I am about to paint a cavalry unit to represent the Garde te Paard during the WGA period and I have been thinking about the hats. Wargamers seem to like something unusual and all the images I have found show units wearing various shades of buff hats. Sapherson* says that the regiment wore buff hats and he cites Lawson** as his source; I have a copy of Lawson’s work in front of me and on page 98 he says “The picture at Kensington Palace shows a detachment of Horse evidently intended for this regiment [Horse Guards]. They are dressed in blue coats with about eight gold loops down the front but no cipher is shown (Fig.65). The cuffs are also blue edged with gold lace. The hats are buff-coloured and laced with gold. The holster caps are red (Fig.66).” The great majority of Lawson’s illustrations were copied by him from existing works and the List of Illustrations (page xiv) identifies Fig.65 as “Dutch or 4th Troop of Life Guards, c.1691, from painting in Kensington Palace” and Fig.66 as “Dutch Garde te Paard, or Horse Guards, c.1691, from painting of the Battle of the Boyne by Romyn de Hooge, and a picture in Kensington Palace”.
I have Googled “Battle of the Boyne” with “Romyn de Hooge” and found one image from History Ireland depicting a cavalry melee at Oldbridge. The image is quite small and does not enlarge particularly well but I cannot see any blue coated troopers in buff hats in the picture.
Does anybody have more details of the paintings Lawson is referring to that might make an online search easier? Or, does anybody have any alternative sources that are not ultimately based on Lawson. I also appreciate that paintings, even contemporary ones, may not be wholly accurate; the artist is creating a ‘message’ not necessarily a historical record. I have found paintings of William III at the Boyne in red coat, a blue coat and a grey coat; either he took a large wardrobe or some paintings are less than spot-on.
Another possible factor is that the Garde may have worn such buff hats during a particular period, maybe due to shortages, and been issued with more likely black hats at the next issue; would they have been issued with new hats annually or bi-annually?
* Sapherson, C.A. Dutch Army of William III: Partizan Press; (Edition Jan. 1997)
** Lawson, Cecil C.P. A History of the Uniforms of the British Army: From the Beginnings to 1760, Volume 1: Norman Military Publications, (1940: Reprinted 1962)