t!m]]]MILITARY MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 267

THE BRITISH ARMY1660-1704

JOHN TINCEY GERRY EMBLETON

~MILITARY

EDITOR: LEE JOHNSON

MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 267

THE BRITISH ARMY1660-1704

Text byJOHNTINCEYColour plates by

GERRY EMBLETON

First published in Great Britain in [994by Osprey, <In imprint of Reed Consumer Books LimitedMichelin House, 8 [ Fulham Road,London SW3 6RBand Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore ,md Toronto

© Copyrighl 1994 Reed Illtcrnational Books Limited

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ISBN I 855323818

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Publisher's noteReaders may wish to study this title in conjunctionwith the following Osprey publications:

MAA 98 Mar/borough's Army '702-"MAA 203 LOllis XIV's Army

Elite 25 Soldiers ojthe English Civil War (I):In/anoyElite 27 Soldiers ojthe English Civil War (2):Cava.!ry

THE BRITISH ARMY 1660-1704

James II (1685-88) lost much of this hard-won trust bytrying to lead England back to Catholicism. \Villiam ItI(1688-1702) used the British army largely as an auxiliaryforce to the highly trained Dutch army in his own wars onthe Continent as well as in the British Isles - a difficult but,as it turned out worthwhile apprenticeship. When ~1arl­

borough took over command in 17°2, the British armyknew its trade well enough to take on the armies of thegreat powers of Europe on equal terms.

To attempt to trace the political and religiousstruggles, and the many campaigns fought during thereigns of these three monarchs is beyond the scope of thisbook. Indeed, to write at all of a 'British' army at this timeis something of a misnomer - separate armies existed inScotland, Ireland and England. The main purpose here isto reconstruct the uniforms and equipment ofthis period.This is not a straightforward task. There was someregulation of uniform, but most details were left to

individual regiments. Unfortunately the government 'pat­terns' - garments approved centrally setting basic stan­dards - were destroyed by fire many years ago. The

.' :.-.i\

INTRODUCTIONThe period between the Restoration of Charles II in 1660and Marlborough's decisive victory at Blenheim in T704 isoften seen <1S something ofa 'backwater' ofmilitary history.The struggles of the English Civil \Vars were over andMarlborough's epic campaigns yet to begin. However, this4o-ycar pause was far from a period of peace and inactivity.It was marked by the defeat of the Monmouth Rebellion atScdgcmoor in 1685, the 'Glorious Revolution' in 1688, theambush at Killiecrankie in 1689, and the battle of theBoyne in 1690. Overseas it saw the garrisoning of theBritish colonies of Virginia and the West rndies; expe­ditions to Bombay and Portugal; and the defence, againstoverwhelming odds, of the British bases at Dunkirk andTangier. The 16905 brought direct involvement in theEuropean power struggle - with large numbers of Britishtroops deployed against the French in Flanders at thepitched battles ofWa1court (r689), Stccnkirk (1692) andLanden (1693).

rndeed, the period was vitally important in thedevelopment of Britain's armed forces: it saw the birth ofthe British army in its modern form, and the establishmentof many regiments that survive to this day.

Yet it is not a period that can be easily categorised; itspanned the reigns of three monarchs, each with afundamentally different attitude to the army. Charles II(reigned 1660-85) feared the old Cromwellian army andtried to destroy it before rebuilding an army he could trust.

Detail oran engravingshowing the Horse Guarl/sin I684. Hats rather thanpot helmets arc worn, asare cross belts for swordand carbine. CnJ vacs arealso in evidence. Adescription by C. C. P.Lawson ofthe oil paintingupon which lhis princ isbased says thac the soldiers

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wear 'buffish grey coats'.Unfortunately we knowchac cavalry at this timewore buffcoacs but we alsoha ve evidence chat theywore grey 'undress' coats.From Windsor Races, 24August 1684 by FrancisBarlow, I687. (PrivateCoJ1ection)

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Cipt;Jin Francis Hawleyeomnlanded a eonlpanyof45 grenadiers ofthe 1stFoot GWJrds during anatrack on jUonmouth 'srebels at Philip's Norton inSomerset. He wears a redemit with light blue facingsand gold decoration whichappears co be based on theregiment:JI uniform. Atthis time officers' uniformswere beginning to comeunder some regulationalthough they were stillprovided by the officersthemselves. Officerscontinue to haveconsiderable freedom inchoosing the quality ofeloth and decoration tosuit their personal tastes.Hawley is depicted holdinga smoking grcnade and anlatch-cord; he has a plugbayonet on his waist belt,suggesting he would ha vebeen armed with a fusil inaction. Oil painting by anunknown artist, dated1685. (Priv<JCe Collection)

Right: A troop ofthe HorseGuards at Charles II'scoronation in 1661. An oilpainting ofthe event showstiny figures ofa troop inbuffcoats although an:iccount from some yearslater observed a troop inshort red j:Jckets. The buff­coats or jackets worn bythis troop under their backand breast plates havemany tabs or skirts, andare decorated with metalor lace strips on theslee\'es. FrOJJ1 ;Inengraving.by WenceslasHollar.

uniforms reconstructed here are therefore based uponl:yewitness reports, a few paintings and engravings, andbills and accounts for the purchase of uniforms.

For weapons and equipment the situation is slightlybetter as these were provided through the Ordnance Officeand much of the paperwork survives in the Public RecordOffice in London. The evidence begins with a fewdocuments scattered randomly through the records for the

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reign of Charles, becomes organised volumes for the reignof James and is an unscalablc mountain thereafter. Thebibliography lists some of these sources, and also givesdetails of the hooks and articles of those who pioneeredresearch in the field in the last century, and of those whocurrently labour in the archives. 'Where possible, originalquotes have been reproduced in the text, as many of thedetails for this period remain contentious.

THE ARMY OFCHARLES II

Following the RestOration of Charles IT in 1660, Parlia­menr imcnded to destroy Cromwell's army, and insteadrely on scattered g'lrrisons and the militia for internalsecurity :lnd nation;11 defence. However, when an uprisingby religious fanatics in London routed the militi,I, regularsoldiers had to be brought in to restore order. King Charleswas thus provided with an excuse to maintain a force of'personal Guards',

The Tangier Garrison

The marriage of Charles II to a Portuguese pnncess,C1lhcrinc of Braganza, brought the colony of Tangier toEngland as part of her dowry. The port stood on theAfrican Atlantic coast near the straits of Gibraltar and itwas hoped that its possession would open up English tradewith Africa. Unforrunately the local inhabitants proved tobe unfriendly, making the outpost a heavy drain onresources and bringing few benefits. Initially a garrisonregiment for Tangier was formed numbering 1000 men inIcn companies under Lord Peterborough. Three furtherregiments were sent from Dunkirk after that town wasreturned to the French.

In April 1663 the new governor of Tangier, LordTcviot, strengthened the town defences considerably byeonslructing a line of blockhouses and trenches on the ringof hills dominating the town. The !Vioors reacted bystaging repeated attacks on the new works. One of the more

unfortunate incidents occurred in !Viay 1664 when Tc,·iotwith 500 men was lured into an ambush while foraging forwood and building materials. Tcviot was cut down andonly 30 soldiers escaped. Fortunately the 1\1100rs weredistracted by internal feuds and the reduced garrison of1415 foot and 140 horse was able to hold out.

After J 678 the i\1oors became increasingly hostile andwith the aid of European renegades attempted a formalsiege of the colony. A section of the defences were overrunwith hea\"y English loss, .1nd many of the surrounding hillsbecame permanently occupied by i\1oors. Percy Kirkc wassent out as the new governor to restore the situation. Hebrought with him two combined battalions of 600 meneach, one drawn from the Guards regiments and the otherfrom Dumbarton's Regiment, so thar by October 1681 thegarrison numbered 3221 foot and 120 horse. On 27October 1680 a force of J 500 men comprising six infantrybattalions, seven troops of horse (including some hiredfrom Spain) and a naval brigade, marched out to fight thewioors. For once the tribesmen accepted battle face to f~lce

and werc routed by cavalry charges .1Od musketry, losingsome JOO men. But this minor ,·jetory was not enough to

save the colony: in 1683 the garrison and settlers wcreshipped back to England.

Other colonies

Charles II's Portuguese marriage also brought Englandpossession ofBombay. Tn 1661,400 foor in four companieswere sent to takc over the colony. The local Portuguesecommander, howC\"er, was unwilling to gi"e lip his postand it was not until November J 666 th.lt the 97 sUf\'i"ingEnglish soldiers took up occupation in the colony. Rather

5

The African port ofTangier bec:lnle anEnglish possession tiS OJ

result ofCharles If'sInarriage to thePortuguese princess,C.uherine ofBmganza.Thi~' plan shows the.' ring ofhills whieh overlooked thetown, together with theforrs .md earthworksconstructed to secure themfrom the JHoors. FroIn ancngra ving dated 1680 by 1.Seller. (National A.rInyNluscum)

short-sightedI)', Charles considered Bombay to be of nolong-term value; in 1667 he sold the place to the East IndiaCompany for an annual rent of £10.

Enghmd also had colonies in the Americas in closecompetition with the French, Dutch and Spanish. Britishtroops were sent out in response to various threats, but lackof funds meant they generally went unpaid and were thefirst to be disbanded when the govcrnment necded to savemoney. Jamaica W,1S garrisoned by two companies from1677 to 1682; Barbados had its own regiment from 1667 to1671; and New York, recently captured from the Dutch,had in 1667 a garrison of 300 mcn, of whom nonc remainedunder arms by 1679. A rebellion in Virginia in 1676prompted the emergency shipment of 1000 British troops,though they arrived to find the rebel leader already deadand his supporters dcfeated.

Foreign expeditions

In addition to colonial service many soldiers foundthemselves fighting under foreign command as allies ofEuropean powers. In 1662 three New 1\1odel Armyregiments forming the garrison of Scotland were reducedinto two regiments each of 1000 men and were shippedwith a regiment of 1000 horse to fight under Portuguesecommand against Spanish invaders; they remainedoverseas until 1668. Charles II took advantage of thisexpedition to remove a number of troublesome anti­mon,lfchists in the army from the country.

A British brigade had been in service with the Dutchsince the 16th century. In 1665 the outbreak of war withHolland caused the force to be disbanded with many of the

6

returning soldiers recruited into the Holland Regimentand the Admiral's Regiment. Peace came in 1674 and a newAnglo-Dutch brigade was formed comprising three Scott­ish, one Irish and two English regiments.

France had long been ;l favourite destination forBritish soldiers of fortune, who served mostly in separateBritish regiments under officers or their own nationality.This tradition came to a temporary end in 1678, whenParliament forced Charles to abandon his French allianceto side with the Dutch. Several regiments includingDumbarton's were made to return from French service.Many veterans found themselves transferred into a newforce earmarked as aid for the Dutch, with the Duke ofMonmouth (himself just returned from French service) incommand; a force of 17 battalions of infantry, 10 squad­rons of horse, 9 squadrons of dragoons and 20 guns ­17,860 men in all. However, King Charles was not willingto lose his secret French pension and he managedto repeatedly delay the sailing of the force. The troops didreach Flanders in the end, bur only .Monmouth with hispersonal followers was present at the final battle of the war.The men were left to make their way home, disease-ridden,poorly provisioned and, as usual, lacking pay.

Scotland and Ireland

As well as the English army, Scotland and Irelandmaintained their own forces, which werc independent butstill owed their allegiance to King Charles II. In Scotland aregiment of Foot Guards and a troop of the King's Guardof Horse with a few small garrisons brought the totalstrength of the Scottish army to 1200 men. This army was

THE ARMY OFJAMES II

In the enthusiasm surrounding the coronation of a newking, Parliament forgot its long-standing battle over theroyal finances and granted James JJ generous revenues.The celebrations were soon soured when a pretender, theDuke of Monmouth - who as the first-born son of CharlesII had a claim to the throne - landed at Lyme Regis inDorset hoping to raise the \Vest Country in revolt. Fivedays later he marched into Taunton at the head of 3000mcn having routed the county militia and captured manyof its weapons.

The initial response to the Monmouth Rebellion wasconfused as small battalions composed of a number ofcompanies from a regiment werc ordered westward.Immediately James set about recruiting new units to

bolster the old ones. The force that was finally assembledwas made up of a troop of Horse Guards of 150 troopersand 60 Horse Grenadiers, seven troops of the Earl ofOxford's Regiment of Horse, three troops of the RoyalDragoons with another on outpost duty, I] companies of

mostly cmployed in suppressing thc Lowland religiousopponcnts of the govcrnment; it rarely ventured into thcHighlands. The most serious problem came in 1678 when aforce 0£6000 Covenantcrs rose up in rebellion. The Dukeof Monmouth was dispatched with one regiment of foot,threc troops of horsc, a company of dragoons and twogroups of Highlanders - some 2754 soldiers in all. Theforces Illet at Bothwell Bridge where Monmouth's regularsswcpt the Covenanters from the field in a single charge.

Ireland also maintained its own forces, though strictinstructions forbade the recruiting of Catholics. At theRestoration the Jrish garrison stood at 66 companies of footand]o troops of horse. In April 1662 a regiment of IrishFOOl Guards was raised, together with 60 'Guards ofbattleaxes' for ceremonial duties. By 1676 the garrison hadbeen formed into six regiments each of horse and foot.However, pay was always in short supply, and in order toprevent starvation, foot soldiers had to be allowed to work;IS labourers <lnd horsemen and given leave to return totheir own farms.

issued with the mewlbridle gmmtlet. Theflexible jointed scalesmade thi!.. an cxpensivepiece orequipment. (RoyalArmouries, Tower ofLondon)

The harqucbusicr ;Jrmourof]ames II. Thc tri-barIilee protector hcrcincorporates the RoyalArms ofchc Lion andUnicorn. FeU' ordinarysoldiers 1I'ould have been

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The Glorious Revolution of 1688

During the Sedgemoor campaign the army had remainedloyal to King James despite overtures from Monmouth,even though Monmouth had earlier been the army'sCaptain-general. Only three years later the situation hadchanged radically. In his attempts to reintroduce Catholi­cism, James had shown increasing favouritism towardsCatholics and had recruited them in preference to Protest­ant officers in the Irish army. Such policies were notpopular in the army or among the public at large.

