"Legion of the US/Mad Anthony Wayne Artillery Uniforms" Topic

I got some great info about the artillery itself (kings howitzers) last time I posted, but I was wondering if anyone had information about the uniforms of the artillery crews (1792/3)?

Ideally information on the officers, NCOs, gunners and matrosses/gunners assistants. I know there were about 125 total (officers, NCOs and Matrosses) per legion but am having no luck finding any pictures or descriptions of the uniforms (did they wear the casque, the helmet, etc…helmet of the infantry, Dragoons or something different???)

Thanks

I personally feel that they were wearing Rev War headgear (tricorne-ish) as opposed to the turned up hat. Definitive proof is hard to come by. Not a casque though. Which figures are you using?

I agree with Buckeye – hard info to find but there is a US Army uniform encyclopedia published by University of Arizona press that suggests that they indeed did wear a tricorne hat

The Fallen Timbers Osprey pg 22, shows Wayne's artillerymen loading a small "popgun howitzer". They are wearing black tricorns trimmed yellow with a blue coat with red cuffs, collar and coat front.

The trousers appear to be white or off white (linen). The belts are white and the buttons appear to be white metal.

The author is John F. Winkler and IMO his contributions are well researched and credible.

My friend, who re-enacts the Wayne's Legion, says the artillery uniforms were pretty much the same from the AWI period – cocked hats, etc.

The buttons would be pewter for enlisted, perhaps brass or gold for officers. The uniforms were very similar to RA ones.

Osprey #352 "The United States Army 1783-1811" gives what the uniform of the Legion artillery was. The uniform coat was the infantry coat of the rest of the legion except with yellow metal (brass) buttons and scarlet linings for the turnbacks or tails of the coat. The hat was a cocked hat with yellow trim. Plate C3 in the book shows the uniform for Legion artillery, but not the leather helmet. Major Henry Burbeck, Wayne's artillery commander, kept his men in the cocked hat with yellow trim. Note that blue wool overalls were for cold weather months and white linen overalls would be worn in spring and summer.

Here's a link to a Company of Military Historians print that illustrate the uniform-

I see that the wear a dragoon like helmet. I have seen this in other places. Also, since Wayne ordered all but the most senior (generally those mounted) officers to adopt the headgear of the men in the legion (to throw off snipers) and 90% of the artillerists (ie the Matroose)wore the helmet, any thoughts on helmets over tricornes in the field?

4thsublegion: In the descriptive for C3 on page 41, the author suggests the artillery had adopted round hats with bearskin crests and plumes. The picture on page 22 of "Fallen Timbers" also seems to show an artillerist in the round hat with bearskin crest

In spite of the fact that each sub-legion was to have it's own infantry, cavalry and artillery, Wayne brigaded all the artillery under Major Henry Burbeck. Burbeck wanted to have the artillerists dressed in the traditional fashion with cocked hats to separate them from the infantry. The man in the round hat on page 22 of the Fallen Timbers book is an infantry private of the 2nd Sub-Legion as noted by the red trim on his hat. The other two are artillerists. In the field, Wayne's artillery would have been in cocked hats trimmed in yellow. The helmets came after the Legion and were not popular with artillery officers including Henry Burbeck. The suggestion that by 1794 they wore round hats is probably because the supply of cocked hats had dwindled and re-supply forced them to use the same hat as the infantry.

Thank you