Officer, Dress 1830

The red pelisse identifies this painting as post-1830. King William IV succeeded his brother George IV on 26 June 1830 and very soon decreed that the army should be dressed in red. The hussar regiments compromised by adopting red pelisses but keeping their blue jackets. It is unusual to see a red pelisse worn with red trousers and this may be because the picture represents the transition from the 1820s to the 1830s. The Dress Regulations of 1827 draw a distinction between Full Dress and Dress in that the hussar regiments wore red breeches and knee boots for Full Dress (levée dress), and red cossacks and ankle boots for Dress. The 1834 Dress Regulations dispense with this distinction and describe only Dress and Undress. The red breeches and red cossacks were discontinued and replaced by dark blue trousers with a single stripe of gold lace 1.5ins wide.
He is holding his bell-topped shako which agrees with the DR of 1822 and 1834 although the height was different; 8.5 ins in 1822 and 6 ins in 1834, slightly wider across the top in the latter date. The sabretache and shabraque are not painted accurately but the bridle and leatherwork show the distinctive cowrie shell patterns. The painting is by William Heath.

Regimental Details | Uniforms