Officer's Shako 1815

The style of shako worn at Waterloo was short lived. It had a false front, eight and half inches high, attached to the top of the cap which was six and a half inches high. The body of the cap was made of beaver, a fine woollen fabric made in England, to resemble beaver fur. The other ranks version was made of stout black felt with the edge of the front bound in ribbed braid. The plaited cord across the front was of gold and crimson for officers. There was a black silk cockade, with a silver button in the middle, on the left side below the white over red plume. On the other end, hanging from the right side were two tassels in the same gold and crimson. Other ranks had a white plaited cord while the light company had a green cord. The badge is the gilt brass universal shako plate which hade a simple royal cypher. A contemporary illustration of the cap shows a number 14 instead of the cypher. The Fosten schematic illustration shows the cypher and number together.