~ Sharpe Dressed Man ~
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Uniform
- "From a distance the red squares looked smart, for the men’s red coats were bright scarlet and slashed with white crossbelts, but in truth the troops were filthy and sweating. Their coats were wool, designed for battlefields in Flanders, not India, and the scarlet dye had run in the heavy rains so that the coats were stained white with dried sweat. Every man in the 33rd wore a leather stock, a cruel high collar that dug into the flesh of his neck, and each man’s long hair had been pulled harshly back, greased with candle wax, then twisted about a small sand-filled leather bag that was secured with a strip of black leather so that the hair hung like a club at the nape of the neck. The hair was then powdered white with flour, and though the clubbed and whitened hair looked smart and neat, it was a haven for lice and fleas." (Cornwell 1997).
The Infantryman of the era wore a red wool jacket with collar, cuffs and shoulder straps in the regimental facing colour, for the 33rd, the facing colour was red. "A soldier’s coat should always be tight over the breast (without restraint) for the sake of shewing his figure to more advantage." (Cuthbertson).
An enlisted man’s neckstock was made from black horsehair, stiffened with buckram and lined with black linen, with black leather tabs and brass buckles. "Black stocks, besides having a more soldierly appearance than white ones, are a saving to the men in point of washing, and do not show the dirt of a shirt, so much, after a day’s war: two will be necessary for each man; one of horsehair for common use; the other of Manchester velvet for dress." (Cuthbertson).
Shirts were made of coarse linen such as Holland.
White wool breeches were worn with grey stockings and black gaitors. In the West Indies and summer, white linen trousers were worn. Plain pewter buttons were used on the breeches. "Gaitors being first designed to prevent dirt and gravel from getting into the shoes, and thereby galling the soldier’s feet upon a march." (Cuthbertson).
Shoes were ‘straight last’, that is, made to fit either the left or right foot.
The regulation hairstyle at the time was long hair, tied in a queue doubled over and bound, which was known as being clubbed. The hair was then powdered with flour and waxed.
The Light Company bore the bugle-horn badge and regimental number on the front of the shako.
- "When a soldier can be brought to take a delight in his dress, it will be easy to mould him to whatever else may be desired, as it is in general a proof that he has thrown off the sullen, stubborn disposition which characterizes the peasants of most countries; therefore every method should be pursued to accomplish what may so justly be looked on, as the foundation of order an oeconomy in a Corps." (Cuthbertson).
Accessories (sold separately):
A soldier’s pay was stopped for the cost of his uniform and necessaries, which included his equipment, rations and laundry.
The standard armament carried by privates and sergeants was the musket, known colloquially as the ‘Brown Bess’.
Bayonets were 17 inch triangular blades with four inch sockets. "Care must be taken that the blades of the bayonets are well polished without notches, or the appearance of the smallest crack." (Cuthbertson).
White-buff cross belts were worn, from which hung the cartridge box. "A case of wood...to wear before the body of the soldier, holding 24 musket ball cartridges in two rows; it is covered with leather, and worn upon a belt, both on duty, and on the day of battle." (Cuthbertson).
Ball blacking was used to black the outside flaps of pouches and scabbards. Cross belts were whitened with pipeclay. Soldiers also carried clothes brushes and shoe brushes, which were all held in a knapsack. "Square knapsacks are most convenient, for packing up the soldier’s necessaries, and should be made with a division, to hold the shoes, black-ball and brushes, separate from the linen: a certain size must be determined on for the whole, and it will have a pleasing effect upon a march, if care has been taken, to get them of all white goat-skins, with leather slings well whitened, to hang over each shoulder." (Cuthbertson).
The soldier also had a canvas folding knapsack for carrying spare clothing, "...his bread and provisions on a march." (Cuthbertson). These were marked with "...the name of the owner...the number of the Regiment and the Company he belongs to." (Cuthbertson).
A wooden two-quart water canteen was carried, marked with the Regiment number.
All clothes and equipment were marked, with the name of each man stitched onto clothing "...to prevent their being mixt or lost among those of other Corps." (Cuthbertson).
Coats were also marked with the name of the tailor who altered it "...that in case anything afterwards should appear defective, it may at once be known on who to fix the blame."
Aside from attempting to stop the confusion of equipment, this was done to "...prevent as much as possible, the least embezzlement of the necessaries, with which a soldier is provided and to give a greater chance for the discovery of thefts." (Cuthbertson).
The musket’s firelock was also stamped with a hot iron marker, as were the belts and slings, to prevent the habit of soldiers changing accoutrements amongst themselves.
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Uniform
A regimental coat in highland style with regimental buttons was worn over a white linen shirt. The facings were white; the lace: square, single; Officer's Lace: gold. A woollen cloak and greatcoat could also be worn.
