Part 13

In the earlier part of the book it was made evident that military uniforms afford a fine field for research, though apart from the remains of armour, however, they are comparatively modern. It was not, indeed, until the reign of Charles II that we meet with uniforms regularly adopted by the Army; and the red coat which has given its name to the soldier, though many regiments are dressed in other colours, was previous to that time merely a best coat. We see it now on fox-hunters and golfers, though a long coat of this colour is still worn by the King's footmen and coachmen. A writer in the _Spectator_, No. 129, says, when speaking of Cornwall: "Here we fancied ourselves in Charles II's reign, people having made little variation in their dress since that time. The smartest of the country squires appear still in the Monmouth cock; when they go a-wooing (whether they have any post in the militia or not) they put on a red coat."

There had previous to the Restoration been some attempt to introduce uniform dress for soldiers quite apart from the sovereign's special guards, who, after the fashion of retainers, wore his livery. For instance, the Duke of Norfolk, in the reign of Henry VIII, issued instructions that every soldier should wear a blue coat guarded with red, the right hose to be red, the left blue, and a red stripe three fingers broad down the outside of each leg. The archers are described as wearing white gaberdines, at one time in this reign, while in 1576 those belonging to Ireland had a cassock of blue cloth with two small white guards. Red coats as well as others of blue or white were worn by the English troops in Turenne's army in 1657, and examples of the last two colours are by no means extinct in the army to-day. Red, blue, grey, and green, it may be added, were all worn during the Civil War on both sides.

It must not be forgotten, however, that gay uniforms are now only used at home in times of peace, for we have learnt a lesson from the lower animals, many of which are protectively coloured, and the service uniform to-day is one calculated to render its wearer as inconspicuous as possible. Before the time of firearms which could be used with precision, and when hand-to-hand combats played a great part in war, it was necessary for two adversaries to be able to see one another, but now each tries to hide himself.

Some years ago a sketch, which was made from a cavalry man at Aldershot, was given in the _Daily Mail_; side by side was shown another taken from a print representing one of Cromwell's Ironsides, and the likeness between the two is almost exact. (See Figure 147.)

Ornamental epaulettes may also be looked upon as the last remnant of armour, though the modern kind probably came from a shoulder-knot of Charles II's time, as they were originally intended to protect the shoulders from sword-thrusts. At the present day, though they are worn in the English Navy and are common on the Continent, they have practically disappeared from the Army.

The officers of the Yeomen of the Guard, whose uniform is that which was worn in the Peninsular War, still wear epaulettes, as do the Gentlemen-at-Arms and the Lords-Lieutenant of Counties. As we have said, there is a fine field for the study of survivals in uniforms proper, and from time to time many of these have attracted the notice of popular writers.[35 & 36]

Additional interest is given to this subject by the fact that besides the variations which have gradually evolved, there are special features which have suddenly appeared often in connection with some important battle, which we might liken to the curious sports and freaks which sometimes occur in the natural history world.

When, in 1881, the old regimental facings were abolished, many distinctions vanished, still there are more curious details left than we shall be able to describe. We have already seen how the busby was derived from the Hungarian cap, and quite a number of other features have been introduced from foreign countries. The square cap of the Lancer is the national head-dress of the Poles, who call it a shapka, and the uniform itself came from Poland. The sling jacket or dolman of the Hussars (see Figure 82), which is now extinct in our army, was also an introduction, but still on the pouch-belt of Light Cavalry officers are the prickers fastened with silver chains, which were used with old flint-lock muzzle-loaders. (See Figure 148.)

Some of these interesting but useless instruments are furnished with plain round knobs, but others made as if they were arrows with feathered shafts. Mr. Caton Woodville gives the following explanation of the aiguillettes worn by aides-de-camp. He says that "they date from the days when the war-horses, or chargers, were of solid build and slow of movement, and when only the adjutants were mounted on fleet steeds. Then the head-dress was a heavy three-cornered hat perched on a wig that was itself often not too securely fastened to its wearer's head. He needed, therefore, a cord with metal tags passing round the brim and under the loops which upheld its three sides. It was fastened to the officer's shoulder, as the weight of the felt hat, with its bars of steel as a protection against sword cuts, was considerable, and it was enough to choke a man if it should happen to dangle from his throat, so the aiguillettes have become the distinguished mark of the assistant to the general commanding in the field or garrison."