'William of Orange invaded Britain partly for fear thatBritain would become an ally of France, but (moreimportantly) because of an invitation from Protestantelements in the English Parliament. He crossed theChannel in the stormy November of 1688, landing atTorbay. A small number of English officers and soldiersdefected to him but most remained loyaL James, however,had lost his nerve. He was convinced his own army wouldno longer fight for him, and he fled to France.

THE ARMY OFWILLIAM III

rebellion, James II took the opportunity to keep themunder arms.

The accession of William and Mary was almost as much ofa surprise to their supporters as to their opponents. It hadbeen assumed that William's invasion would bring Jamesto his senses, forcing him to protect the rights ofParliament and the supremacy of the Protestant religion,but leaving him as king. James's flight to the French courtmade this impossible, and England now found itself firmlylocked into William's anti-French alliance.

The Scots and Irish were, however, far less willing toaccept William and Mary, With French backing, Jameslanded at Kinsale on 12 March 1689 and attempted to raisethe Catholic Irish in his support. The army in Irelandconsisted of a troop of Horse Guards, a troop of HorseGrenadier Guards, a regiment of Foot Guards, a regimentof dragoons, 8 of foot and 3 of horse. A large part of thisforce carne over to James giving him some 7000 regulars.The Protestants in the ranks, however, refused to joinJam'es, and left their regiments for Londonderry, whichendured a siege of 105 days until General Kirke relievedthe town.

In August 1689, King William's main army landed inIreland. It was made up of Dutch and Danish as well asEnglish regiments. The army suffered terrible privationsdue to poor supply and ill discipline, and thousands died of

•

d;,lce sword baldricksrather than waist belts;and the flag has a St.George's c;mton in thestyle orehe Civil War; chisdesign seems co ha ve beenreplaced in the r670s with aSt. George's cross runningacross the entire field ofthe flag. (Prjva reCollection)

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QUE£N

Design for a playing carddepicting the final phase ofthe battlc ofSedgemoor.Alonmouth's rebels arcchased offthe field lea vingbehind three cannon and ascythe turned into aweapon by altering theangle ofthe blade. Thoughthe uniforms are generallycorrect, the royal soldiersare depicted with out-of-

The. ])eftat oftlu. RebefLJ­2oooJ'~n 8t. theirC(vum. ta!..

the First Foot Guards, six companies of the Coldstreamsand five companies each of Dumbarton's, Trelawney's andKirk's Regiments. With 24 cannon in support the RoyalArmy numbered some 700 horse and dragoons and 1900

foot. Monmouth at this time commanded an army of3-4,000 men of whom around 600 were mounted. AtSedgemoor, the Royal Army was surprised by a nightattack and only the steadiness of Dumbarton's Scotsprevented disaster; but the tide of battle was turned andMonmouth's force was destroyed. Though many of thenew regiments had been raised purely to suppress the

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:B O'T:N E .

sickness. Reinforcements were gathered for both armiesand in July 1690, 35,000 Williamites defeated 26,000Jacobites at the Boyne. James deserted his soldiers againand left for France. One by one the Jacobite garrisons wereforced to surrender, so that by October 1691 the war inIreland was over.

The European war

While William had been occupied in Ireland, the Frenchwar had been developing unabated. Churchill (the laterDuke of Marlborough) led an Sooo-strong English con­tingent to Flanders where they distinguished themselves atthe indecisive battle of Walcourt. The French won thebattle of Fleurs in July 1690, and in 1691 they ,capturedMons and Hal before defeating the Allies again at Lens. In1692 'William rook personal command but could notprevent the fall of Namur. In August he mounted a

UNIFORMS &WEAPONS

OFTHE HORSE,

The English Civil War had resolved the question ofwhether cavalry should rely on firepower or shock tactics:the charge home with sword was now standard. A pair ofpistols remained in use - one fired during the charge andthe other held in reserve for the pursuit or retreat.Carbines were not issued to all New l\10del Horse,although this may have been as much an economy measureas a reflection of tactical doctrine. Carbines continued to beissued in circumstances where they were of value, parti­cularly for patrol or picket duties. Indeed there was ageneral move later in the century to re-arm horse withcarbines, beginning with the Horse Guards.

The buffcoat remained a key part of the horseman'sdefensive armour though it was now sometimes wornunder a top coat. From about the early 1690S buffcoatsbegan to be replaced by waistcoats made of cloth - perhapsa case of comfort before safety. Back and breast platesremained in use for much of the period, though Oxford'sHorse were ordered to discard their armour at the start ofthe 1688 campaign. The pot helmet or 'tri-bar' alsoremained in use for some time, although metal 'secrets'worn under hats were becoming popular by the 1690s.

surprise attack on the French position at Steenkirk but theFrench commander, Luxembourg, quickly organised adefensive line of battle. The British infantry pushed theFrench back to their camp, but were, in turn, forced toretire when the French and Swiss Guards counter-attacked.The stolid bravery of the British infantry was alreadybeing recognised by Continental commanders. At thecrucial point in the battle of Steenkirk, the Count of Solmsrefused English pIcas for reinforcement with the words'Damn the English. They are vcry fond offighting; now letthem have a bellyfull of it'. Both sides lost about 7000 men.

The following year the armies again clashed at Landen(Neerwinden). Luxembourg with 80,000 men attackedWilliam's army of 5°,000 in its defensive camp. Despiteseveral repulses, the French were able to use their superiornumbers to rout \;Villiam's army; the British contingentfought particularly well and managed to retain enoughorder to conduct a steady fighting retreat. In ,697, withboth sides exhausted by nine years of war, an unsatisfac­tory peace - effectively merely a cease-fire - was con­cluded. French expansionism resurfaced in '7°1, with theoutbreak of the \Var of Spanish Succession.

.,,- '!I

until William Jed his Jefc­flank en vaJry through bogsbordering the river.Finding themselvesoutflanked, the ]acobitesbegan to withdraw underthe cover ofen valry.Jacobite losses were norserious, butJames fledback to France abandoninghis followers. From TheWars ofWiBiam III andQueen Anne by Brig-GenKane, 1735. (PrivateCollection)

The bartle ofehe Boyne(1 July 1690) saw 26,000]acobires overwhelmed by35,000 Wi/liamitcsincluding many Dutch andDanish veterans. WiJJiamordered Schomberg andthen Douglas to mount aflanking attack on Slanebridge. James overreactedand sent his reserve tomeet it. William thenordered a frontal assaultacross the river against thestrongJacobite positions.Birrer fighting resulted

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The Horse Guards

'''hile Charles 11 had been in exile on the Continent, agroup of volunteer gentlemen had formed his mountedlifeguard of two troops. Following the Restoration a newmounted lifeguard was established made up ofthree troopsof Horse .Guards each 200 strong. These troops wereknown as the King's, the Duke of York's (composed of thetwo troops of old Royalists) and the Duke of Albemarle's(which became the Queenls on Albemarles death in 1671).Recruits were drawn from the gentry and from men whohad served the Royalist cause during the Civil ':Val's andthe king's exile.

The earliest information on the dress of the HorseGuards comes from the Coronation in r661 where SirEdmund Walker describes them thus: 'The King's HorseGuard, a/l me/l mOllnted, having Buffe Coates, with whiteArmour, their Horses filmished mith Hooses (bei11g a. shortFoOl doth) mith red Scm/es, (5 plumes of Red (5 whiteFeathers ... The Guards ofHis Royal Higlmesse the Duke ofYorke all Iwveing black Armour, Red, mhite (5 black

Feathers, and Red Sw/fes, mith belts of his Higl111esseLive/y.'

Regulations for musters in the Sta.te Papers Domesticdescribe the arms required for the Horse in 1663: 'EachHorseman to have for his defensive anllS, back, breast, a.lIdpOI, a.nd for his oflemive arms, a sword, a case ofpistols thebarrels I1Jhereofare nollo be under 14 inches in lenglh, {lmleach Imoper afOul" Guards 10 have a ca.rbine besides.The issue of carbines was clearly to be a specific feature ofthe Horse Guards.

As so often in this period it is unwise to assume that

10

In addition to two pistols,I1Uwy horsenlen carried acarbine which \Vasnornlally suspended on abroad carbine belt wornover the right shoulder.The carbine was clipped tothe belt by a ring fittcd to ametal rail on the side ofthe carbine. This eXaInplehas a 3 I -inch barrel and abore of.6j inches.(National Army NJuseum)

The charge home withsword had been the normaltactic during the Civil Warbut on the Continent,where nl:JnY ofthe newgenemtion ofofficerslearnt their trade, relianceon pistols continued.(Royal Armouries, TowerofLondon)

equipment was issued just bccause an ordcr was givcn. In,670 the Duke of Monmouth, then colonel of thc King'sTroop, wrote: '1 hllve til ken 1111 account of the Ilrms of mytroop ami find that o[ 200 backs, brellsts and potts, 50 (Irewal/ting, mht'reo[ /4 were lost, some lit the fire at the HorseGuards 11m! others ill service at J-Yinchcombe.l beg for theirsupp()/Il11d [or 200 cllrbines promised by H/H to the troop.'The letter appears to have had an effect, for on 16Septcmbcr 1670, Monmouth wrote arranging for thedelivcry of the missing 200 carbines, complete with strapsand sockets.

The next sighting of the Horse Guards is in Travels oj'COSIIIO 11/ through England dated 1669: 'The 1st o/IheComptlny (or Troops) of Ihe body-guard called Ihe Killg'sCOmptll~)I, composed of gentlemen and half pay ojjiars,dressed in red jllckets (or coats) fllced 1vith blue and riddyor1/awel1ted lVith gold Ilice and wellring mhitefeathers ill their

hats mils conUJUllllled by the Duke of/Ho1J1I/ollth. The 2ndcalled the Duke's mort: red jackets mith blue lacings witholllgold, lind mhile felilhers in their hats. The ]rd, thai of IheGwert/I, more a dress similar to Ihat ola Duke's, and iustelldof[ealhers a ribbon o[crimsoll colou,..'

The most derailed description of the Horse Guardscomes from the Coronation of James II in 1685 and isquorcd in the commentary to Plate Fl.

Thc Earl of Oxford's Horse

In 1660 the new Royalist government had intended to

disband all of Cromwell's regiments and to leave thedefence of the country in the hands of the navy and militia.Before this was completed, a group of religious extremistsrose up in London in 1661. The militia was c.tlled out butdemonstratcd that it could not cont<1in even the mostlimited civil disturbance, and regular soldicrs had to be

This gentleman outhunting in the late 1660sdemonstrates how closelymilitary and civilian{.1shions followcd oneanother. He wears a wide­brimmed beaver hat and asnl.111 cravat tied with ablack ribbon. His eoae haswide cuffs and f.1shionablyshort sleeves. The slits atthe side IJ/ul rcar ofhisCO.1t .1110w it to spreadcomfortably when onhorscbOlck. The high kneeboots and spur are in themilitary jackboot style.His sword, a court smallsword rather than amilitary double-edgedcav:J/ry sword, is worn on aheavily decorated baldrick.(Private CoJ1ection)

II

...,

d, !

A heavy cavalry sword saidto have been issued to theEarl ofOxford's Horse.Although primarilydesigned for lunging withthe point, the double­edged blade could also beused for slashing. (RoyalArmouries, Tower ofLondon)

The Scottish troop ofHorse Guards in 1685. Acontract of1699 recordstheir uniform as (onefashionable coat offinescarlet cloth, lined with awhite shaJJoon scrge . ..one waistcoat ofblue clothwith lining . .. one pair ofbreeches ofthe same cloth[as] the waistcoat, linedwith teel [tweed] andhaving leather pockets'.From The Life Guards inthe Procession at theopening of the firstParliament ofJames theSeventh (and Second) inEdinburgh, 1685, anengra ving by Thomas ,.,Sununers. (PrivateCollection) "'- --'

The new regiments of 1685-88

The Monmouth rebellion gave James II an excuse to raisenew regiments. Though the T1smg was crushed before

called in to restore order. As a result, the Cromwellianhorse regiment of Unton Crook was reorganised ratherthan disbanded. It was placed under the command ofAubrey de Vere, the Earl ofOxford, and restyled 'The Earlof Oxford's Horse'.

The regiment was to consist ofseven troops of 60 menand a king's troop of 80. These strengths appear not to

have been reached as in 1677 an order was made that alltroops of the regiment be recruited to 60 troopers. In areview of 1684 each troop contained only 3 corporals, 2

trumpeters and 45 troopers.Troopers' coats and cloaks were of blue lined with red,

to distinguish them from the Horse Guards; horse furni­tUTe and holsters were of blue embroidered with the RoyalCipher. Back and breast plates, pot helmets and carbineswere issued to recruits joining the regiment in February1678 indicating that existing troopers were already soequipped. In 1684 the troopers had 'their Carbine Beltslaced with Gold upon Buff with a red edging'. Acontemporary painting shows troopers in grey hats withblack feathers. In November 1688, along with otherregiments ofhorse, Oxford's men were ordered to abandontheir armour as they marched to meet the invasion force ofWilliam of Orange. Buff leather waistcoats may have beenworn up until 1696 when buff-coloured cloth waistcoatswere issued.

11

recruitment had been completed, many of these new unitswere retained in service. Once the rebellion was over, eachcavalry troop was reduced to 40 private troopers, perhapsachieved by puning an end to new recruiting. Manyof the new units were disbanded almost immediately

after they were raised. Lord Dover's new regiment wasconverted to a troop of the Horse Guards. The Queen'sRegiment of Horse W;lS raised by a royal warrant dated 13june 1685 and was to consist of 9 troops each of I

qU:1rtermaster, 60 soldiers, 3 corporals and 2 trumpetersbesides commissioned officers. The following horse regi­ments seem also to have achieved, by 1686, a morepermanent footing: the Queen Dowager's, the Earl ofPeterborough's, the Earl of Plymouth's, the Earl ofThanet's, and the Earl of Scarsdale's.

