Fusilier 1742

The first pictorial evidence of other ranks' uniform is to be found in the Cloathing Book of 1742 from which this illustration comes. The mitre cap was worn by the elite grenadier companies of the other infantry regiments but in the Royal Fusiliers it was worn by all the companies. By this time the regiment was no longer used as escort to the artillery, they performed the same function as the other regiments. Thus they wore the mitre cap as a sign of their elite status. The badge on the cap is not the flaming grenade or the rose and garter, but a star with a red cross in the middle. The lace round the lapel edges and button loops are patterned with a red worm. By this time there were two other Fusilier regiments in the British Army, the Scots and the Welsh, having been designated as such in 1688 and 1714 respectively.