It should, however, be mentioned also that these ornaments are worn in the Household Cavalry by non-commissioned officers, and are a relic there of the days when these soldiers were gentlemen of the Royal Life Guards, who had the right to a commission in a line regiment after a certain number of years' service. Other soldiers carry them, as do also the footmen of the nobility. Horse soldiers have also an ornamental cord to their head-dresses, and it seems likely that the aiguillettes had another origin, and that prickers or some other instruments were at one time attached to them.

In the Lancers there is a very long cap-line, which has been mixed up, we are told by Mr. P. W. Reynolds, with a very interesting survival. This is the remains of a cord used for binding up grass and other forage into bundles, worn for convenience round the body, and over one shoulder by cavalry men, when it was not in use. It is known to the French as a "fourragère." In the Lancers the cap-line passes round the cap and is brought under the right shoulder-strap. So far it is the original cap-line; then it passes twice round the body, under the left arm, and under the right shoulder-strap, and ends, in a festoon and a couple of acorns, which remind one of aiguillettes, on the left breast. The part that goes round the body is the old forage cord.

The sergeants' sashes, it is said, were originally intended to make slings so that the wounded could be carried out of action with the help of pikes, and the drum-major's baton is the survival of a cane which the drill-sergeant sometimes used on the backs of the recruits. The "flash" of the Welsh Fusiliers, as we have seen, is a survival from the times when wigs were worn. Here and there we find old head-dresses once nearly universal, such as the shako which is now confined to the Highland Light Infantry and the Scottish Rifles. Other regiments, such as those of the Rifle Brigade, which have been at times used as cavalry, retain certain features of the horse soldier's uniform. For instance, the Rifle Brigade has a head-dress which resembles the Hussars' busby, and instead of a sash the officers wear a cross-belt.

The officers of the Somersetshire Light Infantry, which on one occasion was turned into cavalry at a moment's notice, wear a mess jacket of the cavalry pattern; they have also a black worm in their lace, like the East Yorkshire and North Lancashire regiments, which is usually explained as being mourning for Sir John Moore in the first case, and for General Wolfe in the two others. Before turning to peculiarities which were granted for special services, we may mention the black tunics and black plumes of the farriers belonging to the Life Guards, who carry a great axe with which to kill horses that are wounded in battle, and the state trumpeters also of the Household Cavalry, who wear a highly ornamental uniform which has persisted for nearly two centuries.

There still remain relics of the time when commanding officers had a great deal to say in connection with the uniforms of their regiments. When the Cameron Highlanders were first raised in 1794, Colonel Cameron did not adopt the Cameron tartan, because he did not think it would go well with a scarlet tunic, and he introduced one which had been designed by his mother, called the "Cameron Erracht," which has been worn ever since. The White Horse of Hanover appears as a badge on several regiments, and it is recorded that George I, objecting to the private crests of the commanding officers, replaced them in many cases with the Hanoverian device. Even now, in spite of the minute regulations of the War Office, which are continually being altered, the uniforms are not always made absolutely as they are prescribed. Little details may be added, and colonels still seem to exercise some influence in the matter. The red puggaree of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry is not obtained from the regimental tailor who supplies the uniform.

The white jackets of the Guards and Highland corps which are worn in undress are still called "waistcoats," and, according to Mr. Walter Wood, are a relic of the white waistcoat which was worn under the tunic by the British soldiers down to the time of William IV. It must, however, be remembered that a waistcoat was originally an outer garment, as indicated on page 148.

An exceedingly curious privilege is that which has been accorded to the non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Marines, who for many years have been allowed when in mourning, to cover one button of their tunics with crape. The Eighth Hussars wear their sword-belts over their shoulders, and the tradition is that at the battle of Saragossa they behaved so gallantly that they totally destroyed a corps of Spanish cavalry and took possession of their adversaries' belts.

