7th Hussars

All Ranks 1857

This painted sketch by Ebsworth was made at Canterbury before the 7th were shipped off to India. The uniform had recently undergone a radical change, from the closely braided dolman and pelisse to the less braided tunic. Only three of the left hand figures are bandsmen. The central figure is an officer in review order and the others, interesting as they are, do not concern us in this section. The bandsmen and drummer all have red plumes on their busbies whereas the other men have white over red plumes. The busbies are of black fur, except for the mounted officer who has brown fur. The busbies were not taken to India.
The drum banner is more carefully drawn than in the 1853 sketch but must be different from the ones in the 1870 photo because the central garter is in red with a red ground in the middle. The braid on the drummer's tunic is the same yellow and red type seen on the previous uniform, although his cap-lines are plain yellow. The musician standing in front of the grey drumhorse, with four chevrons on his right sleeve is the Trumpet-Major. He has gold braid on his tunic but is otherwise dressed like the other ranks. The trumpeter next to him is in drill order with a stable jacket and pill-box cap. His braid is plain yellow and his trumpet cords are red and yellow. He has yellow braid figuring on the top of his cap whereas the corporal (not a bandsman) next to him does not. They all have a single stripe down the trousers, not double at this stage.

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