As to the equipment of these regiments, on I; june1685 the following order had been issued: 'Equipmellt to beswl 10 Benvi"k 10 add 10 arms there 10 equip a regiment of/-forse: BMR al1d Breast and POllS 360 Carbines with Beltslilffl Smivels ]60 Pistolls mith holsters /440.' This confirmsthat the new regiments were fully equipped with carbinesand body armour, though the issue of double the normalproportion of pistols cannot be explained. An order for theissue of' /00 suits ofArmour . .. Brests to be Carbine proofalffl ye Backs (11111 POllS Pistol prooF indicates that thearmour was of the same standard of protection as usedduring the Civil '"Val' and was not merely for show.

The horse retained uniforms in much the same stylefor the remainder of the century with broad cross-belts forcarbine and sword worn over a crimson coat. The normalhead dress was the wide-brimmed hat, usually with a'secret' iron head protecwr worn underneath; the pothelmer was still worn in battle by some units as late as 1696.

The Londol1 GlIzelleof 30 junc-4july 1687 carried thefollowing advcrtisement conccrning lhe Quecn's Horsc:

'Stolell from Nathaniel Green, Quartermaster a red coat UJith

large plate bUllOIlS, lilled with yellow silk. the sleeves facedwith silver tiHue, a silver lIet-fringed scarf, a pai,. of silver

fril1gedgloves, a "'ad' hat laced and (I silver hat-balld, a mhiteHolland maistcoat wilh aFillge, a perimig, eli'

A warrant from around 1696 givcs the followingparticulars of the clothing of a regiment of horse.'Clothing Former price

£ s d300 Coats of Crimson Cloth ] 10 0

18 Coats of Crimson Cloth, Corpor:1ls 4 10 a318 Cloaks of red cloth 2 5 0

318 Hats edged with silver 0 IS 0

]18 swords 0100

]18 Shoulder belts 0 10 0

]18 Carbine belts 0 7 0

]18 Cloth \Vaisrcoats 0 5318 PI. BuffGlo\'es a 7 6318 Hoose and Caps, embroidered 5 0

318 PI. Jaek boots 60318 Carrouch boxes 0 2 6.Memo: Each Captain clothes his own rrumpeter and theKettle drum is clothed by the Colonel.'

An order for J 696 specifics that the horse will be re­equipped every two years: 'The Troopers shall be cOlllplete~)'

c1o/hed (;"VCIY two yean; and care shall be taken thaI neitherarms, Boots, Stuldles I/or auy other al.'fOlltrements belongingeither to the Trooper or Horse shall be manting ... O./licers toagree upon a ptillem approved by the Colonel for their coatsand to buy them mhere they like.'

The 'secret' or iron skullc:'p was a cOl1lmonsubstitute [or the hcJnlCc,especi:ll1y [rom the 1690s.It WitS worn fitted insidethe hilt. The version on theright has holes so thac itcould be sown into the hatb:lIld. (National ArmyMuseum)

13

lieule//alll have alld C{/ny one parlizan; a//d ,hallIPo dmmsbe delivered oul }Ol' cadi Troop.'

The use of matchlock muskets and bandoleers wasunusual; experience during the Civil \\lars had led to Newi\llodcl dragoons being armed with flintlocks and cartridgeboxes which were easier to manage on horseback. The 1672regiment was, however, soon disbanded. When warthreatened again in ,678, another regiment of dragoons

was raised for Prince Rupert. Each troop was-to consist of I

captain, I lieutenant, , quarter-master, 2 scrge;mts, 3corporals, 2 drummers, and 80 'private soldiers' to bearmed with '2 Partisans, 6 Halberts, 12 Fusils, 68Musquets (with slings to all the firearms), 80 Cartridge­boxes, 80 Bayonets, 6 cases of pistols, 2 Drums'. In the

DRAGOONSThe dragoon had proved a popular troop type during theCivil \;Var. Although fighting on foot as an infantryman,the dragoon's mobility made him ideal for scouting, picketduty and for collecting taxes, and supplies from enemyterritory. The Restoration Army had no need for theseservices, and the anti-military feeling of Parliament, in anycase, made the raising of dragoons difficult politically.

It was not until April 1672 that Prince Rupert's

Regiment of Dragoons was raised. It was to consist of 12

troops e,leh of 80 l11en: "!la/ is to say, three corporals, fwo.wjcalllS, 'he genllclI/all a/arms, aud /2 soldiers ofca(!l o.(lhcsaid {2 T,.oop~·, ((rc 10 have ((nd ({{fly each 0/ tlU'1ll 01/(:

!la/bard, aud (Jlle wse ofpis lois mi,!I IIO/Sler; a//d the rest o/I/U:

soldiers {{I'l' 10 havl' alld 10 canT eadl 0/ the1l/ onemauh/od: II/I/sqllel, milh a wI/a.}" a/ba/lda/een, alld a/so tohave a.//(/ cany olle b(~yollel, or greal kllife: Thai each

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James II insticutedSllnlmer (:amps, often onHoun'slow Heath, at whichthe army was broughttogether [or training andinspection. These became;1 regular fe;lcure ofarmy

life, and a political gestureaimed at keepingParliament in its place.Print by G. Croom, dated1686 (National Armyi\t[llseum)

same month, orders were issued that all the firearms wereto be snaphances.

Until this date, dragoon regiments had been raised forservice in particular campaigns and disbanded immedi­ately afterwards; the first permanent dragoon regimentwas, like many of the army's early units, created almost byaccident. In Ocrober I661 a body of 109 horsemen hadbeen sent from London to form part of the Tangiergarrison. \Vhcn Tangier was abandoned in 1683, theTangier Horse returned ro England and the four troopswere combined with two independent troops of dragoonsto form the Royal Regiment of Dragoons.

The new regiment was dressed in crimson coats forofficers and red coats and cloaks lined blue for the men.Horse furniture and holsters were red with blue and yellowembroidery and bore the Royal Cipher. Each troopconsisted of a captain, a lieutenant, a cornet, a quartermas­ter, 2 sergeants, 3 corporals, 2 hautbois, 2 drummers, and50 printe soldiers.

'When new dragoons were raised during the Mon­mouth Rebellion they followed the standardised arming ofthe Royal Dragoons. 's New troops of Dragoons' wereraised, each troop with:

'Snaphance musqueus strapt for Dragoons 63Carrouch Boxes with girdles 63Boots or Sockeus for ye muskets 63Drummes for Draggoons 2

Byonetts with Froggs and Belts 63Halberts [for sergeants] 2

Partizans [for captain and lieutenant] 2

Saddles 69'An instruction of February 1687 states that dragoons

should be equipped with: 'Snaphance Musquets,strapped, with bright barrels of 3 foot 8 inches long,cartouche boxes, bayonets, granade pouches, buckets, andhammer hatchets'.

In May 1678 two independent companies of dragoonswcrc formed in Scotland and a third company was added in1679. These men wore grey coats and bonnets and werearmed with broadswords, short muskets with belts andpistols. In November 1681 a dragoon regimcnt, which laterbecame known as the Scots Greys, was formed by addingthree new companies to the existing three and reformingeach to 50 men. The regiment continued to wcar stone greyclothing until at least the end of 1684 and in June 1685 wasordered into England in response to the Monmouth

Said to lwve been used atKilliecrankic in 1689, thisslldelle illustmtes the pistolholsters (marked A) andthe firm support requiredto hold a horseman in thes.1ddlc when he crossedswords with an enemy.Somc provision was alsom:Jde [or carryingpersonal equipment in thebag at the rear. (PrivateCol1ection)

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A Scottish ell measured 37 inches providing enoughcloth for a coat loose enough to be worn over a \vaistcoatwith the wide skirts necessary when mounted on a horse.

6 0 0 o 10 a0 4 0 0 o 42 10 0 0 4 2

o 15 0 0 1 30 9 0 0 o 90 2 0 0 o 2

2 o 0 0 3 423 o 0 I 18 4'

An order of 1697 sets out the provision ofuniforrn forthe dragoons: 'The Dragoons shall have every yeM otze pair

breeches, one hat; every two years one Coat of better cloththan usually, and one cap; every three years one Cloak, oneHousing, one Saddlery and harrress, witlt Swords, Bayonets,belts, Cartouch-box and slings.' ... 'Officers to agree upon apattern approved by the Colonel for their coats and 10 buy

them where they /ike.'A list of 1696 gives a detailed breakdown of a dragoon

regiment's clothing:

equipment. This Frenchdragoon carries his musketwith its butt lodged in a'bucket'; aside from this hemight otherwise be takenfor a cavalryman.Engra ving by N. Guerard.(Private Collection)

Towards the end ofourperiod, the distinctionbetween dragoon andca va/ry declined asgovernments realised thatthe dragoon could fulfilmany ofthe duties ofthecavalryman but cost less inpay, mounting and

'Former price' (each)£ s d

41 I Coats and breeches 2 2 0483 Cloaks 2 0 0

467 Hats 0 8 6467 Caps 0 5 0

467 Neckcloths 0 I 6483 Pr. Boots 0 12 0467 Waist belts 0 4 6467 Swords a 7 6483 Leather Bags a 4 0

467 Hoose and caps, embroidered 0 12 041 I Daggers 0 2 641 I Car touch boxes 0 2 6467 Pro Stockings 0 2 0

16 Sergeants' coats and breeches 3 10 016Hats 0150r6Caps 0 10016 Cravats 0 2 616 Swords 0 10 016 Belts 0 6 0

16 Pro Stockings 0 6 0

16 Hoose and caps 0 18 024 Corporals' suits 2 10 016 Drummers' suits 2 10 016 Hoboys' suits 3 10 0'

By the end of the century the dragoon was near the endof its existence as a troop type distinct from cavalry. Anumber of changes to the dragoon's equipment signalledthe new role. In May 1690 a company of 'Grenadiers onhorseback' of the 4th Dragoons were issued with grenadepouches and fusils. In September 1697 the 8th Dragoons(Cunningham's) had their pay docked to provide pistols.In actions such as the storming of the Schellenberg in

Rebellion. A recent theory that the Scots Greys were socalled from this grey clothing rather than from the colourof their horses seems to be contradicted by the followingaccount from 1687. This details the materials used tomanufacture red coats for the regiment, in a period longbefore the title 'Scots Greysl entered common usage:

'Scots English£ sd Lsd

st ells red cloth at £2 SCOts per ell JJ 0 0 0 J 8 46 ells blue serge lining at £1 scots

per ellIt ell green canvas for bindings10 dozen tin buttons at 5S per dozTO drab weight red silk at I8d per

drab3 oz red thread at 3S per oz- to drab on the buttonsMaking the coat[Total]

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1704, dragoons dismounted to take part in the attack; butin open battle they now fought normally on horseback ­abandoning their old role as mounted infantry andbecoming part of the cavalry arm.

INFANTRYUNIFORMS

The provision of uniform throughout our period remainedthe business of the regimental commander. The ordinarysoldier paid for his uniform and equipment throughregular deductions taken from his pay, called 'off reckon­ings'. He had no say in the quality of his uniform; and as hisequipment and uniform wore out he was required to payfor replacements, putting him almost permanently intodebt. In February of 1678 the following order was madefor the provision of uniforms and equipment to NCOs,men and recruits raised for the war with France:

'Par the new clothing with a cloth coot lined with baize,aile pair of kearsey breeches, lined, with pockets, two shirts,two cravats, olle pair ofshoes, one pair ofyon1 hose, onf hat,edged alld hat band, one sash, al1d also Olle smord and beltthe said clothing be satisfied for out of the off-reckonings oftheir pay, over and above their weekly subsistence-malley,fr01lltime to time. And in case the said new-raised forces bedisbollded before the of{-ret"konings reserved shall be sufficientto payfor the above clot hillg, mhat they fall short shall be paidout ofGllr treasure . .. provided that the particulars be/ore­mmlioned do 1101 exceed 53 shillings in the whole lor eachmall

Though the uniform to be supplied was regulatedcentrally, it was left to the regiment to arrange manufac­ture. In 1690 the LOlldoll Gazette published instructions to

regiments: colonels were to appoint two or three officers to

see patterns of c1orh, lining, etc. and to haggle down theprice as low as they could. The colonel, ifhe approved, wasto make a contract with the tradesmen and to sign ittogether with all his captains.

For most of the period the colour of the coat was fixedas red; considerable leeway was given to commandersabout other aspects such as linings. The Duke of Beaufortwas told in a letter of 4 July 1685 concerning his newregiment: 'As to their Clothing, the outside being red, [HisMajesty] leaves it to you to use what other colour you likebest for the lining.'

The choice was not always made on sound militaryprinciples as Lord Chesterfield wrote in 1667: IThesoldiers red coats lined with black and black flags with a redcross in a black field, which I did, because I was at that timein mourning for my mother.' Some colonels found their

This Dutch musketeer His baggy breeches andretains the nlusket rest, long cass1Jck, worn over;1which had been discarded short doublet, werein England during the f.'lshioIJ:Jble in the L630SCivil Wars, and wears a and e.'lrly 1660s. (Frompot he/mctofa kind rarely Mcmorie der Parcieuliereseen in England after 1642. Excreitie by joh'JIJ Boxe/)

personal preferences Q\'erruled by the patron of thcirregiment. It is thought that the Lord Admiral's Regimentwore yellow coats lined red, which were the colours of theDuke of York who was admiral at the time.

In an attempt to maintain some standards of quality,patterns and cloth specimens were issued to the manufac­turers and copies were kept for later comparison with thefinished articles. That way at least it was hoped manufac­turers would not shortchange soldiers by supplyingshoddy clothing in small sizes. Two government 'patterns'were kept, one at the Tower, and one in the Strand, thoughunforrunately both scts were destroyed by firc, one in the 18th,the other in the 19th century. No other official record was kepr.

