry ‘a small cartridge box on a tan loathor waist bolt, a powder horn and bullet pouch, and 2 hatchet and bayonet in a frog; sometimes the hatchet had a simple case butloning round the blade. Some ght comsanies kent the same equipment as the rest of the cattalion. Officers and sergeants carried {usils (ight muskets) ard pouches. ‘A2: Private, Battalion Company, 64th Foot The 64th, later the Prince of Weles’s North Staffordshire Regiment, wore black facings and regmental lace with one red and one black stipe in It; officers” metal was gold. The regiment fought throughou! te war, taking part in the occu- pation of Bostcn ard the fighting at Dorchester Heights, Long Isiand, Brandywine, Germantown and in the New Jorsoy and Southern campaigns. Winter gaiters are showin here, long, with black bone or pewter buttons; summer pattern were mid-calf length only. The battalion companies ~ Le. all the companies of a bat- talion except for the grenadier ard light companies ~ were known as ‘hat’ compenies because their cocked hat distin- guished them from the special headgear of the élite ‘companies. (The hats cnd cape of all companies were often too small, and were kep! In place by sewing two piocos of tape, as near as possible to the man's hair colour, to the lining of the hat, and fastening them with a hook and eye Under the plait of hair at the back.) Linen had to be changed fon Wednesdays anc Sundays, end shoes were changed {rom foot to foot daily to prevent them ‘running crooked’! On American service gater trousers o” overalls were worn in the ‘An 16th-century view of American troops: ‘a rfleman’ and ‘a general’. (Michael D. Rebsen) field, pereps over the breeches and stockings. Records show that blue, brown and white woollen cloth, stripac ticking and old tents wore all used to make loggincs anc overalls, The bayonet was carried in a frog on the waist belt, but this was frequently worn over the right shoulder Inst2cd, leading eveniually to the official issue of two crossbelts From the left shoulder hung the cartridge-box, 0! stoutest biackored calfskin, with an innor flap of thick well paintos nen... The box itself was a wooden block drilled with 36 hoes, each for 2 paper cartridge, For confirmation of other details, see the 1768 Warrent ‘quoted in tei ‘A3: Corporal, Grenadier Company, 47th Foot “The 471", later the Loyal Regiment, wore white facings. wo black lines were added to the design of the regimental lace of corporals and men, in inourning for General Wolfe, The regiment fought with Burgoyne’s army, and was interned vith the rest of that unlucky command in 1777. The Grenadier Company, though no longor issued wth actual crenades, was composed of the largest and strongest men in-each battalon, and provided a shock force. it was often detached and formed into separate grenasier bat- talions (see above), to the disgust of many officers, who hele that to drav’ off each battalion's best men in this way was a Otstortion of their proper function and weakened their parent unit unressonaby. This corporals rank is distinguished by the knot worn on his right shoulder, although corporals in some raciments wore a white sik epaulette, He wears a uniform which conforms to the 1768 Clothing Warrant. The distinctions peculer to the Grenadier Company of the battalion are the fur cap, the shoulder-wings decorated with regimental 'aceloops, the brass match-case on the cressbatt, ‘and the sword which was only carried by greradiers, sergeants and officers by this date. Sometimes a tightly colled and pipe-clayed match was fixed to the crossbelt behind the shoulder, as another reminder of the original function. These can be seen in several contem- porary illustrations and were also on a set of Goldstream Guards equipment, formery in the Zeughaus, Berlin, and unfortunately lost in World War Il, The exsensive fur cap was covered on the march with a painted canvas cover: when not in use these could be rolled up ‘and suspended by a small loop from the right, hip coat button, concealed within tho tuck of the skirts. In peacetime the coat skirts wera to 00 sown pormanontly up In the turned-back position illustrated and fixed with a strip of reg Imontal laco and a button. Often the tips ware decorated with ‘grenades’ or haarts of cloth or brags; on campaign they were secured with hooks and eyes Ad & AS: Drummers, Regiments of Foot These crummers are dressed according to the Royal Warrant of 1768, with coats of facing colcur decorated with regimental lace ‘as the colcne! shal think fit’. The bearskin caps had a similar plate to that of the grenadiore but incor porating trophies of flags and drums in the motif and there were regimental variations, Officially, the regiments had only drummers and fifers; extra musicians for a cand were Lnotticlal and supported by the officers out of their own pockets, Otten they wore macniti- comly and fancifully uniformed; Negroes. were popular in this capacity, and the flourishes of the modern drum major may have derived from the trie

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