"War of 1812 - British Uniforms" Topic

I realise this may be a dumb question – but was the British Army uniform in North America different to that worn in Spain?

I only ask because a number of makers seem to have different ranges (or at least different product codes) for 1812 British Line Infantry. The War of 1812 is something I know little about – did British units there make local alterations to their uniforms (in the same way their forebears did in the AWI)?

If not, I'm presuming that British Line coded for the War of 1812 would be equally usable for the Peninsula?

The short and simple answer is that Brtish Line infantry uniforms were the largely the same in Europe, Spain and North America. The difference in product code referring to 1812 means the 1812 belgic shako (replacing the stovepie shako) and short uniform jacket, which was introduced in 1812 but not worn in the field until 1813 or later. For the War of 1812 all units in 1812 wore the older stove pipe shako.
Beginning roughly the summer of 1813 some British line units started recieving the new uniform. Those units ariving in Canada in mid to late 1813 were equipped with the new uniforms.
By the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's lane in the summer of 1814 most line units were equipped with the new uniforms, particulary if they arrived from the U.K. So, for wargaming purposes the old stove pipe shako for 1812 and 1813 and the Belgic shako for 1814. However, there were exceptions and if one wishes to be accurate one should check the history of the regiment concerned.

I was looking at the new Blue Moon War of 1812 British codes and they have British Line Infantry in stovepipe shako. I was thinking they might be a way to get some more variants if I were to buy them as well as some 1809 British from the Napoleonic range. I guess I'll need to check their coat-tails…

Thanks for the quick response both of you.

You're welcome, although I've deleted mine as his was more coherent…. ;-)

There were some Canadian units, fencibles and militia, who had unusual uniforms. But like the other fellas wrote, British regulars wore standard uniforms.

Also, the West Indian regiments show up in the southern theater, with some unusual uniform details. And Red Stick Creek Indians. You can get fairly exotic if you wanna.

Depending on what shako school to which you belong, it could also be argued that stovepipes were worn by many infantry regiments even to the late war. That is, those stationed in North America to which supplies would have been delivered slowly. Certainly those that arrived direct from Europe in 1814 would have been in Belgics, and looked snappy raiding the Atlantic coast.

About the only difference I can think of is that would show up on a miniature are the uniformed Canadian militias who sometimes wore British uniforms with "round hats", kinda like a top hat,for lack of shakoes. Round hats were also popular amongst British regular officers in North America as an alternative to the shako or bicorne.

A very good War of 1812, uniform site with a lot of color plates. It is in French.
link
Towards the bottom of each page you can advance to more pages.

I was actually wondering whether the British Line figures marketed as being for the War of 1812 could be used to provide additional poses for use in the Peninsula – I've seen some marked as having the stovepipe shako. I guess I'd need to get "eyes on" to determine whether they also have long coat-tails.

The War of 1812 hasn't ever really appealed – although I guess with small battles, colourful and varied uniforms and troop quality it really should.

"I was actually wondering whether the British Line figures marketed as being for the War of 1812 could be used to provide additional poses for use in the Peninsula"

The Brits in the Blue Moon War of 1812 range are the same figs as in the Napoleonic Range, with the codes simply renumbered.

Actually, there were some modifications to the dress of British regulars for service in Canada, made necessary by the severity of the winters, but this only applied to what could be worn during the winter. It largely revolved around such items as warm headgear, mittens, great coats, and special footwear--all to prevent disabling cases of frostbite. Since the bulk of the fighting took place during warmer months, this can be ignored for wargaming purposes. See the relevant Osprey books and Rene Chartrand's recent "A Scarlet Coat . . . " for further details, if interested.

Also, I think the previous comments about the short jackets is a bit misleading. The true long-tailed coat for enlisted ranks disappeared about 1800, but the original version of the short, single-breasted coatee for the enlisted men came somewhat further down on the hips than later during the Napoleonic Wars. Off the top of my head I could not swear to the exact year of the change in the latter. If gaming in 15mm scale, one probably could not tell any difference on a figure carrying full equipment.

I have two boxes of Victirx British, one is for the peninsula and one for Waterloo. Based on what you are saying, I ccan paint both up for service in NA? We have been playing the hell out of the 1812 board game and I a ready to start gaming it with miniatures

West India regiments have a unique style jacket.
But other than that you can use troops for either theatre.

Canadian units may have had some differences.