Headgear included a highland design bonnet with Regimental plaque fixed in the centre of the cockade. A white powdered wig was used on formal occasions.
The stock was black horsehair with a brass hasp type securing device.
White linen overalls with three large and two small plain white metal buttons in the front and five small plain white metal buttons on each leg at the ankle were worn. White linen breeches were also worn, while mid-length stockings, black garters and giators, with seven small white metal buttons on each, with a leather strap affixed to the bottom to secure to the shoes.
The 74th was not dekilted until 1809. Highland dress consisted of a great kilt, full belted, diced hose, sporran, broadsword, dirk, squiandugh and pistols.
Accessories (sold separately):
- Grey linen haversack
- Musket - Brown Bess Second Land Model
- Cartridge Box
- Scabbard belt
- Bayonet
- Hatchet with plain wooden handle
- Canteen made of tin, in a half moon shape, painted black or grey
- musket sling of black leather
- Musket tool
- Pick and whisk - one brass chain and brush with bristles
- Back pack
- Belly box of black leather and wood
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Uniform
Formed in 1800, the 95th Rifles were
the origin of the modern infantry tactic;
experienced marksmen trained to oper
ate as individuals, expert in skirmish-
mg, scouting and outpost duty. A
highly-disciplined, fast-moving elite,
the 95th's status was indicated by their
unique 'rifle-green' uniform (a rudi
mentary camouflage) and their
accurate Baker' rifled muskets. Their
matchless "esprit de corps "provoked a flood
of reminiscences from the pens of ex
members of'The Sweeps', a regimental
nickname taken from their sombre uni
forms.
- "at that time we wore long hair, formed into a club at the back of our heads."(Hibbert ed. 1997 p22)
Clothed in ‘Rifle Green’, the officers dressed in the Hussar style, with a dolman and pelisse (a coat worn clasped to the shoulder), braided in black, the pelisse with brown fur trim. Officers wore a Hussar-style barrel sash or plain crimson sash.
All equipment was in matching black leather including waist belt with 'S'-clasp, small powder-flask and a white roll on top of the knap sack. The black leather shoulder belt had a silver whistle, with powder horn also slung along the shoulder belt.
The great cloaks were white. First Lieutenant George Simmons wore a white cloak at Waterloo, one he had stripped off a dead French Cuirassier.
By the time Sharpe joined in 1808, the 95th were wearing the second pattern stovepipe shako. The shako was made of blocked felt, with a linen liner, leather sweatband and leather peak. The caps were "...to be made of sufficient size to come completely on the head. To be worn straight and even and brought well forward over the eyes." (Raynor).
The 95th didn’t wear the brassplate on their shakos. Instead they had a bugle and crown with a green cord around the cap. Officers wore a silver bugle horn badge and a white over green plume.
Several versions of the officer’s shako existed, including one with a square-cut peak which could be folded back so that the shako, in silhouette, looked like a ‘mirliton’ cap.
The shako was not an effective hat. It offered little shade to the soldier, and rain would be channelled down the back of the neck.
Regulations in 1802 ordered that "Black silk stocks to be worn by all officers either of Infantry, Rifle or Staff Corps." (Raynor). Jacket collars were to be three inches in height, to cover the clasp of the stock.
Neckstocks were meant to keep the head erect and in place. They also made it difficult to breathe. Some officers made their men wear the stocks with a tight fit, to encourage a ruddy complexion.
"The officer’s jacket was rifle green, with black braid and silver buttons, pocketless and fitted as tight as a glove", John Kincaid wrote (Raynor). Coats were designed for an extremely thin, tall man with a slightly swollen chest. A good fit was hard to find and many men found it hard to move and breathe in their heavy, ill fitting coats. Soldiers were forced to wear them wet lest they shrink.
In addition to ordinary chev
rons, N.C.O.s had a white sword-badge on the arm (if acting in
superior rank; 'chosen men wore a ring of white lace the right arm
and (in 1800) 'marksmen' wore green
cockades and 'ordinary riflemen' white.
Sergeants' sashes were scarlet with
central black stripe, Harris recording
the sergeant-major's full dress:... . "quite
a beau ... a sling belt to his sword like a
field-officer, a tremendous green feather
in his cap, a flaring sash, his whistle
and powder-flask displayed, an officer's
pelisse over one shoulder ..." The
whistle, carried by officers and N.C.O.s,
was used for signalling in the field.
The 95th had an identifying design on their buttons. William Green wrote "...one of our men, an habitual drunkard, could not march, he was so full of red port. So our Colonel had the Bugle-Major cut all the buttons off his jacket, that the French might not know what an honourable regiment he belonged to." (Raynor).
