"42nd Highlanders" Topic

When the Blackwatch ditched their kilts and went to pants did they wear white or buff pants/overalls (or both!!)? I've seen pictures of them painted in both colors.

I use Folk Art Linen. It's an off-white shade that looks like white that's been worn for a bit.

Eric

Whatever cloth the quartermaster could get.

White would be preferred, but I would not call tan "buff". "Buff" implies that that was the desired color, as in the color of some regiments' facings.
This is my opinion only, but I would think that the Colonel would desire that the trousers or overalls be as uniform in color as possible, at least within companies. So, if I wanted to vary the colors, I would paint one stand with white, another with "unbleajched linen", and then grey or brown, etc.

As the campaigning season wore on, you would see more variation, but probably more in the line of patches, etc.
Thus, in Howe's New York campaign of 1776, initially the Black Watch's overalls would be rather uniform. IF you are campaigning in the winter of 1776-1777, then variations would be appropriate.
Again in the 1777 Philadelphia campaigns, initially being in winter quarters, you can decide if this meant new uniforms, or patch and mend with half getting new material.

epturner has the right idea I imagine.

There is a referance to an Orderly book ordering the men to turn the unservicable tents into pants. Also Don Troiani painted the Grenadier in brown, and a 71st Highlander in tarten trews. All good answeres I suspect.

link

edit: John the OMF is always good to listen to on these topics as well.

I'd go with white and then add knee patches to half the unit and maybe one or two figures with brown or homespun cloth, representing someone who had to replace his uniform with local cloth.

Knee patches = small black square painted over the knee, then overlay a square of brown, dark grey, tan etc to represent the actual patch. The black undercoat makes the colored patch stand out better.

Good comments by OFM, but I'm pretty sure that the 42nd – and the 71st – still had kilts in the 1776 campaign, although a German officer noted that the British line infantry generally were in "trousers" ie fitted overalls that incorporated a gaitered ankle, rather than the open leg end of modern trousers ("pants" to you Colonials). I think the 42nd adopted overalls in 1777, probably for the Philly campaign, and the 71st a bit later (the latter possibly using their old kilts, each of which produced two pairs of tartan trews). Other Highland regiments adopted overalls after a year or so "in country" except possibly the 76th, who kept theirs at Yorktown (though they had a mounted infantry "wing" who must have worn overalls).

British overalls came from two main sources: imported linen (refered to either as "osnaburg" and "russia drill" depending on source), and canvas provided from old sailcloth or tents. Both would have been a sort of off-white colour, with linen tending towards a very light tan or buff shade, and canvas towards grey.

For winter, troops were provided with black, brown or blue overalls of wool; sometimes these were in the form of leggings, which looked like the long gaiters worn by the Germans. Occasionally, troops in the field would produce replacement overalls using captured or requisitioned material – this was where the brown overalls worn by the Guards in the South, and the much-less-common-than-wargamers-think "striped pyjama" style worn by all sides in various theatres, come from (eg Riedesel used striped material to clothe the small unit of Brunswick Dragoons, whilst his infantry had canvas ones made from tents and sailcloth; also, some of the Hessian jaeger in the South were supplied striped material for new overalls by Cornwallis from stores captured at Charleston).

This site says the kilts, broadswords and pistols were turned in in August 1776 link

<<This site says the kilts, broadswords and pistols were turned in in August 1776 link >>

I don't think it does, actually. What it says is:-

"About this time the broadswords and pistols which the men received in Glasgow were ordered to be laid aside."

No mention of kilts anywhere in the article, I'm afraid.

In his journal, Peebles doesn't mention any form of legwear until 30 January 1778, when he comments that "white breeches" and "blue gaters" (woollen leggings worn over the breeches) were being made up, but had not yet been issued. He then refers to the philabegs being cut down into simple kilts, suggesting that the 42nd wore theirs until at least the end of the Philadelphia campaign.

After he becomes captain of the grenadier company, Peebles also refers to his men receiving brown overalls in 1779 (which is where the Troiani painting and most wargamers' knowledge appears to kick in); the light company apparently wore leggings during the siege of Charleston, in 1780.

As the della Gatta painting of Paoli unfortunately doesn't show them (which would clinch the matter, one way or t'other), I would revise my earlier opinion and suggest that Monmouth Courthouse was most likely the first occasion when 42nd – or the battalion companies at least – wore anything other than kilts in battle. That said, it is always possible that the flank companies MAY have adopted them before then in order to "fit in" with the other companies of the grenadier and light battalions.

"(though they had a mounted infantry "wing" who must have worn overalls)."

Noooo! I really think Alan Perry should be persuaded to make a pack of mounted jocks in kilts.

Ouch!

Thak you, SM.
I no longer feel guilty about having my 71st in kilts.
Not that I ever did…

They are one of my oldest Hinchliffe Terrible Old Men.

I've wondered if the Highlanders had the kilts in '76; an American account from White Plains described the Highlanders stacking arms before scrambling up Chatterton Hill -except it was actually the 28th. If the Highlanders were still in kilts, could the 28th be mistaken for them? I have no other info on this, so take it for what is (or might be). As a rule, I follow OFM.