Even if they had survived, these 'patterns' would tellonly part of the story: changes to a regiment's uniformcould occur at the whim of its commander following thelatest fashion. In 1695 in order to check a growing fad for

17

grenadier style caps King William issued an order that'none of our regts. or companies of Foot do wear caps,excepting only the Royal Regiment ofFusileers, the Regt.of Scots Fusileers, and the Grenadeers of each respectiveregiment'.

At the end of the War of the Grand Alliance in 1697the allocation of uniform and equipment was still much asit had been in 1678: 'One suit ofclothes shall be taken everyyear out ofthe off-reckonings in the infantry, the first year onecoat, 1 pr. breeches, one cap or hat, two shirts, two Cra.vats,two pairs ofstockings and two pairs ofshoes, the second yearone Surtoute, one pair ofbreeches, one Shirt, one Cra-vat, onepair of stockings and one pair of shoes. And give the wholeregime1lL every three years what they call the small armameutVizt. one Sword, one Bayonet, one Belt, one Cartridge Boxwith thefurniture and slings.' 'Officers to agree upon a pattenlapproved by the Colonelfor their coats and to buy them lPherethey like.'

The general demobilisation at the end of the war sawmany soldiers returning to civilian life with the items thatthey had paid for from their off-reckonings: 'That the non­commissioned Officers aud Soldiers be permitted to carryaway lvith them their cloaths belt and snapsack, and theSerjeants likewise their sword; and that each private soldier,corporal, a.ud drummer be allowed ]s.fo1' his sword.'

Milicary musicians from1670. Theyhaverhearmsoftheir commanderemblazoned on theirdrums and the Royal Armson a fife banner. Two ofthem wear era va ts, thoughthe others stilJ have'falling band' colJars.

Unlike the musicians, theoRicer (far right) hasfashionable sleeves cutshort to the elbow andwears a sash over hisshoulder. From Funeral ofthe Duke of Albemarle,1670. (British Museum)

Officers

During the Civil Wars officers had worn their own clothingrather than a regimental uniform and this custom con­tinued after the Restoration. Regulations for officers'clothing were introduced only gradually, and throughoutthe period remained as much a matter of fashion as ofmilitary discipline.

In 1684 an order was made designating the style ofgorget to denote officer ranks: 'For the better distinction ofOur several Officers serving in Our Companies ofFoot, Ourwill and pleasure is, that all Captains of Foot wear no otherCorselet [i.e. gorgetJ than of the colour of gold; allLieutenants, black corselets studded with gold, and theEnsigns corselets ofsilver. And we do likewise thinkfit that allLieutenants of Foot carry pikes and not partisans, which wedo hereby order to be returned into the office of OurOrdnance. '

The success of this instruction may be judged from thefollowing quotes. By the Coronation in April 1685 theofficers of the First Foot Guards wore regulation gorgetsand despite the finery on display there was a clear movetowards scarlet as the colour of an officer:'The Officers ofthis First Regiment ofFoot-Guards . .. wereexceedingly richly Habited; some in Coa" ofCloth ofGoid,others in Crimson Velvet 1mbroidered or Laced with Cold or

Silver; but most of them in Fine Scarlet Cloth, Buttoneddown the Brest and on the Facings ofthe Sleeves with SilverPla.,e.

Their Scarffs (which they more aboUltheir Ivastes) wereeither Nel1Pork ofGold or Silver, or Crimson Taffeta richlyFringed with Cold or Silver, and their Hats were adornedwith Tours of White Feathers.

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pikemen and musketeers. The sash gave the coat a distinctpinched waist, a style that remained the norm until theearly 1680s when musketeers abandoned the sash to weartheir swords on waist belts rather than baldricks.

The First Foot Guards at the 1685 Coronation wereuniformed as follows: 'The Private Soldiers wae all newCloatlled ill Coats ofRed broad Cloth, Lined and Faced withBlew; Their Hats mere Black, Laced about with Silver,turned up andgamished with Blem Ribl)(l11ds. Their Breecheswere Blem Broad Cloth, and their Stockings of BlewWorsted. The Musquctiers were Armed with Sllo.pllO.nccMusquets, witll Sal1guin't! Barrels, 3 Foot 81nches ill length;good Swords in Waste Belts, anti Colla,rs of Bal1diliers; Andthe Pike-me1l mith Pikes /6 Fool long, each headed with aThree-Square Point of Steel, ami good swords in broadShoulder-belts, mea,ring also about their mastes, Sashes, orScarffs ofJlVhite Worsted, Fringed Bleil).'

Although red was the customary colour of soldiers'coats it was not universal. The Lord High Admiral'sRegiment wore yellow coats lined red from their formationin 1664, but converted to red coats lined yellow when theybecame Prince George of Denmark's Regiment in 1685.

The Captains were distinguished by Corselets or CorgetsofSilver Plate double gilt; The Lieutmants by Corselets ofSteel Polished alld Sal/guill'd, alld Studded with Nails ofGold; and the Ensigm had their corselets ofSilver Plate.'

The accession of William I II caused a temporary shiftaway from red as the standard uniform colour, a movereflected in officers' dress. In 16<)1 {2, the officers ofStewart's Regiment wore blue coats, lined with blueshaHoon and decorated with gold. Abraham Creighton'sand Gustavus Hamilton's officers had coats of scarletbroadcloth lined with scarlet shaHoon and decorated withgold and silver. Lord Cutts', the Earl of Drogheda's,Coote's and Rowe's officers all had coats of crimson clothlined with crimson shalloon.

By the early 1690S officers' uniforms were purchasedon a regimental basis at least while on active service. In17°2, in instructions for the forthcoming campaign inFlanders, the Duke of Marlborough made it clear thatofficers' dress was to be uniform: 'That the officers be all

clothed in red, plain and uniform, which is expected they shallwear on all marches a,nd other duties as well as days ofReview,that 110 officer be on duty without his regimentaJ scarf andspontoou, Q.1ld whereas the officers ofsome regiments have pikesand others spontoom, 'tis ordered that aJI provide sponloonsaccordirzg to the pattern which I have givm to Major-GeneralSabine. '

Soldiers' uniforms

Details of the early Restoration uniforms are scarce but itappears that the red coat was quickly confirmed as thestandard dress of the British soldier. A receipt of 25October 1661 records expenditure by Lord \Ventworth onhis regiment of Guards then in Dunkirk for 783 red tunics(probably for musketeers), 505 buff coats for pikcmen and1286 hats. This regiment was amalgamated with the FirstFOOl Guards in 1665. When seen by Duke Cosmo in 166<)this regiment'S musketeers wore red coats turned up withlight blue, and the pikemen coats of 'silver' colour turnedup light blue. The Coldstream Guards had red coats linedgreen for musketeers and green lined red for pikemen.Distinguishing colours may also have been used onequipment: in 1667 the Coldstreams were issued with 650collars of bandoleers covered with black leather and 'greenstrings' .

We have no reliable pictorial evidence of the style ofcoat worn by foot soldiers in the early years of theRestoration. Hollar's drawings of Tangier demonstratethat by 1669 a French-style, knee-length coat was beingworn; with minor changes this remained the standarduniform coat for the rest of the period. At first the coat wasworn loose with crossed bandoleer and shoulder belt, butin the mid-1670S a waist sash was introduced for both

These tiny ligures in anetching by Hollar fromsketches made at Tangierin 16fH} show that the knee­length French-style coathad already beenintroduced into the Englishanny. The coat hasbuttons all the WilY downco the hem, wide wrnhacks

on the slec"cs, and is wornopen under a bandoleerand sword baldrick, bothsome {our inches wide.(From Divers Prospects inand about Tangier, exactlydelineatcd by W. Hollar,His Majcsties Designer)

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The Earl of Bath's Regiment formed during the Mon­mouth Rebellion wore blue coats lined red, but in 1691changed to red coats just as a number of new regimentswere being raised in blue coats for the Irish campaign.Lord Lindsay's Regiment which was on the Scottishestablishment from 1694 to 1697 clad its Private Sentinelsin coats and breeches of white Galloway cloth, and thesergeants in coats of stone grey and red breeches. Ingeneral, however, the end of the campaigns in Ireland, andthe transfer of regiments to Flanders, saw a return to thered coat as the mark of the British soldier.

Waistcoats

The waistcoat presents a problem as in illustrations andeyewitness descriptions its presence or absence is hiddenby the coat. Part of the difficulty is that the waistcoat wasmade from the previous year's uniform coat and so doesnot appear on warrants or bills. That this was standardpractice is confirmed by Marlborough's order of 1702:'And mhereas a complaint has been made about the expense inturtli11g the soldier's coats i11to waistcoats, 'tis ordered that a.!!Colo11e1s do the same out ofthe clothi11g money.'

It is not known what arrangements were made fornewly raised regiments or for recruits who in their first yearof service would not have had an old coat to convert into awaistcoat. "V\'e do not know when waistcoats were firstworn, but one of the earliest references comes from 1688with the celebrations on the birth of a son to King James.The soldiers garrisoning Carlisle began 'throwing theirhats into the fire at one health, their coats at the next, theirwaistcoats at a third'. Waistcoats were often the samecolour as the lining of the uniform coat and it seems thatthe old coat was disassembled, with the -dean inner facebetween cloth and lining becoming the new outer face.Waistcoats could be either sleeved or sleeveless, thoughany new sleeves had to be closely cut so that they could beworn under the coat sleeves.

The protection afforded by the two layers of the coatand waistcoat proved insufficient for service in Ireland.Dutch soldiers serving there were provided with 'surtouts'which would later be called 'greatcoats'. Some 'watchcoats' were usually provided for each regiment to be issuedto men on sentry duty, though in 1689, 15,000 'SurtootWhite Coats' were sent to Ireland in addition to uniformcoats for new regiments being raised. Another type ofsoldier's coat features in descriptions from the 1670S to1700s. This is a grey coat often with black lining thatappears to have been a fatigue or undress coat. Forexample, a deserter of Cornwall's Regiment in 1687 isdescribed as wearing a grey coat lined black; anotherdeserter from the Coldstreams in 1705 wore a grey coattrimmed blue.

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INFANTRYWEAPONS

& EQUIPMENTIn 1660 the standard offensive weapon for a pikeman was a16-foot pike; and for a musketeer, a matchlock musket witha set of bandoleers containing gunpowder. By 1704, theinfantryman had a flintlock musket with his ammunition inpaper cartridges kept in a cartridge box, and a socketbayonet to protect him from cavalry. These changes werepartly responsible for a major improvement in infantryfirepower, and for the continued development of newtactics based upon firepower to the exclusion of hand-to­hand combat.

From matchlock to flintlock

It had long been recognised that the matchlock was notsuited to mounted use; costly and cumbersome wheel-lockpistols and carbines had to be produced instead. The CivilWars saw these weapons gradually replaced by flintlockpistols and carbines for horse, while dragoons were issuedwith special flintlock muskets.

Though the flintlock was undoubtedly a superiorweapon, its advantages over the matchlock have long beenhugely overestimated by historians. Our knowledge of theperformance of the flintlock comes mainly from trials heldin the late 18th and early 19th centuries; no such trials arerecorded for the matchlock. Modern comparison is basedupon calculations of how long it would take to carry out themotions described in contemporary drill books. It has beenclaimed that a matchlock would take three to five minutesto load and fire while the same could be achieved with aflintlock in just 15 to 30 seconds. In fact drill manuals weretraining aids, not regulation procedures. Many 'postures'were illustrated as several distinct 'motions' to make themclearer. Unfortunately, different drill books contain differ­ent numbers of motions both for matchlock and flintlockdrill, so direct comparison is difficult. By a happy chancethe Abridgement of 1685 lists both matchlock and flintlockdrill alongside each other. In all 32 motions are required toload and fire a matchlock, and 30 for the flintlock. Thedifference is a matter of a few seconds.

The accuracy ofmuskets depended upon the quality ofthe gunpowder and the gun barrel, as well as the tight fit ofthe bullet. Many flintlock muskets were merely oldmatchlocks fitted with new locks; so there is no reason forthe flintlock to have been inherently more accurate. Thematchlock did have one serious disadvantage in that itcould only be used if the soldier had his match-cord alight.

Sentries used large amounts of match to guard againstsurprise attack and this could cause problems ifstocks werelimited, as, for example, during prolonged sieges. Theflintlock needed a steady supply of new flints as these wereeasily broken (though only when the weapon was in use).The discovery of sources of more resilient flints in the 17thcentury did much to improve reliability. Flintlock designalso became more robust and James II was careful tospecify that his Guards should be equipped with Frenchlocks - the best then available - for their muskets.

The one area in which the flintlock had a definiteadvantage was in volley fire. The matchlock was prone to aslow ignition, as the match did not always burn brightlyenough to set off the priming charge at once: the flintlockgave a much more certain and immediate explosion and aunified volley. This had not mattered with early musketrytactics which concentrated on keeping up a continuousrolling fire. By the closing years of the century, new Dutchtactics called for carefully controlled volleys by bodies ofmusketeers, fired in rapid succession. For this type of drillthe flintlock was far more effective.

