Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History, Naval
A "Monmouth cap" is said to have been worn by both seamen and soldiers,
and to have resembled a "tam-o'-shanter", but there appears to be some
doubt about it. It seems possible that it may equally well have been
what we now call a "fisherman's cap", or a cap like that worn by the
bands of the Household Cavalry, but with the peak turned perpendicularly
upwards. We sometimes see pictures of boats' crews in such caps at about
this period.
In 1706 blue seems to have been superseded by grey, seamen being
directed to wear "grey jackets and red trousers, brass and tin buttons,
blue and white check shirts and drawers, grey woollen stockings,
gloves(!), leather caps faced with red cotton;" also "striped ticken
waistcoats and breeches". Naval officers apparently wore what they
pleased, though there are indications that red was the favourite colour
right up to 1748, when a blue uniform with white facings and gold lace
was ordered by the King. But it is said that naval officers did not take
kindly to it at first, and in some ships tried to evade the order by
having but one or two uniform coats on board, which were only worn by
officers when sent away on duty where questions might be asked.
Red was now the recognized military colour, and, as mentioned
elsewhere,[24] naval officers took a long time to forget the old
military status of the commanders of the royal ships. Blue with white
linings or facings is said to have been the uniform of two regiments of
marines--who were "to be all fuzileers without pikes"--raised in 1690;
but this had no connection with King George's selection, which is stated
to have been due to his having seen the Duchess of Bedford, wife of the
First Lord of the Admiralty, riding in the park in a habit of blue faced
with white, which prodigiously took His Majesty's fancy. The seamen seem
to have worn grey and red up to about this time, when green and blue
baize frocks and trousers were provided for them. The sailor of this
period is described as wearing "a little low cocked hat, a pea-jacket (a
sort of cumbrous Dutch-cut coat), a pair of petticoat trousers, not
unlike a Scotch kilt, tight stockings, with pinchbeck buckles on his
shoes". The "little cocked hat" is elsewhere described as having its
flaps tacked close down to the crown, which made it look like "a
triangular apple pasty". This hat was gradually replaced by a tarpaulin
or straw hat, not a bit like that worn at the present day, but more
nearly resembling a low inverted flowerpot with a narrow curly brim.
Short, open, blue jackets began to be worn--"round jackets" they were
called--showing the check shirt or a red or buff waistcoat. The
trousers were longer than previously, and round the hat was often worn a
bright blue ribband bearing the ship's name. Black, or occasionally
coloured, bandana handkerchiefs were loosely knotted round the neck. In
Nelson's days it was a favourite practice of the seamen to sew strips of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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