Overalls were green, though privately-acquired overalls were also worn. Sharpe stole his, with tan leather reinforcing, from a French Chasseur.
Hughes quotes the Times: "The brevity of their jackets, the irrationality of the headgear, the incredible tightness of their...pants, altogether defying description; they must be seen to be appreciated." Myerly adds adds "And as for wearing them, well, there’s the rub."
Riflemen were to ‘...wear black woollen cloth short gaitors, with small white metal buttons and to come up sufficiently high above the ankles to prevent any opening from appearing between them and the pantaloons." (Raynor). Riflemen normally wore green cloth pantaloons.
Shoes were straight lasted. Sharpe once again turned to French outfitters for his boots, which was just as well, because the English made notoriously bad boots.
Living rough, however, took a toll on the splendid uniforms as seen from the letters of Lieut.
George Simmons, who described his
costume in 1810-1 I, typically tattered:
"My jacket is brown instead of green.
Never was seen such a motley group of
fellows - . . I am a perfect guerrilla,
having broken my sword, lost my sash,
and am as ragged as a sweep ..."
Simmons having exchanged sashes with his
brother, in the 34th; the bottom of his
overalls were burnt whilst drying over
a camp-fire! Without wearing captured
French items, Simmons noted, 'I should
be nearly naked'. In addition to a
knapsack taken from a man he killed
at Talavera, he took a cloak of a
dead Frenchman in 1813 and still in
dulged in corpse-robbing at Waterloo.
Numerous reminiscences record the deterioration of uniforms, for example Kincaid: "the jacket in 'shreds and patches ... woe befell the regimental small-clothes ..." (1810); Rifleman Costello: ..."fierce embrowned visages, covered with whisker and mustachio... our clothing patched and of all colours" (1811), "green having be come by far the least conspicuous colour in the regiment" (1812); Rifleman Harris, after the Corunna retreat: "in a ghastly state ... feet swathed bloody rags, clothing that hardly covered their nakedness, accoutrements in shreds ... arms nearly useless .. . officers ... in as miserable a plight . . ."; at this time Rifleman Green wore a stolen general's hat!
After the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo the dress was so motley that even Wellington had to enquire who they were: ... . "scarcely a vestige of uniform among the men, some of whom were dressed in Frenchmen's coats , some in white breeches and huge jack-boots, some with cocked hats ... most of their swords . .. stuck full of hams, tongues, and loaves of bread ... there never was a better masked corps . . ." (Kincaid); "in all varieties imaginable, some with jackboots on, others with frock- coats, epaulettes ..." (Costello); "some in priests' or friars' garments some appeared in female dresses, as nuns, etc. ...whimsical and fantastical figures" (Surtees)
The most bizarre costume was that
worn from choice rather than necessity,
be it Kincaid's "donkey-load of pistols
in my' belt, to impress the natives", the
exaggerated hussar uniform, or the
dressing-gown, nightcap and slippers
worn by Col. Beckwith in the action of
Barba del Puerco in March 1810.
The 95th excelled at such 'outpost duty' which revealed French manoeuvres, concealed Allied activity and required a clear head, bold heart and a clean pair of heels" (Kincaid). The 95th's contribution to the French defeat in the Peninsular - and ultimately in the remainder of Europe - is incaluculable.
Accessories (sold separately):
All accessories were in fashionably matching black leather, with silver or white metal buttons, whistles, clasps, etc.
Each rifleman had a black leather pouch belt two and a half inches in breadth, fastened to the pouch by straps and buckles. A powder horn, hung by a green cord near the pouch, was carried over the belt.
The ammunition pouch was a wooden box that held 12 rounds and a tin that held a further 24 rounds. These were later replaced with a pouch that held 50 cartridges. The pouch flap was fastened by a leather button. A ball bag was also carried, which held 30 loose rifle balls.
- "To my great joy we paraded in the grand square on the seventh day after our arrival and marched, in sections, to the music of our bugles, to join the army, having got our camp equipment, consisting of a camp hettle and bill-hook to every six men, a blanket, a canteen and a haversack to each man. Orders had been given that each soldier, on his march, should carry alongst with him three days' provision. Our mess of six cast lots who should be cook for the first day, as we were to carry the kettle the day about. The lot fell to me. My knapsack contained two shirts, two pairs of stockings, one pair of overalls, two shoe-brushes, a shaving box, one pair of spare shoes, and a few other articles; my greatcoat and blanket above the knapsack; my canteen with water was slung over my shoulder on one side, my haversack with beef and bread on the other; sixty round of ball cartridge, and the camp-kettle above all."(Hibbert ed. 1997 pp49-50)
The 95th carried sword bayonets, with a 23 inch long blade and brass handle. This bayonet was a hindrance when moving fast, kneeling or laying down to fire. "For it seldom happens, that the former can be of any real utility, and yet is a serous annoyance while running, as it by sometimes twisting and catching between the legs, trips up the person wearing it." (Raynor). It also weighed down the rifle barrel when fixed, spoiling their aim. It did have its uses in toasting bread and cutting firewood. The bayonet was carried in a sword belt of black leather, worn around the waist and over the jacket.