The change-over from matchlock to flintlock musketswas a slow process. The slow and erratic progress of thischange-over among British Guards regiments, and inparticular, the Coldstream Regiment, has caused a con­siderable amount of debate in historical circles. In April1660, Monk ordered four companies of his regiment (thefuture Coldstreams) to trade in their matchlocks forflintlocks. Yet only a few years later in February 1665, 500guardsmen added to the regiment were equipped withmatchlocks even though destined for service with the fleet.Several theories have been put forward to account for thisapparently retrograde step - corruption, thrift, and plainstupidity. The puzzle does not stop there. In 1667 two newcompanies of the Coldstreams were issued ,,,ith a mixtureof matchlocks and flintlocks: 60 muskets with bandoleersand 13 firelocks. The flintlocks gained ground in May 1672

A late-I7th-cencurymatchlock musket. Unlikethe version used in theEnglish Civil Wars thisexample has the primingpan as part ofthe lockrather than the barrel.This made it easy toconvert matchlocks toflintlocks by the simpleexpedient ofchanging thelock. (Royal Armouries,Tower ofLondon)

A late-I7th-centuryflintlock musket. Althoughthe term 'snaphance' wasgenerally used bycontemporaries to describethe flintlock, the true'snaphance' was rarelyseen in Britain. This highlydecorated flintlockincludes a 'dog' catchwhich secured themechanism at 'halfcock'preventing the flint fromfalling while the musketwas being loaded. (RoyalArmouries, TowerofLondon)

21

when recruits for nine companies of the Coldstreams wereissued '91 snaphance musquets, 91 matchlock musquets,182 collars ofbandileers'. The conversion back to flintlocksbecame complete when in June 1683 the First FootGuards, and in January 1684 the Coldstreams, wereordered to exchange their arms so that each companywould carry 43 snaphance muskets and 20 pikes.

In terms of modernity of equipment, Guards regi­ments remained one step in advance of regular lineregiments, and it was not until the end of the century thatsome units in remote outposts received replacements fortheir matchlocks. In September 1684 five companies ofTrelawney's Regiment (withdrawn from Tangier) were re­equipped before going to Ireland, each company receiving:'20 long pikes, 12 snaphance muskets, 28 matchlocks, 40collars of bandoleers'. In October two companies of theHolland Regiment in Jersey were to be armed with: '26matchlock muskets, 9 snaphance muskets, 18 long pikes'.

The Lord High Admiral's Regiment served at sea andhad been armed with flintlock muskets as the matchlockwas considered a fire hazard on board ship. By 1685, theregiment was restyled the Prince of Denmark's Regiment,and converted into a line regiment. During the expansionof the army as a result of the Monmouth rebellion eachcompany received: '28 matchlock muskets, 6 snaphancemuskets, 16 long pikes, 34 bandoliers'. At the same time anorder was made for the 10 companies of the newly raisedDuke of Beaufort's Regiment to be issued with 590matchlock muskets, 120 snaphance muskets, 320 longpikes and 710 bandoleers.

It is clear that the change from matchlock to flintlockwas a gradual process, and the advantages of the flintlock,had be weighed up at each stage against the additional cost.The length of time for the change-over indicates that thedisadvantages of the matchlock were not as great as somehistorians have made out.

Bandoleers and cartridges

Although in the late 17th century the bandoleer wasreplaced by the cartridge box, the cartridge was by far theearlier invention. From medieval times a twist of paper hadbeen the usual way of selling and carrying any powder, butthis was vulnerable to damp, and the powder liable to leakout. The powder flask was introduced as a safer container,but had the disadvantage that even with a complicatedspout arrangement it was difficult to ensure that a correctlymeasured charge was poured into the musket barreL The'collar of bandoleers' with its hanging wooden or metal'boxes' each drilled to contain exactly the right chargesolved the problem. Bandoleers had their own drawbacks:horsemen found that they bounced up and down with themotion of the horse, and grenadiers were concerned that

22

their burning grenade fuses might set off their bandoleers.Horse soldiers preferred flasks or cartridge boxes attachedto their belt or saddle, and grenadiers also turned to thecartridge box worn on a waist belt. The dragoons of theNew Model Army adopted the cartridge box in 1645.

Efforts were made to overcome the problem of thepaper cartridges leaking their contents. Since little couldbe done about the paper the answer was to strengthen thecartridge box. An order of 1662 for the Irish 'Battle AxeGuard' contains the following specification: 'Tyn ri.e. tin!

Cartouch boxes covered with Leather of Calves Skin forMusketts with Formers, prymeing boxes and neate [i.e. cows!leather girdles with white metal buckles 64 at 3S 6d.'

The cartridge box was made of tin for strength andcovered in leather to keep out damp. The 'Formers'mentioned above were wooden sticks around which thepaper was rolled to give a cartridge of the correct lengthand diameter to hold the correct charge; the loaded papercartridges were then usually secured with twine. Thepriming box held the finer powder needed for the touchpan of the musket. The drill for grenadiers set down in1685 indicates that these small priming flasks were kept inthe cartridge box rather than on a cord as were those ofbandoleer-equipped musketeers. The girdle or waist beltwas to be made from neate's (cow's) leather with a white orbright silver buckle rather than one painted black toprotect it from rust.

The bayonet and the pike

The slow adoption of the bayonet - from its early recordeduse by the English in the garrisons at Dunkirk and Tangierin 1662 and 1663, until widespread issue in the first decadeof the I 700S - suggests that it too, like the flintlock musket,was not seen as an innovation that would immediatelychange the nature of infantry tactics. At first only specialisttroops, without the protection of pikemen, were issuedwith bayonets. Dragoons raised in 1672 and grenadiersfrom their inception in 1677 were both issued with 'plug'bayonets, so called because the hilt plugged the muzzle ofthe musket. The first regiments with pikemen to be issuedwith bayonets were the Guards in 1686. Line regimentswere equipped with bayonets only in a piecemeal fashion,and some regiments under Marlborough in the 1700s stillhad not received their issue.

Cost was a major factor in the speed of introduction,but the bayonet was obviously not considered so effectivethat regiments without them would be seriously disadvan­taged in combat. That the plug bayonet prevented themusketeer firing his weapon was another major hindrance.The disaster which befell government forces at Killiecran­kie in 1689 was attributed, quite falsely, to the plugbayonet. Heavy losses sustained in Ireland from cavalry

.\

The 'sword bayonet' aimedco combine the advantagesofthe inf.--mcryman·sImnger with those oftheplug bayonet, but at 1 Ib 4oz in weight, made themusket unwieldy andunbalanced. The adoptionofthe socket bayoneteffectively endedexperiments oEchis kind.The blade is marked with a'running wolr - the markofchc blade makers ofSolingcn. By the late 17thcentury, .many Germanswere working fromweapons factories charthey established atHounsJow near London.(Royal Armourics, TowerofLondon)

attacks on Danish regiments armed with bayonets but nopikes, also did little to encourage adoption.

Efforts were made to overcome the disad vantages ofthe plug bayonet, particularly in France. Louis XIVwatched a demonstration by his Guards using an improvedbayonet secured to the side of the barrel by rings.Unfortunately when the Guards fired a volley many of thebayonets fell off; Louis XIV was not impressed, butexperiments continued. The answer came finally with the'socket bayonet' - secured by a slot that locked into a lug onthe barrel, allowing the musket to be loaded and fired withbayonet in place. This tipped the scales in favour of thebayonet and the pike fell into disuse at the start of the r 8thcentury.

Standardisation ofequipment

During King James's reign, special efforts were made to

standardise the equipment used by the army. These effortsRight and below: CharlesII's dep:1Tture [romScheveningen in Hollandin May 1660. The paintingis usually said to show red­coated British FootGuards. However, theetching ofche same sceneby Nicolaus Visscheridentifies these soldiers asDutch. The painting copiesthe engraving. The artistmay ha ve chosen to paintthe soldiers' coats red, thecolour hesaw being wornin London. (PrivateCollection)

23

are particularly well summarised in the regulations formusters Of21 February 1687:

'The Musqueteers oj our regiment oj Foot-Guards tohave Sl1apluU/a Mllsquets, with bright barrels, oj3 Joot 8

illches 10llg ill the barrel, with good swords, bandoliers, amibayonets; amllhe Pikemen (as also the Pikemel1 ojall otherregiments) to have pikes 16 feet long, with good swords.Musquetiers oj 0.1/ olher regiments oj FOOl (excepting Ollr

Table A: Uniforms of the army reviewed at Putney Heath, 1684

The Horse GuardsTroop Cot/ts (5 CloaksKing's Troop Scarlet lined blue

Carbine beltsVelyet laced gold & silyer; redhooses & holster capsembroidered with royal cipher &crown

Grenadiers J1;IellRed coats, lined blue with blue 200

loops tufted yellow; Caps lined thesame and blue round mark on theoutside

Queen's Troop

Duke's Troop

Scarlet lined blue

Scarlet lined blue

Green velvct laced gold; greenhooses & holster capsembroidered with same cipherand crown

Velvet laced silyer on yellow;hooses & holster capsembroidered on yellow, withsame cipher and crown as theKing's

Green loops with yellow tufts

Yellow coat loops

200

200

The Horse and DragoonsRegiment COt/ts (5 CloaksEarl uIO.\fim/'s Blue lined redflo/{u

Carbine beltsLaced with gold on buff with ared edging; hooscs & holster capswith royal cipher embroidered onbluc.

Saddle Cloths(Unknown)

Troops8

Men

360

Royal Regt. oIDragoons

Red lined blue Embroidered blue and 6yellow on red with the royalcipher; caps the same withroyal cipher

300

The FootRegil/lC!lt Coats Stockings BreechesFoot Guards Red lined blue Blue Bluc

Coldstrt'alll Red lined green RedGut/I'ds

Royal R('gilJlt'llt Red lined white Light grey Light grey

Queen's Regimen!

Admiral'sRegi/l/t'II!

Hal/andRegilJlt'lll

!Ju(/Iess oj'York's Reg,.

Yellow lined red

Red lined fleshcolour

Sash COj's Grenadier ca.ps,..vhite 25 Lined blue, tufted blue & red, withfringed royal cipher crownedblue

\Vhite '3 Lined green, with green tasselsfringedgreen

\Vhite " Lined white, 'the lions face proper'fringed crownedwhite

""

"

"

Source: A Gt'IIeral awl Compleat List Milita/y_ .. As Established at the time oIthe review upon Putney Heath the First oIOctober!684 by Nathan Brooks

24

The Rescoration period1: Trooper, King's Troop of Horse Guards, 16612: Musketeer, Lord Wentworth's Foot Guards, 16613: Pikeman, Coldstrcam Regiment of Foot Guards, 1669

z

A

B

The regimental tailor at work, 16861: Regimental tailor2: Soldier, Prince George of Denmark's Regiment of Foot3: Officer, Earl of Oxford's Horsc4: Soldier

3

•

Tangiers1: Officer of the garrison, 16692: Musketeer, Governor's Regiment, 16693: Drummer, Coldstream Guards. 1671

c

D

•

2

The Virginia Colonies, 1677I: Musketeer, Lord Admiral's Maritime Regiment of Foot2: Pikeman, Coldsteam Regiment of Foot Guards3: Grenadier, Colonel Herbert Jeffery's Regiment of Foot 3

Sedgemoor, 1685I: Dragoon, Royal Regiment of Dragoons2: General officer3: Piper, Earl of Dumbarton's Regiment of Foot

2

E

The regiments of horse at Sedgemoor. 16851: Trooper, First Troop of Horse Guards2: Trooper, Earl of Oxford's Horse3: Horse grenadier, First Troop of Horse Grenadiers

F

The campaigns in Ireland1: Musketeer, Lord Cun's Regiment of Foot, King William's Army 16912: Pikeman, Earl ofBath's Regiment of Foot, King William's Army 16913: Trooper, Galmoy's Regiment of Horse, KingJames' Army 1692

G

ArtilleryI: Fuzileer, Ro)'al Regimcnt ofFuzilccrs, 16852: Gunner, The Train of Artillcry in Ireland, King William's Army, 16893: Gunner, Thc Train of Artillery in Flandcr, 16954: Pioneer, The Train of Artillery, KingJames' Army, 1688

Regiment oI Fusiliers, the Granadiers, and the company oI/HlIle1'5) to have Matchlock and Snaplul1lce Mllsquets; the

barrels whereollo be 3 Iool 6 inches long, good swords, amibandoliers. Our Royal Regiment oIFusiliers 10 have Snaph­ana A1usqllets, strapped, with bright barrels oI3loot 8 incheslong, milh good sl1Jords, cartouch boxes, and bayonets. All theFoot Gramulie1'5 oIOur Army, both regimented and n011­regimented, to have long carbines, strapped; Ihe barrelswhereollo be 3 foot 2 inches long, ca-rtouche boxes, bayonels,grallade pouches, and hammer hatchets. The Company ofMiners to have long carabines, strapped; the barrels to be 3

loot 2 inches in length, carlollche boxes, bayonets, andextraordi11tuJ! hammer hatchets. The Dragoons 10 have

Sua-plumce Musquels, strapped, wilh brighl barrels oFIIool8

inches long, wrlolld,c boxes, bayonets, granade pOllches,bl/(:kels, and hammer hatchets.'

The standardisation of military affairs begun by Jamesdid not continue into the reign of William and lVlary whenthe introduction of Dutch ideas and lhe pressures of warcaused a diverse variety of equipment to enter service. InMarch 1689 Beveridge's Foot were issued with equalnumbers of matchlocks and flintlocks. Tn April 1690 thetwo new regiments of Pembroke and Torrington eachreceived 1896 Dutch snaphance muskets, bayonets andcartridge boxes with girdles. In December 1695 thenumber of pikemen in a company was reduced to T4, asagainst 46 musketeers, being effectively the conversion ofone six-man file.

Table B: James II's army on Hounslow Heath, 1686

Regiment Clothing colollr NUlllberoI Men each TotalTroops/Coys.

