Officer 1801

This print from the British Military Library series is not named as the 42nd but is generally accepted as such. It is the right half of a print published in 1801. The left half shows a Highland Regiment officer and is inscribed, 'An Officer faced to the Left in the act of fronting'. That half is used to illustrate the 76th Macdonald Highlanders or the 92nd, according to how the facings are coloured. The image seen here is taken from a small reproduction in a 2001 Parker Gallery catalogue which incorrectly states that it was published for the Gentleman's Magazine of Fashion. The facings are dark blue, with gold lace button loops. This conforms with the uniform of the 42nd and is a more likely interpretation of the closed jacket of the period than the print of the Battle of Alexandria. However, this is the only contemporary image that shows the officers' crimson sash around the waist instead of on the left shoulder. The gold epaulettes appear on both shoulders which seems to confirm the statement that junior Highland officers had two epaulettes while English junior officers only had one. The puzzling thing about this print is that at this time the 42nd had the red hackle. The grenadier company officers had a white tip to the hackle and light company officers had a green tip. This hackle is the usual white over red worn by other regiments, and his epaulettes show him to be in a battalion company, so the hackle should be all red.

Regimental Details | Uniforms