"In his journal, Peebles doesn't mention any form of legwear until 30 January 1778,"

Yes he does:

(1776) "Tuesday 26th. Novr employed in compleating our stores &
laying in some warm cloathing for the men in winter.

Saturday 21st Decr. The Taylor gone to work to make up warm clothing for the Company. flannel under vests delivered
out to the men…

Sunday 29th Decr (1776). The Battalion went to Church to
inform out compy. dress'd in britches for the first time,
what would Ld E: say if saw us…

Wednesday 5th Febry. --The Taylors complain of the cold
& decline working

Tuesday 25th. March (1777) -- sent a man to N. York for stuff to make 2 pair trousers for each man of the Compy & to get some other articles--"

So at least one company of the 42nd was in breeches/trousers well before the 1777 campaign season opened.

<<dress'd in britches for the first time, what would Ld E: say if saw us…>>

Good find – missed that; suggests, though, that the wearing of such items was not accepted practice in the regiment.

<<sent a man to N. York for stuff to make 2 pair trousers for each man of the Compy>>

Unfotunately, he doesn't say if the man actually got it or not. It seems unlikely that Peebles would have failed to mention the trousers being made up and issued if the man had indeed returned with "the stuff". Equally, this could be the material used to make the 1778 items.

It was quite common for troops to have different legwear for the winter in garrison from what they wore in the field.

He does say later on that the man sent to NY screwed up the job and had to make a second trip but I don't have the exact quote to hand.

It's pretty likely that in March he is talking about canvas trousers or overalls being made up for the campaign season, but the "britches" of December would certainly been made of wool, and worn with long blue wool gaiters which was pretty much standard cold weather dress for the army in America.

I found an intriguing reference on one of the reenactor boards:

"The 71st appears to have been short on donation cloth in the winter of 1779/80,and tore up their kilts or plaids to make warm winter clothing for those cold weather months. In the winter of 1780/81,they were in brown wool trousers (the men charged 11 shillings a pair)."

The author goes on to say

"I strongly suspect that the 42nd was wearing wool breeches or trousers (britches might not necessarily mean breeches) like the 71st during that cold winter of 1776/7. And certainly they were campaigning in canvas trousers during the warmer months of 1777. The 42nd cut up their plaids to make kilts for the winter of 1777/8 (probably because they received no donation cloth), and then went into breeches with blue leggings for the 1778 campaign season."

I think we're both reading the same thread on Yahoo! Revlist aren't we!!!

The guy I would defer to on all matters 42nd is Paul Pace who does a light company officer impression, but has reams of documentary evidence and is always wary of citing Peebles for anything to do with the majority of the regiment as he was in the grenadier company for all but one year of the war.

His comment was that the entire army went into breeches and wool leggings for the winter months, but usually put these items back into storage at the start of the campaign season. He also comments that the 42nd got an issue of tartan material every two years (I do recall that one mid-/late-war issue was sent to another unit – possibly the 84th?). Paul's view is that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the main part of the 42nd wore kilts in 1777, and possibly also 1778.

Standing orders for the 71st from their CO in 1778 stated that kilts were to be worn only in garrison, and overalls for guard duty and for service in the field. Not evidence what the 42nd did, but interesting nevertheless.

Yes, I pulled that last quote from the rev list, and other stuff from the progressive list. The Peebles quote came from "red coat, green machine" which assumes he is talking about the 4th Grenadier battalion, however in December, is the composite battalion still together or are the various companies back with their parent units until campaign season?

An issue of tartan material every two years – for making kilts?

"14th January 1773. Treasury out letters. Ireland. Supplies to the 42nd Foot (WO 3/5).
[For Privates:] 720 yards of plaid, making 960 pairs of hose; 240 bonnets; 400 diced bonnets.
[For Serjeants:] 42 yards plaid, making 56 pairs of hose; 14 bonnets; 22 diced bonnets
75 3/4 [yards] white Privates' waistcoat cloth; 9 Corporals' epaulettes, 2 boxes of musical instruments."
If this plaid is the regular two yearly issue, then it's not enough to make kilts for a battalion.

The annoying thing is, this information should be out there in an Orderly Book but if it's been published on line, I've been unable to find it. Maybe someone on TMP has access to the Scottish National Archives…

So, What color coats do the piper and drummer wear?

42nd Highlanders are a Royal Regiment, The Royal Highland Regiment, with blue facings.
Thus, the coat of the drummers would be red faced blue, with lace "as the Colonel shall see fit." Probably none.
Pipers were sort of "unofficial", not "on the establishment", so would wear a common soldiers uniform.

>If the Highlanders were still in kilts, could the 28th be >mistaken for them?

No. The 28th was a line regiment w/yellow facings and not even remotely highlander-ish.

I have always felt that the light companies would probably have been in trousers before the rest of the companies. The troops were usually issued slop trousers for working dress and shipboard use to keep their full dress clean.
I feel that the brown in Troiani's painting of the 42nd. is too brown and would be more of an unbleached colour.
Also important is that there is enough cloth in a philabeg to make several pairs of trousers/breeches/overalls. Surplus kilts could have been used to make tailored legwear.

I know there is a famous painting of a 42nd Light Officer in breeches and spats.

Isn't the brown material supposed to be wool?