Horse on the rightEarloI°.\jord Blue lined red 9 5° 45°Maj-Cen Worthen's Red lined red 6 4° 24°Queel/ D01lJager's Red lined green 6 4° 24°£arlofShremsb/f/Y's Red lined buff 6 4° 24°EarlofPeterborongh's Red lined red 6 4° 24°

FootTill: 1.1'1 Bn, I/nder Red lined with blue, blue breeches and stockings 7, one of them 80 560Co/. Stradling grenadiersThe Kil/g's 3rd 81/. IIl/der As above 6 80 480Cpt. ReresbyEarl oICravel/'s 1St Bn. Red lined blue, blue breeches, white stockings 6, plus a half coy of 80 520under Maj Hemit grenadiers/Sf 8n. oIScol£'h Guards, Red lined white, white breeches & stockings 7 80 560/ll/der Maj. /\'1ul"1"a)lPrince George's Red lined yellow, grey breeches & stockings 12 5° 600Co/. Oglethorpe's Red lined ash, ash coloured breeches & srockings 12 5° 600Earl HUlltingdon's Red lined yellow, yellow breeches, grey stockings 10 5° 5°0Earl oILifchfield's Red lined white, blue breeches & stockings 10 5° 5°0Marq.oIWorcester's Red lined tawny, tawny breeches & stockings 10 5° 3°0Earl oIBath's Blue lined red, breeches & stockings 10 5° 5°0Col. Kirk's Red lined green, green breeches, whire stockings 10 5° 5°0Ear! oIDlllllbarlon's Red lined whire, grey bre:ches & stockings II 5° 55°Ea,rloIPf)'lIIoulh's Red lined green 6 4° 24°

Horse on the leftEarloIScarsdale's Red lined yellow 6 4° 24°Ear! (~rArran's Red lined whire, with white silk sashes 6 4° 24°The Queen's Red lined yellow 6 4° 24°

DragoonsThe King's 6 4° 24°Princess oIDelllll{/rk's 6 4° 24°The Queen's 6 4° 24°The Fllzi/eers Red lined yellow, grey breeches & stockings 12 (one of miners) 5° 600

Source: A List ofKing James's Army 01/ HOl/llslom Heath, a.s they lay encamped. .. Jlllle 30th 1686.

33

GRENADIERSTn May 1677 an order was issued that two soldiers fromeach company of the Guards regiments WCTC to be trainedas grenadiers. Accordingly the ten companies of theColdstream Regiment each received 20 grenadier pouches,20 hatchets and girdles ;lOd 20 'Fusees' or flintlockmuskets. In April 1678 an order was made that a companyof grenadiers consisting of t captain, 2 lieutenants, 3sergeants, 3 corporals and 100 privates be added to each ofthe eight senior foot regiments of the army. Their armswere to be "03 Fusees with slings, 103 cartridge-boxeswith girdles, 103 grenade pouches, 103 bayonets, 103

hatchets with girdles to them, 3 halberds (for sergeants)and 2 p:lrtisans (for officers)'. The muskets issued arcspecified elsewhere as 'long carbines strapped; the barrelswhereof to be 3 foot 2 inches long'; the straps allowed themusket to be slung over the grenadier's back while he wasusing his hatchet or throwing a grenade.

As grenadier companies had no pikemen and wcre

orten stationed in advance, or on the wings oCthe regiment,they were issued bayonets for protection against cavalry. Itappears that grenadiers were not at first issued swordsthough the evidence is contradictory. As the grenadiercarried his four bombs in a pouch slung over his leftshoulder his cartridges were kept in a pouch on his waistbelt.

The first description of the British grenadier comesfrom John Evelyn's diary in June 1678. He describes themas 'new sort of soldiers with a pouch full of hand grenades'.They wore 'furred caps with coped crowns like Janizarics,which gave them a fierce expression: while some wore longhoods hanging down behind, as fools arc pictured. Theirclothing was piebald, yellow and red.' Two different stylesof cap arc described, one with a high crown and a furedging, and another with a hanging bag. Both types appearin French illustrations of the period, and were probablydevised by the regiments themselves.

The most detailed early description is of the grena­diers of the First Foot Guards at James II's coronation in1685: 'The Grtlfuuliers (viz. Two Companies) IVere Cloat/ltd

34

A grenadier ol1icer's mitrec;'Jpofc.J690. G/licersstiIJhad a hlrge degree offreedom in their choice ofuniform, andgrenadiercompl1IJY oflicers seem coh ..1Ve copied the unusualstyle ofdress oftheir men.The grenadier capappeared in various styles:with hanging bags orhoods, high conical pointswith cassels, or asdecorated caps. Thisexample is some eightinches tall and is decoratedwith thistles denotingScottish origins. (ScottishUnited Services N/useum)

Grant, Charles Stewart, From Pike to ShoJ 1685 to 1720

(Wargames Research Group, 1986)Halkett, Sir James, A Short tl1ld True Accouut oj the mosJ

remarkable things that ptlssed during the late "Van withtire Moors at Tangie,. in lire year 1680 etc. USAHRspecial issue, 1922)

Houlding, J. A., Fit for Service: Tire Trail/il/g ofthe British

Arm)! 11 I 5-/195 (Oxford 1981)Kane, Richard, Campaigns ofKing "Vil/ja1l/ ami the Duke 0/

Marlborol/gh (London 1747)Kemp, Anthony, Weapons (5 Equipment 0/ the kIarl­

borol/gh Wan (Poole 1980)Journal of the Society for Army /-lislorical Research

(JSAHR), various articles since 1921.Lawson, Cecil C. P., A History of tire Uniforms oJ tire

British Army, Vol. I (London IQ-JO & IQ6Q)

Luttrell, . arcissus, A Brief Hislorical Relation of State

Affairs, Vol. I (Oxford 1857)

liS the Musquetiers, bllt distinguished by Caps oj Red ClothLined with Blew Shal/ou, lIud Lliced with Silver GlIloon

about the Edges: And 011 the Fromlets oj sllid CliPS (whichwere very large tlud high) WtlS 111lbroidered the Kings Cipherfwd frOWll. Each oJtluse Granat/iers was Armed with tI 10llgClIrahine Strapt, the Barrel thereof3 Foot 2 Inches inleugth:a ctlrtouch-box, Biol1et, GralU1dtl-Pouch, ami a Htl11l11ler­Hate/It:t.' On the same occasion, the ColdstreamRegiment's grenadiers had caps lined and faced with 'BlemChalooll, {lurl Lliced l11it" Gold Galoon, 1I11d Imbroidered 011

'he Frol/tlets mi,h the Killgs Cipher'.

Bibliography

Allingh'lm, A., A Treatise oIi\1i1illiry Orders, lImlthe Art oj

GUII1Je1J', or throwing oj Bombs, Balls, etc. (London

1722)Barthorp, Nlichael, British Cavldry Uniforms since 1660

(Poole 1984)Barthorp, Michael, British !11[tl11try U1lIforms since 1660

(Poole 1982)Beddard, Robert, A Kingdom flJitholit tI. King (London

1988)Blackmore, H. L., British Military Firearms 1650-1850

(London 1961)Brooks, Nathan, A General alld Complete List Milit(ll)' of

EvelY Commission QUice,. of Horse and FOOl 110m~·OIlI1lI(/.1ulil1g ill his Majesty's Land Fones of Ellgland

(London 1684)Carm.tn, '"V. Y., British Militllry Uniforms}j·om Contem­

P0rl")1 Pictl/res (London 1957 & 1968)Childs, John, The Army OfJames fI (London 1976)Childs, John, The Army, James /I and the Glorious

Revolution (~1anchester 1980)

Childs, John, Armies (md Warfllre ill Europe 1648-1789(Manchester 1982)

Childs, John, The British Arm)! of William III 16g8-1102(Manehesler 1987)

Childs, John, The Nine Years' War and tlte Britislt Army

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1909 & 1989)Davis, John, The History of the Second Queen's Royal

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Organisation (Leeds 1987)Field, Cyril, Old Times Under Arms, A Mililtlry Gamer

(London 1939)Fortescue, J. W., A History oj the British Army Vol. I

(London 1910)

\19

Dutch pikcmen orcheearly 1660s ret<liIJ theirhelmets, back and brc:I!!jtplates, with short 'cassets'protecting the thighs. InEngland armour "':.sdiscarded during the Civil

~V'lr... but there were effortsto reintroduce it duringCromwell's rule. (Fromthe Dutch m.JnwJIDrilkonst by HendriJ.: vanBuren)

35

'Waugh, Norah, The Clit 0/ Men's Clofhes 1600-19°0

(London 1964)

Documents in the Public Record Office, London:PRO ]0/37 Private Ordnunce RecordsSP44 Slate Paper Domestic

W04!I Secretary 11/ War. aI/I Leller Marclr 168. 10December 1690

V.,f0S/1 Out Letters - A1arching Orders 1683-85W024 Establislrlllelils 1661-1846W026!,-6 MisceliallY BooksW047!I-I9b Board ofOrdllllll«

WOSO!I Bill Books 1677-79\VOSS I¥arratlls

Documents in the British Library ManuscriptRoom:

Add. 10123 A10ntngu Am~)1 Acco1l11ls 1680-/699Add. 10115 Williamsol1 Papers relatil1g to lite proposed

French "Var of1677Add. 15893/f.40S Accounts of Major William Barker's

Compau]' /686Add. '5897 Wimer Quarters ofForces 1686 ami /tlmmel oJ

Establishmenfs

Add. 23642 Tyram6! Papers ,679-1759Add. 34516 Makilltosh ArlllY Papers ,685-86

~tlacDonald \Vigficld, W., The Monmouth Rebellion, A

Sociol HiMOIJl (Bradford-an-Avon 1980)Mackinnon, Daniel, Origin 1111(/ Service of the Coldstream

CI/ords (London 1833)iVlagoloni, Count Lorenzo, The Travels of Cosmo the

Third. Grand /Juke of Tuscany, through England ...

1669 (London 1821)National Army ~Iluseum, 1688 Glorious Revolllliol1? The

Fall autl Rise ofIhe British Army 1660-1704 (exhibitioncatalogue) (London 1988)

Petard, Michel, Equipements k/ilitaires tie 1600, 1870, Vol.I (no dale)

Routh, E.!\It G., Taugier, Eugland's Lost Allantic Outpost1661-168. (London 1912)

Sapherson, C. A., Tire Brilislr Army ofWillil/m III (Leeds

1987)Sapherson, C. A., I1l illiam III at ~Var, Scotland (5 ire/anti

1689-1691 (Leeds 1987)Scott, Sir Sibbald David, The Brilish Army: ils Origin,

Progress, alld Equipment, Vol.] (London 1880)Tinccy, John, Armies of the Sedgemoor Campaign (Leigh

on Sea: Partizan Press, 1985)Tinccy, John (cd.), Monmouth's Drill Book: An abridge­

ment o/the English AllilitaJy Discipline 1676 (Leigh onSea: Panizan Press, 1986)

Trenchard, Thomas, A Shorf HistolJ! ofStanding ArmiesiI/ EI/glol/d (London 1698)

Turner, Sir James, Pa.llas Armata: klilit{/.!y Essays(London ,683)

\\-'"lton, Clifford, HisfOJ)' o/the British Slanding AruZ),

1660-1700 (London 1894)

Right: The bartle oftheBoyne. iHost .1I·til/cryrcnlt,inCll too cwnbersonlCto be moved during <l

barrIe; but, (luring thereign ol}flmes If mobile.1-poundcr C;1n110ns were

attachel! to loot rcg;IlJCl1tsand were scrvcli b,'soJdicr.t;; elm II'IJ (i·onl theirrI1nks. Detail oFThc Banlcorthe Boyne, .('90 byjlJllWyck. (Nllf;owrl ArmyNIl/scum)

Table C: British Regiments at Tillro) Camp, IM!9

From A list oIollr Army as it "'IIS drtlnm lip at Tillrt~)1 Camp. 1689 - this is an extract showing British regiments only.

Rt'gilllt'1I1 C/olhing colOllr Mel1 NOlesThe NorseDuke o/Ormom{ Red lined blue 60 Horse GrenadiersDukl' o/OrmOfu{ Red lined blue 200 2nd Troop, I-Iorse GuardsO.\jord White lined scarlet 400 Should be blue lined scarlet

The FootTfllII/asft Guards Red lined white 1,000 Coldstream GuardsPart o/tlll: Scoleft Guards Red lined white 700FII::.ileers Red lined rellow 780 7th FootHales Red lined white 780 Raised 1688, disbanded 1699O'Farrrll Fu::.ilerrs Red lined green 780 Raised 1688 as Be\!il Skelton's;

disbanded 1701Fit::.Patrick Red lined green 780 Raised 1688 as Bevil Skehon's;

disbanded 1701CllIIrrltill Red lined buff 780 3rd Foot, Holland RegimentI-Iodgn Red lined red 780 16th Foot (white lining in 1691)COllllt SI1II1IIImrg Red lined white 780 Royal Scots

36

THE PLATESA: The RestorationAI: Trooper, The King's Troop ofHorse Guards,1661The I-forse Guards took a prominent part in the coronationofCharles II and were described by Sir Edmund Walker as'The Kings Horse Guard, all well mounted, having BuffeCoates, with white Armour, their Horses furnished withHooscs (being a shan Foot cloth) with red Scarfes, &plumes of Red & white fcathers'. Eight years later theHorse Guards arc recorded wcaring red coats with bluefacings. Hollar's engraving of the Horse Guards gives noindie.Hien of colours, though small figures in the back­ground of an oil painting of the coronation confirm thatbuff coats were worn.

A2: A1uskcteer, Lord Wentworth's Foot GWlrds,1662In 1662 Dunkirk was sold to the French and LordWentworth's Regiment returned to England. The style ofdress is French reflecting the regiment's re-equipment inDunkirk. Although the knee-length coat had not yetappeared, the cassack had replaced the doublet for the

French Guards. The matchlock musket was now usedwithout a rest while the bandoleer of charges continued tocontain the musketeer's gunpowder, and was not to bereplaced completely by t'he cartridge box until after the endof the century.

A.r Pikenwn, The Coldstremn Rcginlent ofFootGuards, 1669During his visit to England, Duke Cosmo noted that thepikemen of the Gu.uds regiments worc rnerse coatcolours to musketeers. Pikemcn had discarded theirarmour in the Civil \Vars mainly bcc~1Use it was he3\"Y onthe march, and offered little protection against musketry.The more static duties of peacetime encouraged thereintroduction of armour, but by the late 1670S itdisappeared once again.

