Officer and Sergeant, Battalion Company 1792

The officer, on the left of this print, has a plainer coat than the previous parade coat as worn by the Duke of Gloucester. This coat has a standing collar which is blue and edged in gold lace like the lapels and cuffs. Junior officers had a gold epaulette on the right shoulder while field officers had two. He has a crimson silk officer's sash round his waist, worn over a light buff waistcoat and breeches. The hat has no gold lace round the edge as it had been prior to 1790. The men were to have white feathers but the officers were ordered to wear no feather, although the officer in this print appears to have a short black feather. His swordbelt is worn over the coat on the right shoulder with a beltplate. See Officer's Beltplate c1795.
The coat worn by the sergeant, on the right, still has the bastion loops in gold lace down the lapels and round the cuff, the men had white worsted lace. His rank is also denoted by a black tip to his hat plume. There appears to be a gold rim to his hat but 1790 regulations specify not hat lace for all ranks. Private soldiers had a belt over each shoulder, one for the sword and bayonet, the other for the ammunition pouch. This sergeant looks officer-like because he has only the sword belt. His rank sash, worn in the same style as the officer is of coarser material. Before 1792, sergeants of battalion companies carried a halberd like the one here, but after that date a spontoon was carried, like a spear but with a small cross-bar.

Uniforms | Regimental Details