"Peninsula War British Drummers." Topic

I've seen minis painted in red coats and yellow coats, so generally what colour was the Drummers coat?

Thanks

tfc

The drummer generally wore "reversed colors." So his coat would be the same color as the unit's cuffs and collars. The drummers collars and cuffs would then be red.

With a number of exceptions.

"Royal" regiments (blue facings)did not reverse colours.

The 50th ("The dirty half-hundred") with black facings had drummers in white coats with red collars and cuffs. Some regiments with red facings may have used this scheme too.

Other TMP-ers may come up with more!

Oh no!!,just finished the 50th and gave him a black coat!Still ne'er mind I haven't varnished or based yet.

Sorry! So sorry!

But the white coat is clearly shown – the drummer merits a picture of his own – in Windrow and Embleton's Military Dress of the Peninsular War – and the text makes it explicit that white and black faced regiments had white drummer's coats.

The turnbacks were also red, correct?

"reversed colors."
"Royal" regiments (blue facings) did not reverse colours."
"The 50th ("The dirty half-hundred") with black facings had drummers in white coats with red collars and cuffs. Some regiments with red facings may have used this scheme too."
Hmmmm, Thanks for the input guys.
I'm starting to think that there may be more to this Napoleonic malarkey the meets the eye.
Once again Cheers
tfc

Fear not. The commonest regimental facing colours were shades of buff, yellow and green. No problems there.

Windrow states that the coatee turnbacks of drummers from regiments with white, black, red and buff regiments were red. I GUESS that means that everyone else's were white, but stand to be corrected.

[I note that the illustration of a drummer from a buff-coated regiment in Osprey Wellington's Infantry (1) has a buff coat with red facings, but has been drawn to make it impossible to see the turnbacks.]

"I'm starting to think that there may be more to this Napoleonic malarkey the meets the eye." – There always is! That's what makes this period a) very interesting and b) highly annoying.

Royal regimental drummers did have red jackets and dark blue facings, as has been stated above, while those four or five with red facings did dress their drummers in white with the same red facings.

I have never seen a picture of these latter, though, and wonder if the drummers had the same chevrons and, if so, what colour they were.

I have avoided painting the 33rd, 53rd et al. as red facings with a red uniform wouldn't look that great in my opinion anyway.

Not to mention that a lot of this goes out the window if you decide to paint them in campaign dress. I vaguely remember reading somehwere that most drummers in the middle of a campaign would have been given a red coat to help them blend in anyway, basically because anyone in a yellow coat amongst a sea of red does tend to stand out.

I am glad I checked this thread. I needed exactly this same information as a confirmation – I had thought that they should be reversed, just like cavalry trumpeters, but wasn't sure.

Thanks gents, and a second thanks for the lack of condescending pedantry for which the Napoleonics boards are so (in)famous!

"Thanks gents, and a second thanks for the lack of condescending pedantry for which the Napoleonics boards are so (in)famous!'

Hear, Hear!

If I'm asking a painting question it is because I can't find the answer myself. Some smug response telling me to go look it up in a book really isn't much help because I've already done that as well as web searching and can't find the answer.

Bother! My pendantry and condescension circuits are on the blink again.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Just don't reverse bagpiper colours!

Hmm. Did the highland regiments even have drummers?

Colonial bagpipers wore dark green jackets. Do Napoleonic pipers do that as well?

Yes, Highland regiments had drummers; normal reverse colour rules apply, ie yellow coatees for the 92nd Gordons, green for the 79th Camerons, and red with blue facings for the 42nd Royal Highland (the Black Watch)

Highland pipers wore red coatees and did not have the extra sleeve lace that drummers wore.