B: The Regimental rai/or at work, 1686HI: Regimental tIJilorThe quality of uniforms W.1S poor and only rarely was anyattempt made to offer a choice of sizes. The regimentaltailor had a gre.lt deal of work to do whenner newuniforms were issued, since the garments needed extensi,'cadjustments before they would fit many individuals. Thctailor wears .1 simple shirt m'lde with no yoke over the

37

38

l'hc main role ofthe pikcman wasl'O protect themusketeer fromcav;J/ry, and whenthere was a threatco irs flanks a unitwould form a pikering. Englishsoldiers inPortugal in the16605 fought offoverwhelmingnumbc:rsofSpanish ca valryby forming a pikeandmuskccsqU<Jrc. From TheWars ofWilliamIII and QueenAnne by Brig-GcnK~Jnc. 1735.(PrivateColleceion)

C3: Drummer, The Coldstream Guards, 1671This drummer is based upon an illustration of the funeralof Monk which took place in the year after Hollar's visit toTangier. Most companies had two drummers a!though the'king's' companies of Wentworth's and Russell's Guards

Cz: Musketeer, the Governor's RegimentA figure in Hollar's watercolours of Tangier, possibly asergeant, appears in a grey coat; but the common soldiersall wear red coats, some with blue facings, breeches andstockings, and some with the same items in green. Themusket was used without a rest and bandoleers were wornas crossbelts with a baldrick supporting a 'hanger' sword.

~i

to march with 'wings' ofgrenadiers. From TheWars of William III andQueen Anne by Brig-GenKane, 1735. (PrivateCollection)

, jJIOl.loOW \ .'I.,II":I!!"/;" 0' E"lPre .--...-9~ SQUAttE r..nGT;m~rlH·r'IUJl.~h:lr!i"._3 ,"Ok.,,'I'to Adv:lllct'or Iklr,,:al ' .... C]__ Offi("1"U irt..l'lar,·,1 I'ror"". _______

,

The infantry square wasnot a static [ormation.Here are diagrams [or abattalion in square toadvance to engage theenemy, to stand with itsgrenadiers withdrawn, and

C: Tangier, 1669CI: Officer ofthe Tangier GarrisonThe officers in Hollar's 1669 paintings of Tangier all wearclothing and hats ofa light grey material. A waistcoat, alsolight grey, is secured with a cord rather than a sash. Coatsleeves arc short and decorated with coloured ribbons.Ribbons of the same colour appear at the shoulders of thecoat, and on the garters and shoes.

shoulders. A simple strip of linen is worn as a cravat,protecting the neck from the rubbing ofcoat and waistcoat.The breeches arc cut baggy as there was little stretch in thecloth used and when secured below the knee a tight pair ofbreeches could make bending the legs difficult, as whenkneeling during volley firing.

84: Soldier in watch coatThe coal and waistcoat proved adequate for normalservice, but guard duty at night or in bad weather requiredextra clothing. 'Watch coats' were issued to men chosen forsentry duty. Later experience of prolonged campaigningled to the introduction of ,surtout' coats as general issue.

Hz: Soldier in sleeved waistcoat, Prince George ofDennltlrk's Regiment ofFootThis soldier is undergoing the annual task of having hisprevious year's uniform coat converted into a waistcoat.His regiment wears a red coat lined yellow, and his old coathas been dismantled and the cloth turned inside out, sothat his waistcoat will be yellow lined red. The cloth isrelatively clean as the face, earlier protected between coatand lining, is now outermost.

8J: Officer, The Earl ofOxford's HorseIn 1686 the Earl of Oxford set down the first recordeduniform code for his officers: 'All the Captaim coats are to

be o/blue cloth/aced with Ihe same, tile lace o/the said coats tobe o/gold, laid double upon eve,), seam and slits Ivith a gold

fOOl bel1veen the /Jvo laces. The bUllons 0/gold thread with agold fringe round the sleeves, under mhieh must be laid Ihesame lace as dOlV11 Ihe seams. All the Lieutenant's a/1(/COr1lt:I's coals IIllisl be the same as the Captain's, only a singlebroad lace on each seam and slits ami sleeves, the Fillgee.rapted. The Quarterll/aster's coats mllst be Ihe same cloth asthe rest o/Ihe Oi/iar's with a gold edging down before, at thepockets, slits and rou11d the sleeves, mith a broa.d loa rOllnd Ihesleeves, as the Lieutenants and Cornets, and gold butlOm as

the rest o/the Officers. The pockets o/allthe coats must be ofthe same fashion, viz., with two long slits on each side. Each

officer mllst have a black hat edged with a gold lace and a whitefeather. The trimming 0/ the hats must be yellow as also thecravat strings.'

39

each had three. When, in r665, these two regiments weremerged they had one drum-major and 36 drummersbetween 24 companies.

D: The Virginia Expedition, I677In 1677 a composite regiment of 500 men drawn from theFoot Guards regiments, the Holland Regiment and theLord Admirars Regiment was dispatched to put down arebellion in the Virginia colony. The regiment wasreinforced by 630 'recruits\ who may have been experi­enced men drawn from other regiments.

DI j\'1usketeer, The Lord Admiral's MaritimeRegiment ofFootThis soldier wears the yellow coat of the Admiral'sRegiment, and carries a flintlock musket which wasstandard issue for the regiment because of duties on boardships where the matchlock was impractical. He wears awaist sash of the type issued to new recruits in 1678 andshown in a painting of 1680.

The disappearance ofthepike led toareconsidenJtion ofinHwtrymctic!. now that they wereb;:lsed entirely onfirepower. This plateshows two Formations for abattalion in three ranks:

(above) for the newshaJlower firing formation,;:wd (below) drawn up sixranks deep. From TheWars ofWilliam III andQueen Anne by Brig-GenKane, I735. (PrivateCoJlection)

.,J; I

\

Dz: Pikeman, The Coldstream Regiment ofFootGuardsThe 500 men sent on the Virginia Expedition who hadbeen transferred from other regiments are said to havebeen armed in the usual ratio of one pike to two muskets.This figure is based upon a painting of 1680 showing theColdstream Guards at Horse Guards Parade. His sword issupported on a baldrick rather than a waist belt, andunusually he wears no waist sash.

D3: Grenadier, Col. Herbert]effery's Regiment ofFootThis figure represents the 630 'recruits' who accompaniedthe Virginia Expedition and were placed in a compositeregiment under Col. Herbert]effery. Each man was issuedwith a red cap, a large red coat lined with blue baize, a shirt,a coarse calico cravat, breeches, stockings and shoes. Nopikes were issued, instead 300 matchlock and 200 flintlockmuskets were provided, all with bandoleers. In addition500 'cartouch boxes covered with leather, with girdles',500 hatchets and 1500 hand grenades were also supplied.The fact that much of this was grenadier equipmentsuggests that the 'recruits' for the regiment were mainlyveterans. Our reconstruction is based on the painting ofgrenadier Captain Francis Hawley, but with an earlierform of furred grenadier cap.

b

40

> ~ffi l-~:ffil-EH)..~1..CEimj mtelffi&jJ-ipJ-~: fB:Gr Front hUYing Fire<1 Fltcc tojRight &LcObyPJntbollS Gr.

I 11. k Murch to J Renr, .

~[8J]I]LBI8D3U3 JPJ:8~J]I$t.St®WJlecid IOJ· Itighl' in PlntoorH lor Street ftrlllg' .

l2.

forms offiring were used,and whcther thcy could besustained for long in battlcconditions. From TheWars ofWilliam III andQueen Anne by Brig-GenKanc, 1735. (PrivateCo11ection)

9·

English dri11 haddeveloped to encompassvo11ey firing, but contactwith the Dutch introducedthe far more complexfiring by sections. Thcre issome discussion todayabout how often these

:m.~~~m·:[}J~~CTI:

Gr. _ • '" . Gr.Front drop tlicir lIfu?1e.s &,r ,S.l Fire Perform.

10.

Horse Guards were numbered First, Second and Third.Sandford's HistolY o//he Coronation ofJallles II gives thefollowing description of the Horse Guards in April 1685:'The Gentlemen ofthis Troop (200 ill Number) /pere all ne/pClothed in Coats and Cloaks of Scarlet Cloth, lined with

Blew Clutlon: The Facings a/their Sleeves, o/the same Stuff,were laced a.bout with a Figured Caloon ofSilver (edged /pithGold) t/pO Inches broad: Their Buttons mere ofSilver Plate:

They had each ofthem agood BuffCoa/. am! a large Pair ofGauntlet Gloves ofthe same: And in their Hats (mhieh /pere

Black, and turned lip on one side, am! edged about with abroad Silver lace) they more large Blem Knots of broadTaffeta Ribba.1/l!: which Blew being the Distinguishing Colollr

41

:EE~ g:.ttt;r71-','r"-;'--tjj··1~r;"'".,(i'''''''I:D''ir:''\'''nOO<I'';'il':'~:[...t...J·1. . ~11 ,,~n 'm ,'11,."" i',,,r~' ,;,.;,'

1 Bllll ulioll ill 1,\ l'lnloons t"hl "iT~iin tl,~irS""'('r:l1 Firillj; ~. ",,<I

1

6 Grund () -JJi"irlO'U

.m~:··:····'l·.···;~~····"'·-"..~~',' '. 2 '",: 2 ~ :i l~tel~ ~ :-. :~ 1-.' :'r7I'

Oron, - , .." ••1 :. .... -, ::~J~;G Plntoous of J J, hr.' [",rr""lll~ Ih",r FirE.

E2: Field OfficerThe dress of this officer is taken from the statue of Sir JohnClobery in Winchester Cathedral. Clobery was colonel of aregiment raised during the time of Charles II anddisbanded shortly afterwards. The monument dates from1687 and shows the correct dress of that date. At thecoronation in April 1685: 'The O./ficers of this FirstRegimenl of Foot Guards mere exceedingly richly habited;some ill coats of doth of gold, others in crimson velvet

imbroidered or laced mith gold or silver; but most of them infine swrlet doth, buttoned damn the brest, and on the facingsofthe sleeves /pith silver plate. Their scarffs (which they woreabout their TlJastes) were either network or gold or silver, ortaffatta rieMyfringed with gold and silver, and their hats wereadorned with tours offeathers.'

£3: Piper, The Earl ofDumbarton's Regiment ofFootAs an 'English' regiment, Dumbarton's was forbidden tohave pipers on its strength: bagpipes had been banned inCromwell's time and anyone caught playing them wasthreatened with banishment to Barbados. In 1671 in hisbook Pallas Armata, Sir James Turner, who served in theSconish Army, wrote 'any captain may keep a piper in hiscompany and maintain him too for no pay is allowed him,... the bagpipe is good enough musick for them who loveit, hut sure not so good as the Almain [i.e. German]Whistle.' A painting of the regiment at Tangier in 1683shows pipers wearing the normal regimental uniform: redcoats lined white, with grey breeches and stockings.

F: Horse Regiments at Sedgemoor, 1685Flo' Trooper, The First Troop ofHorse GuardsWhen James II succeeded Charles II the troops of the

E: Sedgemoor, 1685£1: Dragoon, The Royal Regiment ofDragoonsAt the battle ofSedgernoor in 1685, the dragoons fought onfoot on the flanks of the infantry battalions. The dragoonwas not a 'skirmisher' in modern terms and in the openfield fought in formed bodies, which drilled andmanoeuvred in much the same way as infantry. At a reviewin 1684 the Royal Dragoons were 'Coated and cloaked red

. lined bluc, housings embroidered with blue and yellowupon red, with the Royal cipher, holster caps the same,with the Royal Cipher'. I nstructions from T68617 state:'The Dragoons to have Snaphance Musquets, strapped,with bright barrels of 3 foot 8 inches long, cartouche boxes,bayonets, granade pouches, buckets, and hammer hat­chets.' The dragoons of 1685 do not appear to have beenequipped with grenades and it is unlikely that these weregeneral issue.

o/their Troop J;'OI1l Ihe 01 hers, Ihe Heads o/their Horses !percadorned mith k1l0ls o/the /ike Ribband. They mere extraordi­mil)' J/}ell MOll/Iud, and excellently Ivell equipped, havingIheir Ho//sses and Holster-caps 0/Searlet Cloth, Imbroidered

mith Ihe King's Cipher and Cromll wilhill a Border 0/Foliage. Each o/II/ese GenLlemclI was Armed and Accoutredmilh a good broad smord, ami large Buff Shoulder-Belt, a,Case 0/ Pistols, a Carabine, nJith a carabillc Belt 0/ BlewVelvelS Inches broad, bordered mith jigur'd Silver GaJoon,(edged milh a lIarrom Gold Lace) in bredth 2 Inches, so thaI1101 above all luch in bredlh o/the Velvet appeared.'

As for the officers of the King's Troop: 'The Officers ofIhis Troop mere riddy flabited, either in Coats 0/ Crimson

Four Dutch soldiers ofWilliam Ill's arnlr. Onehas:1 soft, fur-tri~mlCdC:lP, :Jnothcr a le[lthcr C:lpwhich mar resemble thoseworn by English filsiliers.Plug b:lyonets and powderflasks ;lrc worn on :1

waistbelt. From Icft toright thc uniforms arc: (1)- black cap, recl coat cuffsl1Iul stockings; (2) - greycoat [lnd cuffS, reclwtlistcmlt ancl stockings,hat edged with white lace;r.1)-rcd coat and cuffSwith red waistcoat, grey

stockings, hat bound withwhite lace; (4)-red capedged with brown fur, redcoat and cuffs, redwaistcoat, grey stockings.All Four figures have whitemetal buttons and buffle:lther equipment. Thenwsket Jocks are diflicultto identi(y, and have in anycase been drawnincorrectly, fitted on theleft-hand side. Pen andwatercolour by anunknown artist. (TheROy:II Collection ©1993Her Nlajesty The Queen)

Velvel Imbroidered mith Gold alUl Silver, or 0/Fine SearlelClolh I111broidered or laad mith Gold or Silver, or bOlhintermixed. The)' more Sc({/f~ aboul their Wasles, either ojGold or Silver NetJ/}ork, or Crimson TaJfela, ridl(Y Fringedmith Gold or Silver on the edges, ami mith a deep Fringe oflhesame at Ihe Ends. Their Cloaks mere a./so of Fine ScarletCloth, Imbroidered 011 Ihe Capes and damn be/ore !pilh Goldor Silver, or both illtermixed. Inlheir Hats they more Tours of

White feathers; Their Housses al1d Holster-Caps beillg ofCrimson Velvet, were rich(y Imbroidered and Embossed ,vithGold and Silver: And the Manes, Cruppers ami Tayls oftheir Horses mere garnished mith large knots oIBlew TaffelaRibband.'

