Question about the 28th at Waterloo.

[big-gazza]

Hi,
I'm painting up the 28th regiment of foot for Waterloo just now and I have a question.

What would the correct colour be for the trousers.

I was going to paint the grenadiers with mostly white, centre company in grey and a mix of greys and browns for the light company. Thought it would be a way of making each company look different and give them a battleworn look.

So what do you think?

Would it have been accurate?

Thanks

Gazza

[Ronan the Librarian]

IIRC, British infantry went to grey overalls around 1811 (it was just before the 1812 clothing changes). The only British infantry known to have anything different at Waterloo were the 2/2nd and 2/3rd Foot Guards, who had white overalls. It is very unlikely that any unit had a mix of colours, or would have looked "battleworn" in a campaign that essentially only lasted three days and followed many months of peace.

This link is to the appropriate page of a website covering the uniforms of all three armies; if you click on "uniformes" you can see how the grenadiers, lights and battalion companies of the 28th probably looked:-

http://centjours.mont-saint-jean.com/de ... 0&nation=1

One thing to bear in mind is that the illustrations of the musicians may be wrong. Around 1812, the infantry began moving towards clothing them in red jackets with regimental lace, rather than the reverse colours shown on the website. By the time of Waterloo, I understand this was pretty much universal (the cavalry hadn't done it for decades). It seems that the 28th retained their old-style shakos because of an administrative error, rather than any intentional nose-thumbing at authority.

This link discusses the wearing of the older-type shako by the 28th:-

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=172665

Another feature unique to the 28th that I have come across (and is mentioned in the above thread) is that the grenadier company - and possibly the others, too - had French-style knapsacks, apparently taken from the enemy in Egypt at the same action that the rear shako badge comes from (Alexandria). Personally, I have my doubts that such items would have lasted all through the Peninsula to Waterloo, but you never know.....

[Rob Herrick]

Are you painting them for Quatre Bras or Waterloo?

For Quatre Bras, then they'd be closer to regulation uniforms. They had not marched too hard, fought or worn out their equipment. For Waterloo, they would have more patches, tears, grass stains, blood stains, powder stains and of course mud from the retreat to Mt. St. Jean.

Even so, clothing issues were not necessarily universal. Veterans may have kept clothing issued in the Peninsula depending on when they enlisted, while new recruits got issued new stuff once they left. Either way, grey trousers are more likely than white, but you could probably argue for brown or other colors made from fabric available to avoid having to pay for lost or damaged equipment.

Officers provided their own uniforms, so there is some additional leeway there too.

[Ronan the Librarian]

Further to my earlier post, here is an article on British Army legwear:-

http://www.warof1812.ca/trousers.htm

As you can see, three versions of the grey trousers/overalls were trialled during the Walcheren Expedition in 1809 and the "winning design" - which appears to have been the one being tested by the 1/28th Foot itself - was officially prescribed for issue from 1811. In addition to the grey overalls for campaign wear, white linen trousers were also issued for more formal and off-duty wear at home and overseas. Breeches and gaiters were limited to formal occasions on home service; occasionally, blue wool overalls were issued in cold climates.

Even so, clothing issues were not necessarily universal. Veterans may have kept clothing issued in the Peninsula depending on when they enlisted, while new recruits got issued new stuff once they left.

Actually, when clothing issues were received, they were pretty much universal across the entire unit. It was actually getting the stuff to the unit at all that was the problem. Veterans could well have kept clothing from previous issues, and indeed this was encouraged, but this would have been worn for fatigues etc.

Either way, grey trousers are more likely than white...

It does appear from the article above that more regiments than the two Guards units I mentioned earlier could have worn their white trousers for the Waterloo campaign, but which did so is not known.

.....but you could probably argue for brown or other colors made from fabric available to avoid having to pay for lost or damaged equipment.

Not really. Brown trousers were unique to Spain, and were the result of using local cloth because a unit's location made it impossible to acquire the right materials, or receive their annual clothing issues. The problem in this specific case is that the 1/28th spent most of the period between January 1809 and September 1813 in garrison at Gibraltar, apart from a small group of invalids trapped at Lisbon, who formed part of a "battalion of detachments" and were eventually absorbed into 2/28th. The 1/28th returned to the main theatre in mid-1813, and served in eastern Spain and south-west France until April 1814, when they returned to England. Most of that service would have been spent in winter quarters, so very little chance of hard campaigning wearing out the 1813 clothing issue; also, during that period, Wellington's army was well supplied from the coast (unlike the campaigns in central Spain). The 1814 clothing issue would have been received after returning to England.

Officers provided their own uniforms, so there is some additional leeway there too.

All the evidence suggests that officers had trousers made up to match those of the rank-and-file, though possibly in a slightly darker material. However, it is possible that one or two officers might have been wearing white breeches and stockings, possibly with dancing pumps, due to having come straight from the Duchess of Richmond's ball. Mercer's journal also refers to officers wearing white pantaloons when not in their grey overalls, so both were probably taken on campaign.

[big-gazza]

Hi,
thanks for the help chaps. A lot of great information and those pics are great.

Talked to the customer and we will go for grey with the odd officer in white.

Thanks

Gazza