"British Peninsular regiments in light blue breeches?" Topic

Somewhere packed away, I remember a single illustration of an officer of the 45th Foot wearing light blue – better sky blue – tight breeches in light cavalry style boots. Also, recently I saw a gamer's website that noted that the 45th wore light blue overalls – covering the breeches and leggings.

Does anyone have confirmation that the 45th – or any other British infantry regiment – wore such breeches, or overalls?

(I recall seeing several illustrations of the 5th or 6th battalion of the 60th Royal American Regiment – in these cases riflemen – with dark sky blue (Royal blue?) tight breeches in short gaiters, pointed front and back.)

Advice, sources, welcome. I hope to be starting on the 45th within the next few weeks.

GdeP

Greetings

Can't recall the 45th being any different from other line regiments. So white initially replaced with grey overalls (sometimes referred to as grey-blue) probably after 1809 with white in summer and supplemented by local cloth for repairs/replacements.

warof1812.ca/trousers.htm may be of interest.

The 5/60th picture may be Knotel?

Regards

Edward

I'm painting the 45th right now and I have not come across any evidence of them wearing blue pants. This might be a "one off" picture indicating that the soldiers would wear whatever they could get to replace worn out uniforms.

The rank and file later in the war would wear the blue-grey overalls; these are often shown as a type of pale bluish colour. Light infantry officers often unofficially adopted light cavalry affectations such as cavalry overalls with inserts and even pelisses.

A lot of contemporary artwork – especially by men who were serving with the army – was done in watercolour, a medium that will naturally reduce blues to very light tones. It is quite possible that the subject had darker blue than is depicted.

Also, officers – especially in some of the units that had been out in Spain for a while – tended to be a law unto themselves on the minor details of uniform. Remember that Wellington did not generally mind what his men wore as long as their firearms were in good order and they had 60 cartridges in their pouches.

I was painting the 4th Cacadores (Victrix metal, stovepipe) today, and put two of the musketeers in light blue breeches – copied the 60th, or got a shipment meant for them! All the riflemen in this set are in overalls, so I used a light grey, Flopaque "concrete" and one in brown. I have two 24-figure units of British 9th and 88th Foot on the same table, and it is remarkable to think that these extreme bright, and extreme dark, units were in the same army!

I seem to recall the officer of te 45th depicted in a drawing by Dino Lemonifides, back in the 60's or 70's. Kind of a pocket book, or thin handbook.

GdeP