"Stovepipes at Waterloo" Topic

Hello everyone

It's been received wisdom for some time that the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment wore the old fashioned stovepipe caps well after the false-fronted Belgic model was introduced, but on being challenged I realised I don't have any primary sources for that. The closest I came was "Recollections of Waterloo" by a Staff Officer in Colburn's United Service Magazine (1847) where the officer in question relates "I recognised Picton's division… The old 28th followed, having their number both in front and rear of their low caps – a memorial of Egypt".

Does a "low cap" have a specific meaning? And does anyone have sources for the old 28th stovepipe?

The 28th regiment wore the stovepipe shako with their own badge, a crown surmounted by a lion over the number 28, with a scroll bearing the honour Barrossa above and Peninsula ' below. The rear of the head-dress was ornamented with a small diamond shaped brass badge, commemorating the battle at Alexandria when the rear rank of the 28th 'faced about' to repel an attack from the rear.
My information is from the book "Uniforms of Waterloo" by Haythornthwaite.

I'm not a Waterloo person but is there really any concrete evidence for any specific Shako during the 100 days? Are paintings a reliable source in this regard? I'd venture to suggest no. It seems a bit like the 1809 Austrian helmet/shako transition; a few regimental records include a mention.

Cheers,
John

The evidence for British shakos is pretty solid. Besides records of when they were issued to many units, there is also a good amount of first hand reporting. This includes sketches done in the field as well as mentions in diaries, letters, etc. There are also some surviving examples.

I believe the light infantry wore stovepipes.

From this wonderful site:
link

Guys, he asked for primary sources.

Slasher, I'm in the middle of a move and far too much stuff is inaccessible between now and whenever I'm unpacked and sorted. But I think if you chek around a bit you'll find a printed book of letters written to Siborne for his Waterloo Model, and he was specifically asking for information on uniforms worn on the 18th. I'd say those letters are your best bet for a primary.

From C.E. Franklin, British Napoleonic Uniforms, p. 190. On the Uniform Plate of various uniforms and badges buttons and lace; it shows a front and back (diamond) plates labelled "Officer Stovepipe shako Front and rear Badges 1802-1815".

One more time: A uniform book is not a PRIMARY source. A primary source is someone who was actually there and wore one or saw other people wearing them, a painting by an eye-witness--or, conceivably, some quartermaster's record of what was issued and when. What Slasher is asking for is one of those.

Failing the Siborne Letters, Slasher, someone's doing a collection of eye-witness reports, and you want the one covering the British Fifth Division. (Yes, they're sorted out by corps and divisions.)

I'm sorry. Right now, it's just a sea of cardboard boxes here. Which I need to get back to.

Let me back what Robert says above. Go back to the records and the Horse Guards definitely said that the "Belgic Cap" was to be universally adopted.

So the Rifles, the rest of the Light Infantry, the 28th Glorious Glosters should have been seen in such horrors. The 71st HLI never wore the stovepipe "shako" mind you.

This argument will now go on for centuries, until someone invents a time machine. (But just imagine, if only, you could scan around the battlefield, either side, at 0800. Mud, brown mud, dyes that have run, overalls and overcoats…well those for the French anyway)

Erzherzog Johann, funny you should mention paintings; the most famous painting of the 28th in this period is Lady Butler's "28th Regiment at Quatre Bras", in which the regiment are depicted in Belgic caps. Another less well-known painting, William Barns Wollen's "28th Gloucester Regiment at Waterloo", shows stovepipes. Both were created long after the fact, of course.

Grateful for your recommendation Robert – I have had a cursory glance in an 1891 edition of the Waterloo letters and while there are some fascinating nuggets in there I can't see anything about uniform, at least for the 28th. Good luck with your move!

'Go back to the records and the Horse Guards definitely said that the "Belgic Cap" was to be universally adopted.'

Excellent point, deadhead! May I add that I sometimes use orders to point to deviations from authorized uniform? If Colonel Lutzow says once that only the jaegers may wear the totenkopf, well and good. When he publishes orders to that effect for the third time, it's a pretty good indicator that the wearing of the totenkopf was widespread in the Freikorps. Same thing reading Washington's orders of the day for the AWI as the Father of his Country orders over and over that there should be no tape edging the Continental tricorns.

Once is an order, twice is a misunderstanding, and three times is the C.O. imitating King Canute.

A wargaming buddy is a militaria dealer. He does a pretty good trade in the non-Special Forces berets which were never, ever, authorized for wear by US forces in Vietnam.

Thank you, Slasher. I've already had a good deal of luck, but not as much as I'll need to pull it off.

Not an answer but a support to more research. For years 'it was certain' that the 95th Rifles were still wearing the stovepipe at Waterloo. Then 'suddenly' it seems they were wearing the Belgic shako after all. This latter headgear was sometimes referred to as a 'low cap' as far as I remember. This could be a clue in any account.

It all depended on whether the old kit was still in good shape, where a particular regiment stood in the queue for new kit, and the attitudes of the Colonel and RSM.
I'm NOT a Nappy specialist at all. Far from it. But the pattern goes way back.

some of the allied forces wore the stovepipe.

In early 1814 the Dutch recieved with their 16000 uniforms stovepipe shakos. The Dutch Orange Legion (10th Battalion) was raised in Yarmouth and recieved similar uniforms, also with stovepipe shakos.

At the beginning of 1814 at Schwedt on the Oder the 2nd Battalion of the 3 battalion Legion of Orange raised there,was completely uniform with clothing intended for the Hanoverian Army. This included red coatees with blue facings and white lace and again stovepipe shakos.

A more recent thread on AI research covering stovepipes and the 28th topic:

<url> TMP link </url>

The interesting bit is that the 28th specifically requested to keep the stovepipes.

Interesting indeed, but when pressed further the robot said that was a myth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A sketch made in 1817 – 28th at Quatre Bras: A narrative by C. A. Eaton, with a sketch by J. Waldie… from sketches by Captain G. Jones. 2 vol. John Booth; T. Egerton: London, 1817
link

Thanks Camcleod, I saw that picture in a scan of the Waterloo letters but this is much better quality.