Charles is a good friend of mine and a wargaming buddy. From Pike to Shot was written about 20 years ago. Some of the information contained therein has since been superceded by further research.
The book is a fantastic primer and was the mainstay of my knowledge of the period when I first got into it. It covers a huge range of topics in an informative but relatively superficial way, the role of a primer. As a result a few summaries of data that existed at the time of writing have since been revised elsewhere. Covering such a vast subject (particularly the uniforms of so many armies) places intolerable pressure on an author to squeeze it all in and still get it all right. I would summarise From Pike to Shot as a fantastic and inspirational introduction to a little understood period written in a relaxed and engaging style by a man who is both knowledgable and passionate about his subject.
As a comparison the Editions Brockaw series, Alan Sapherson's work, Stephen Ede Borrett's books, Dan Schorr's work, Mark Allen's frequent articles all dedicate considerably more text to significantly smaller subjects and some still manage to disagree with each other and even themselves occasionally.
As an example in Sapherson's book on the Dutch Army of William III he often cites three sources Jean Beaulbre(a modern historian), Gerpines and Tilroy(?).. each frequently disagrees on the uniform colours of the same regiment!
Personally Natholeon if I were you I would not lose too much sleep over it. If it is still there (can't remember
) read an article in the WARCHEST called
'Who is that bloke in the pot helmet?'I wrote this about 15 years ago for WI after being so irritated by the subject we are discussing right now... whether I had the details of a particular unit's uniforms correct in a wargames unit lost in the mass of 40 other units on the table...
I said it then and I'll say it again... a bloke who had been campaiging for 6 months in the rain and mud of 17th century Europe would be lucky to have any shoes and stockings - whatever colour his coat was at the beginning(knowing the unreliability of non chemical dyes) it was pretty sure to be a non descript washed out rag of indeterminate hue. He was probably dirty, smelly, hungry and had picked up enough loot to make him look like Wurzel Gummidge the well known West Country scarecrow. He may have plundered enemy clothing or weapons too.
Hopefully that provides enough hope for you to be happy with the unit you have painted
It is probably just as accurate/inaccurate as a pristine plate drawn in an Osprey