Officer 1856 - 61

A watercolour by O. Norie shows the last form of light dragoon uniform before the transformation to hussars. After the Crimean War there had to be a drastic rethink on uniforms. The old waist length jacket was discarded in favour of the tunic. This is almost the same as the later hussar tunic except that there were only five rows of gold cord across the chest with 'caps and drops' instead of six. Also the cuffs were in the facing colour along with the collar whereas only the collar was buff on the hussar tunic. Badges of rank were put on the collar where before they were on the officer's epaulettes.
The trousers are comfortable and baggy with leathered bottoms and double white stripe. The sabretache was discontinued at this time. The most distinctive feature of the period was the French style shako, of which photos are shown in this section.

13th Light Dragoons: Uniforms | Regimental details