"British Fusilier headdress 1800 - 1815" Topic

Did British Fusiliers take their special caps on campaign or where they left in England? In other words: did they at least have the possibility to wear them when battling the French and their allies outside the British Isles between 1800 and 1815?

Thanks to all British Army Specialists for any hints
Michael

Believe they left them at home…could be wrong though so await further posters to correct me!

chin chin

Pete

Yup, they left them at home but I still have a unit of the 7th Fusiliers-25mm Minifig. They are too well painted to retire.

I have seen some sources suggest that one of the regiments (I think it was the Royal Welch, off the top of my head) deployed with the bearskin caps in the first year of the Peninsular War. They used shakos thereafter as did the two battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in the Peninsula and the single battalion of the Royal North British in the Chesapeake and Gulf Coast theaters. (This also applies to the single battalion of the Royal Fusiliers that deployed later to the Gulf Coast.)

In all cases these can be regarded as "special caps" because the shakos of the center companies would have had the white plume associated with their elite status.

Rick

While on this subject, did these three Fusiliers regiments have 10-company battalions, with one a light company? Was there such a thing as a grenadier company? I understand all wore the white hackle, and wing epaulettes. I assume a light company would have had a green hackle.

I seem to recall that the light company always wore the stovepipe shako, even in England (later the Belgic shako?).

Any opinions?

GdeP

GdeP,

There was a thread on this last year, but I can't find the reference – I think the theme was more along the lines of whether or not they were elite.

To answer your questions, IIRC there were 10 companies including a light company with a green plume on the shako – the rest had white plumes and the shoulder "wings".

Light regiments kept the stovepipe shako, but light companies in other regiments that adopted the barretina (or Belgic) shako did so also.

Rick

So the lights Regt in 1815 were still in Stovepipe Shako's ?

I "believe" that the light regiments plus the 28th were still in stovepipes in 1815.

Pete