Private, Dismounted Review Order 1831

In contrast to the naïve painting of the mounted private of 1831, the French artist A J Dubois Drahonet recorded the uniforms of the British army of the early 1830s with wonderful studies of individual soldiers using a strong light coming from the left, to give a three dimensional feel to the subject. This back view shows the red pelisse with its rows of vertical buttons and horizontal cording, although the artist has made the mistake of putting buttons on both front edges of the pelisse. The yellow lace and braid on the back and shoulder can be seen clearly here. The black Astrakan fur edging intrudes into the lower back of the pelisse and on the cuffs, however, the artist has failed to show this on the lower of the two sleeves.
The soldier who posed for this was J Harmer whose name appears in the top right corner. He and two other men from the 10th Hussars were sent to St John’s Wood for a training course from 18 May 1831 to 19 April 1832. He posed for the artist in the summer of 1831 and is seen holding his carbine in the ‘Recover’ position. The trousers are described as white duck and were worn for dismounted Review Order occasions between 15 April and 31 October, from 1827 to 1843. He has the old 1796 pattern sword, soon to be replaced by the three-bar hilted light cavalry sword. In November 1834 there was a delivery of 215 new swords for the 10th Hussars. The black leather sabretache was worn by privates in the light cavalry until the early 1870s. The black shako looks as if it is too small for his head in this painting, but clearly shows the back view with the black patent leather band around the base, replacing the fixed turned-up rear peak that was a feature of the taller shako of the 1820s.

Regimental Details | Uniforms