A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.Campbell, James
History
A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.
Campbell, James
Great Britain. Army
Suppose that the uniform of the regular infantry was nearly assimilated
to that of our Rifle Brigade (with Her Majesty's Guards I don't venture
to interfere). It is generally allowed, that the dress of both officers
and men of these corps is soldier-like, handsome, and far better
adapted for service than that now worn by the rest of our army. But I
am most anxious that the soldier's coat should be made for comfort as
well as for appearance; and I should, therefore, greatly prefer that
it was made in the shape of what is usually termed a frock, but to
have a stand up collar, and to come down nearly to the knee. Both coat
and trousers could, at a very trifling additional expense, be made
water-proof. But soldiers ought never again to be overloaded on service
with blankets, and let the reader only imagine their being obliged,
as was often the case, to carry them when wet. But to make up for the
blanket, they should be furnished with a large sized water-proof cloth
great coat; in these they could sleep sufficiently warm and secure from
any damp that might rise from the ground, and which in campaigning is
of such importance towards preservation of health. The country would
also be saved expense if this plan were adopted, by not being obliged
to provide and convey bulky blankets to the points where they were
to be delivered out to the troops; and these water-proof great coats
being of a very durable material, would last much longer than the old
fashioned ones.
Many of the absurdities which once existed in the dress of our infantry
officers and soldiers; such as the powdered heads and long pigtails,
and white pipe-clayed tight buckskin breeches, and large jack-boots of
the former; and the soaped hair with finely feathered sidelocks, as
they were termed, and long highly polished leather queues, tight white
cloth breeches, and long tight gaiters of the latter, have long been
done away with; and why not go a step farther, and in the way hinted
at, in order to secure to our infantry great and decided advantages.
Many may remember the strange figures, which most of our soldiers cut
in Paris after the battle of Waterloo, in their dirty red coats, and
ugly shaped caps; the former much stained, and the latter become brown
and disfigured by exposure to rain and weather; the consequence was,
that our army made, I do not hesitate to say, the worst appearance of
all those assembled in and around that capital.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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