7th Hussars

Drumhorse and Musicians 1853

Ebsworth made coloured sketches of the uniforms of the 7th Hussars in 1853, 1857 and 1876. This one, of 1853 shows the uniform before the change to the tunic in 1855. They wear the tall brown fur busby with a red plume instead of white, and braided jackets and pelisses. The braid is yellow and red, including the cap-lines. The man on the left of the picture is Bandmaster James P Clarke. His uniform has gold braid and he has a gold lace pouch-belt, but his rank is WO1. The back of his sabretache is red so it is likely that he has the same embroidered type as that worn by officers while the others have plain black sabretaches.
The drumhorse has banners which may not be drawn accurately. The design is different from that of the banners in the 1857 sketch. The grey horse has a shabraque (rear part only) which may well be of officer quality. At that time all ranks had shabraques but the men had poorer quality worsted material instead of gold lace and braid. The other mounted musician has such a shabraque, with a rounded front as well as pointed rears. All they men in this picture are wearing swords although it is not known if the drummer has one. The only comment Ebsworth made on this sketch was to say that the 7th's busbies seemed more stiff than usual and that the plumes are tightly bunched, not fanned out like the 8th Hussars.

Regimental details | Band