The 95th Rifles were most famous for carrying the Baker Rifle. The barrel was rifled, making for more accurate fire, but slower loading. The rifles had brass furnishings, including the pistol grip trigger, patch box and lock plate. The rifle had to be polished to a mirror-like finish, inspite of excessive polishing weakening the barrels.
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Uniform
The South Essex wore red wool short tailed jackets with yellow facings and white lace, black shakos (cylindrical felt caps) and white breeches with black wool gaitors. The wings on the jacket’s shoulders were made from red cloth with white tufts.
They carried an envelope knapsack, made of a waterproofed canvas valise on leather buff slings, blocked into shape by wooden boards. The knapsacks looked very smart on parade, but the wooden boards were often used as firewood, giving the packs a soft appearance. The straps on the back made it difficult to breath and caused welts on the shoulders. The equipment they carried weighed 70 pounds, including a haversack, canteen, cartridge box and brass breastplate. The uniform and equipment contributed to the extremely high rate of pulmonary disease amongst soldiers.
- "I could not strike a fellow soldier who notwithstanding a musket of thirteen lbs [pounds] weight, a knapsack with his whole wardrobe on his back (as well as his belly ammunition and sixty rounds of ball cartridges) will cheerfully carry your sword for you. And I've seen a lazy officer or two not blush in asking him. It is really astonishing how the human form can support all that weight. The pressure of the straps on the collar bones and chest I should think enough to weary the poor fellows even in a stationary duty, let alone in forty miles of marching."(Hibbert ed. 1964 p33)
Sharpe, of course, continued to wear his 95th Rifles uniform, torn sleeves and missing braid and buttons notwithstanding.
Sharpe did, however, buy a brand new uniform, of the 95th style, for his presentation to the Prince Regent:
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"He had taken the wreath badge from his old jacket and insisted that the tailor sew it onto his brand new uniform. It felt odd to be dressed so finely, his waist circled by a tasselled red sash and his shoulder-wings bright with the stars of his rank. Sharpe reckoned the evening had cost him fifty guineas already, most of it to the tailor who had despaired of making the new uniform in time. Sharpe had growled that he would go to the Royal Court in his old uniform and give the tailor’s name as the man responsible, and, as he had expected, the work had been done.
His uniform might be new, but Sharpe still wore his comfortable old boots. Sharpe had obstinately refused to spend money on the black leather shoes proper to his uniform, and the Royal Equerry who greeted Sharpe in the Entrance Hall of Carlton House had frowned at the knee-high boots. Polish them as he might, Sharpe could not rid them of the scuff marks, or disguise the stitches that closed the rent slashed in the left boot by an enemy’s knife. The Equerry, whose own buckled shoes shone like a mirror, wondered whether Major Sharpe would like to borrow proper footwear.
"What’s wrong with the boots?" Sharpe had asked.
"They’re not regulation issue, Major."
"They’re regulation issue to colonels of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. I killed one of those bastards to get these boots, and I’m damned if I’m taking them off for you."
The Equerry had sighed. "Very good, Major. If you so wish."
By Sharpe’s side, in its battered scabbard, hung his cheap Heavy Cavalry sword." (Cornwell pp 47-48)
Aside from Sharpe, Light Company officers were armed with a sword described by John Kincaid as "Our regulation half-moon sabre...better calculated to shave a lady’s maid than a Frenchman’s head." (Haythornthwaite). Kincaid’s own sword rusted in its scabbard due to heavy rain at Waterloo, thus rendering it useless.
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Sharpe joined the Prince of Orange’s staff as a Lieutenant Colonel for the battle of Waterloo.
Sharpe, in spite of the Prince’s constant requests, kept wearing his rifleman’s uniform.
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"And I insist you wear Dutch uniform. Why aren’t you in Dutch uniform now?"
"I shall change, Sir." Sharpe, despite the Princes insistence, had yet to buy himself a Dutch uniform...
"I want you in evening dress uniform. That means gold lace, two epaulettes with gold bullion on each and blue cushions. And a dress sword, Sharpe, instead of that butcher’s blade." (Cornwell 1993 p60).
Had Sharpe bought a uniform to please the Prince, he would have been wearing a blue jacket, white breeches and a hat with an edging of white feathers and a white plume.
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