Mounted Officer 1846

Henry Martens painted this in 1847, showing the dress uniform of a mounted British officer of the 11th Bengal Light Cavalry. In 1842 the two squadrons of the 2nd BLC serving in Afghanistan failed to obey their officers in a battle against Dost Mahomed at Purwan Durrah on 2 Nov. As a result the regiment was disbanded and reconstituted as the 11th BLC. A whole squadron of the 2nd regiment survived the disbandment and became part of the new 11th. In 1850 the regiment was re-titled 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry.
The striking thing about this painting is the busby worn by the officers and the Indian other ranks. The 11th BLC were the first of the Bengal regiments to adopt the busby, as indicated by the order of November 1847:
‘..in future, when caps are required for regiments of light cavalry, they shall be made up in accordance with the pattern in use with the 11th Regiment, including the European officers. Cap - busby of regimental form, nine inches deep and the same size top and bottom; scarlet fly and plaited top (sunk an inch and a half within the edge of the fur), silver chain fastening to lions’ heads at the sides; silver lines with olives. Plume - white egret with scarlet bottom, ten inches high, silver socket and ring. The cap lines and ornaments on the headdress of cavalry are to be white in assimilation with the lace on the uniform.’
The painting may not have been taken from life, as there are discrepancies between the regulations and the image. Martens has painted gold cap lines and fittings to the cap where they should have been silver. The rest of the uniform conforms to the dress uniform worn by the other BLC regiments, although the Indian troopers have white pouch-belts instead of black shown in the 1845 Ackermann print of a mounted officer of the 7th BLC. The dark blue trousers have a double silver lace stripe with an orange light between, matching the facings on the jacket. The shabraque and sabretache have XI BLC and a scroll which is indecipherable. The sword and sabretache slings are silver with a central orange stripe.

Regimental Details | Uniforms