"71st Foot - Highland Light Infantry" Topic

The latest addition to my growing British Napoleonic army is this most interesting and heavily engaged unit:

These are 28mm Old Glory figures; I am quite pleased with how they came out! It makes me think I might actually survive painting a unit of Highlanders with my sanity intact! :-)

More pictures (including a nice shot of some re-enactors of this unit), and a fairly detailed unit history on my blog at:

link

Peter

Very nice… it is indeed a very pretty unit ! great job !

I need open a thread with pictures of the wargaming of the 1806-07 expedition to Buenos Aires where the 71st actually participated …

cheers
Francisco

Good topic, Francisco – please do so!

Good looking unit!

Nicely done indeed. I tried to do these 30 years ago with Hinchliffe figures and got everything wrong eg white cross belts.

Couple of questions to the experts, now that my Foundry figures are all sitting there awaiting their turn. I already knew the officer must have a diagonal sash, not around his waist. I notice that your's do not wear the diced band but a plain black Light Infantry shako…..thanks for that! Checking it, that is absolutely right…Were the pack straps buff also? Looks like it, in your's.

The top of the shako. No one seems agreed whether a green pom pom in the centre of the crown or a light infantry plume as you have shown. The former makes sense, if it really was just a bonnet shrunk over a shako…the latter looks far better. I'll go with your's

Finally. Can I add a piper in this uniform? I accept that might be parade only, but would they ever turn out in this rig around 1815? Would look terrific if so. I have seen rare images of such but dodgy provenance.

Question: Is it true that that the 71st in 1806, and into the early Peninsular years, was a line regiment, and wore feather bonnet, and trews instead of kilt? I have one old Willy 30mm figure done this way.

GdeP

DH,

Absolutely you can add a piper (I didn't have one) – the regiment's colonel fought hard to retain them (the text of his actual letter to the King/Horse guards are available on line)! I think the piper, from the many sources I read, would/could still be in full Highland dress.

I'm not sure about the straps on the pack etc. for Buff faced regiments like this one; I actually did mine in white. Interestingly, the wool on the shoulder wings of the re-enactors looks almost buff, but that is probably the result of normal useage rather than intentional – I imagine the real things on campaign would be even more discolored!

You're correct that the officer's (crimson) sash would be worn diagonal, Highlander style, even though the use of tartan sashes was not allowed again until much later – forgot that detail and just painted it on as on the figure.

The regiment was still a line regiment until late 1809. The many sources suggest that they may have worn trews (tartan pants)at Cape of Good Hope in 1806. You could be forgiven for allowing that a bit later. Not sure about the feather bonnet.

Gonsalvo. Great help!

You don't have any details on this letter from the colonel do you? Would love to know where you found that (let alone how you did!)

It's amazing what you can find on line – IIRC, there are not one but TWO published histories of the Regiment available; I'll re-Google tonight and let you know the links.

Here's the link – an online, Google books version of "The History of the 71st Foot – Highland Light Infantry", Lt Henry J.T Hildyard, London 1876:

link

Pages 74 – 76 has the correspondence between the Lt. Colonel and the Horse Guards, including the Highland dress of the Pipers, and the "bonet cocked".

The whole booklet of about 100 pages is chock full of details of the regiments many actions and evolutions, through 18767 and its amalgamation – well worth at least skimming through!

Peter

Indeed…..very grateful for this!

You're welcome; I was very pleased to discover it myself when researching the background of the Regiment!

(through 1876)