The Second Troop had fittings and ribbons of green;lace was gold edged silver, with the King's Cipher within aborder of royal badges. The Third Troop had silver laceand yellow as its distinguishing colour.

F2: Trooper, The Earl ofOxford's HorseThe Earl of Oxford's Horse, also sometimes confusinglycalled the Horse Guards, wore the royal colours in reversegiving the famous blue coats lined red. This figure is basedon a portrait of an officer of the regiment which showstroopers in the background; details are filled in fromwritten descriptions. Grey hats were a distinction of thisregiment, though pot helmets were probably worn inaction.

42

COLLONErL

~rl,,,:, 1t.;)..ll R.::..,,,.' "fJ-~IS .... I~i~·.~ _'I<.Ll'<! L"dtIll"'::': C~.l.HU·•.; .:t,IHC'h Ji.. .....d d' l"OI~h';"<:- .

F3: Horse Grenadier, The First Troop ofHorseGuardsEach troop of Horse Guards had an attachment of 60'Horse Grenadiers'. \¥hereas Horse Guard troopers weregendemen volunteers, these grenadiers were recruitedmen raised in the normal way by beat of the drum.

Sandford describes the first troop thus: 'The Granadius(60 il1 Number) were Cloa.thed in CoalS of Fine Red CIOlh,Lilled ami Faced wilh Blew Chalon, and BUl/olled wilhWhile Alfel/le hatched wilh Silver. Onlhe Brest, Arms, andFacings of I/U: Sleeves, they wore Ia.rge Loops of Fine Blem

43

replacing thc numeral; thelieutenant-colonel's is liS

the fjrst Cllptllin 's, butwithout the IJllIllcral; lindthe colonel's is a plainblack flag bt.'aring only thegold sun in splendourdevice. (The RoyalCollection @J993/-1eriH'ljcsty The Queen)

Fir!iJt cllptain 's colour ofthe HoIIIHld Regiment. It isblack with a red cross ofSt.George outlincd in white,with;1 paintedgolden sun'in splendour'. The romannUIJlcral, in gold, denotesthe scniority ofthec;.lpmin. The major'scolour is as illustmted, but·with a silver pile WII vy

.'1t this rime. TheJicurcnant-coloneJ's colouris white, with a red cross ofSt. George, and with'trophies'in the quarters;the major's is similar, with:J red pile wavy in the firstquarrcr. Anotherillustrated colour issimilar to the lieutenant­colonel's, but with acannon in the centre. FromDrawings of Colours andStandards of the BritishArmy. Tempore James II,ROY;ll Library at lVindsorC'tstle. (The RoyalCollection @1993 HerM;Jjesty Thc Quecn)

The colonel's colour ofrhcRoyal Regiment ofFuzilccrs. This .mel thefoJ/owing flags arc taken{rom a book ofpen :welwatere%ur dr'lwingswhich has been dolled toc.I686. The colouri/lusrr"lfcd is 'Col/ancl ...The Lord D.lrtmauch 's oldColours',- and so may nolonger have been carriedby 1686. It has a whirebackground with a 'trophy'ofsr:mdards .mel arms ingold. The smg's head wasthe armorial b.'1c1gc oftheEarlofDarcmouth whowas the regiment's colonel

I II I 1 • ~I'

1.."El\{ . COt,LOIIJ.:LL

Wors/ed, Edged ami TuJied millt Black (Uld flrthile. TheCromm oIII,ei,. Caps Iverc raised high 10 a poinl, falling backa/the lOp ill FOrtll a/a. Capolldl, mlliclt mere IUrl/ed liP be/orealld behiud. Triangular, and Fa.ced wilh Blew Plush; and 011

lhe bad: o/the Crowns IPas fI ROl/1/del or Granada-Ball also

oIthe same. Their Cloaks mere ofFine Red Cloth, Lined mithBlem, and their Hats being Black, alUi Laced abollt withSilver. mere bu((oned up, {uuJ adorned with Knots of BlewTaffeta Ribband, as were the Heads of their Horses. TheirHolster-caps alUl HOllsses (scallopt Oil the Edges) of RedCIOlh, mere Imbroidered m;th the Royal Cipher and cromll,alUl bordered with Foliage; so Ihal being amzexed or

depending upon His Majesties First Troop oIHorse-Guards,this Troop IPas agreeable lIlllo them i1/ all l/ieir Colours. Eachof l/iese Grafladiers mas armed and ActolJlred with a long

Carbine slmp'd, a good Smord, mith a masle BullBell, a caseof PiSIOls, carlouch-Box, Buckel, 8i01ll:/, and Granada­POlich.'

The Horse Grenadiers of rhe second troop wercsimilarly dressed with green as their distinguishing colour;coat loops were edged and tufred wirh black and white, and

First c;'pc;,in 's colour oft.he Co/(/strC;tnl Guards. Ith:JS a whire field with redor crimson cross oFSr.George, and crown andcompany numeral in gold.The colonel's colour isplain white with nodevices, :wd che!i(:U[c:n:lnt-coJoncl's hasonly oJ reel cross and a

c:rown in the centre. TIlL'major's had the St.George's cross, with :J

ccntnJ} crown, .'1nd a pilewavy in the first quarter.(The Royal CoJlection(g/993 Her l\1ajcst)' TheQueen)

Lieutenant-colonel'scolour ofthe QuecnConsort's Rcginlcnt ofFoot. It has the usual redcross ofSt. George on aplain white fie/d, but eachquarter is bhuoned withfive black cagles - the eaglewas the f.'fmily badge ofi\1arie ofil1oden.'f. Thecolonel's colour is whilewith the Quecn Consort'sentwined cipher 'il1EBR'("'Iarie Eleanore Bc:atriceRegina) under a crown,

both in golc/. Theremaining IJags ha I'e thes.'fme red cross and fiveC:Jgles in e:JC:h qwrrter; thenlajor's colour has fJ redpile wa "y in the firstc;wton, while the C;Jpt:Jin 'scolours 1m \le;J crown andcipher. (The RoyalCo//ecrion ([;)J993 J-IerA'Iajesty The Queen)

buttons wcre gilt; lace was gold; hats and horses weredecof<ltcd with green ribbons. The third troop's grenadierswere distinguished with yellow; buttons were of whitemetal and lace was silver.

G3: Trooper, Galmoy's Regiment ofHorse; KingJames's Army, 1691The horse was the best parr of the Jacobite army and savedthe foot from destruction at the battle of the Boyne. By thistime the dress and equipment of the horse had beenstandardised throughout western Europe with only pothelmets and back and breast plates distinguishing thedifferent formations. This trooper of Galmoy's Regimentstill wcars a buffcoat under his uniform coat, though bythis date many horse regiments had opted for clothwaistcoats.

G2: Pikeman, The Earl ofBath's Regiment ofFoor;King H1il/ianl 's Army, 1691The Earl of Bath's Regiment was unusual in 1685, it beingthe only foot regiment clothed in blue coats (lined rcd). In1691, like many newer regiments, it converted from blue tored coats. By the early 1690S the pike was in decline, andthe number of pikemen in a company was soon furtherreduccd. However, in the campaigns in Ireland the pikeproved its worth in defending the inexperienced Englishregiments from the crack Jacobite cavalry; meanwhile\"Cteran Danish regiments with no pikes were roughlyhandled.

H2: Gunner, The Train of.4rtiJJery in /i'eland, KingHfiJJianl 's ArnlJ", 1689The gunners accompanying the train of artillery to Irelandin 1689 wore uniforms of a colour inspired by the recenttriumph of'Villi;lIn of Orange: 'Blue coats lined orangebayes with bnlsS buttons and hats with orange silk

H: Artjllery

J-1I: Fuzilccr, The Royal RcgimcnrofFuxilecrsIn 1685 Lord Dartmouth raised a regiment offuzileers toserve as a guard for the artillery. iVlatchlock muskets withtheir smouldering lengths of match-eord were a hazardamong the open powder casks of the artillery, and the newregiment was inslead armed completely with flintlocks;these had straps so that they could be worn over theshoulder. The men wcre dressed in red coals lined yellow,with grey breeches and stockings. They were equippedwith bayonets, and with cartridge boxes worn on waistgirdles. One company was designated as the 'J\1yncrscompany' and was given 'Byonetts ExtnlOrdnary' - pos­sibly sword bayonets. The miners also received 'CopperPlates whereon arc C;lst Trophies for Myners uponClrtouch Boxes'.

thc.' dbow, and exceptwhere constricted by thecuinlss, wear their long,knee-length coats open.The central offjcer secnlSto have a shor(waistcoatunder his coat. FromMilitary Discipline or theAn of War byj.5. (London1689)

Although in a bookpublished in [689, thesoldicrs dcpicted here .Iredressed in che scyle ofchcmid- CO h,ce [660s. Thepikemen in chebackground still wearhelmefs and full arnJQur.The offjccrs ha ve shorccoac-sleeves reaching CO

G: Campaigns in IrelandG1: Musketeer, Lord Cutts' RegilTlent ofFoot; KingIVil/ianl 's Army, 1691The regiment commanded by Lord Cutts in 1691 had beenformed in 1674 in the service of the Dutch and wasdisbanded in 1699 in the demobilisation that followed theend of the \Var of the Grand Alliance. The Irish TreasuryPapers for '7 April 1691 record the issue of 'Red kerseyand buff baize' cloth for coats, 'white woollen hose' and'300 gross [that is, 300 x 144] buttons'. The style ofdress isbased upon an illustration of Dutch infantry of 1689. Thebandoleer, although still in general usc, was being supplan­ted in some regiments by a canridge box worn on ashoulder belt.

45

g;.lloone'. This did not yet sign.!1 the adoption ofhlue as thedistinguishing colour of the British artillery since manyfoot regiments also wore blue at this time; the gunners soonreverted to red coats.

H3: Gunner, The Train ofArrillery in Flanders,1695This figure is based on a uniform issue recorded in theOrdnance Office 'Entry Book of Bills', '/696, March JlSI.

For tlte service oIyc Trail1c oI Artil/o)' ill Flanders. ForClIl/l/ers. Crimsoll doth fOa/s, fillcd witlt bluc serge wilh a

.110 pp Oil yc bllllOl/ Itole side (1.!lapp pockells, ye sleev's facedmi/It bllle c/o/It milll a gold edgillg rOlll/dye Cliff fS !JU/lOl/S ofblue clotlt 10pi mi/It gold (Sye billIon Itoles 100PII1)ill/ye sallie

1.1-/. Blem d011t l1Jllslt'Oals lined, ye hal!:)! fS sleev's ,villtgarfix ye skirlJ (1 sleeve Itauds millt blue Padua, jlapppocke/ls .WUlI/ brass bUllOUS (5 silk holes ... /44. Blue clothbreecltes lobu/l'J11 al kuees, lined mitlt lincn fSlealher pockelfs

46

brass billlollS fS Itoles oI blue silk . .. / -/-/ pl'. Blue morstedstockingslor romliug ... / -/4 pl'. Slrong sltoes oIuealS leallter/paxl ... I.J-/ pr Black Ita tIS edged millt gold fS Italbauds .../ -/-/. Gloves IOpl (5 /if/ed ... 1-/-1 pr.'

H4: Pioneer, The Train ofArtillery; KingJanles'sArmy, 1688Pioneers were essential in an army that hoped to moveheavy siege guns: roads had to be widened or imprm'ed,and bridges consrructed or strengthened. Vlhen thedestination was reached, pioneers were needed to con­struct gun positions and to dig trenches. The new train ofr688 had its own pioneers dressed all in red. Later in thesame year, probably when \Nilliam of Orange tookcommand, the pioneers were issued with a cap em­broidered with a shovel, a blue coat lined orange, an orangewaistcoat, and blue breeches and stockings.

~ _..~----.....,....... , ',f,

', .. , ~ .,;, .....,, ,,_, ••. _~ ..L_J

Left: A't;tj.Gen. R;mdolphEgerton, who eom17wnded;1 reginlcnr- ofhorse duringthe Civil IVllr and earnedhis reward ;llter theRestonltion when hebcemll(.· licutenlllJt oftheKing'!. Troop ofHorseGWIrds. His eo.,t is red,though not ofollici.tl issue.Beneath it he wears a fuJIbuffeo'lt with gold

decoration along itssleeves. The cavalrymcn inthe background wear backand breast plates Ol'crtheir bu fli..'oars and arecngaged in close combatwith pistols mther thanswords. Though one ofthenl we.ars a helmet, mosth;1 ve wide-brinlnled hats.Oil p'1inting byJan Wyek,,672. (Private CoJJcction)

Above: An engraved viewofche Tangier colonynmde froIn watercolourspainted by HolI..1T on :1 visitin ,669. The two o!1icc:rswe;tr knee-length coatsover short waisteo.us withbaggy knee-lengthbreeches. The origin:11HoJJ;'1r watereolours showofficers wearinggreyclothing unlike the red ofcommon soldiers. It has

been suggested th:Jt this\MS.I light 'tropical'uniform. Though the clothused may have bcxnlighter in weight, the cutwas Inueh the Slllll(.' as thatworn in Engl:lIul. FronlDivers prospects in andabout Tangier, exactlydelineated by W. Hollar,his Majesties designer, AD1669. (The D;tvid CarterColIcction)

47