Perhaps the most curious mark of distinction is the extra drummer of the Third Hussars, who enjoys special pay and is permitted to wear a sergeant's uniform. This privilege was granted by George III when it was brought to his notice that the regiment possessed some silver kettledrums which they had captured. The request for this honour was made in 1778 by General Fitzroy, and his wife presented a silver collar for the use of the additional drummer which is still worn to-day. It is handsomely engraved with military devices, and fits closely round the throat. In full dress the Eleventh Hussars wear an ivory-hilted sword made on the model of one picked up at Bhurtpore. The Fifteenth Hussars wear the Austrian Imperial lace on account of their gallantry at Villiers-en-Couche, which prevented the Emperor of Austria from falling a prisoner to the French.

The Scots Greys were given Grenadier caps, which are not worn by other cavalry regiments, for their bravery at Ramillies. The Northumberland Fusiliers have red and white hackle feathers--that is to say, that the upper part of their plume is red, and the lower part white. It is recorded that at Wilhelmstahl, and also when in St. Lucia, this regiment was victorious after great struggles, and took from the caps of the French Grenadiers who were slain, enough white feathers to fit up the whole regiment with plumes, the use of which afterwards received official sanction. When, however, an order was made in 1829 that white plumes should be generally worn, the Fusiliers complained that they would lose the distinction which they enjoyed, and by a compromise they were allowed to have a plume which was half red and half white. The Northumberland Fusiliers share with one or two other regiments, that distinguished themselves at the battle of Minden, the privilege of wearing roses in their caps on St. George's Day.

We might spend a considerable time in dealing with the badges of various regiments, for often the history of the latter is bound up with them. They figure on the collar and other parts of the uniform, and occasionally, as badges might be expected to do, they appear on the buttons. We have touched upon this subject in connection with George I. The Scots Greys have as a badge an eagle with outstretched wings. It commemorates the capture of a French eagle at Waterloo by Sergeant Ewart, who was given a commission for his bravery.

The Gloucestershire Regiment has a badge in front and another on the back of the helmets, because on one occasion, in Egypt, when it was attacked in the rear as well as in front by large bodies of French cavalry, and there was no time to form a square, the commanding officer gave the order, "Rear rank, right about face, fire!" The result was that the enemy was beaten off. In connection with this achievement the second badge was given.

An interesting tale is told with regard to the formation of the Guards by Charles II after the Restoration. There were three regiments present, and they were commanded to take up arms as the First, Second, and Third Guards, but while the first and third obeyed the order, General Monk's regiment stood still. The King, who was surprised at the apparent insubordination, asked Monk for the reason. Whereupon he said that his regiment declined to be considered second to any other. As a result, Charles is said to have answered, "Very well, they shall be my Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, and second to none." From this comes their motto, "Nulli secundus." It may be mentioned, also, that this regiment has a distinction which is absolutely unique in the Army, as it bears on the King's colour a small Union Jack, which commemorates the fact that Monk was an Admiral of the Fleet as well as a General.

It is only about a hundred years since the pretensions of the English sovereigns to the throne of France ceased to be evident, for it was not until the end of George III's reign that the French fleur-de-lys were removed from the Royal Arms and disappeared from our coins. There is still, however, a survival of the lilies of France on the braid of the drummers in the Guards. White lace with red crowns is what is almost universally worn by drummers in the Army, but the crown is replaced in the case mentioned by the fleur-de-lys. Whilst speaking of the Guards, one may recall that not very long ago a uniform was used by the solicitor with which these soldiers were, and in the case of the Coldstream Guards are still, provided. The solicitor, like the medical officer, wore the cocked hat that is now dying out in the Army, though generals and aides-de-camp still adopt this most curious outcome of the Cavalier's beaver. Here and there, as in the case of the surgeon and veterinary surgeon of the Life Guards, and the medical officers of some Volunteer regiments, we still see the cocked hat. It flourishes also in Court dress, it adorns the Lords-Lieutenant and their deputies, besides maintaining its position among the officers of the Navy.

Fur, the material of which the first clothes of our ancestors were made, is still seen to a considerable extent in the Army, and is chiefly used for the construction of busbies. So important was the trade in furs for military purposes at one time, that bear-skins were classified as follows: "Officers," or first grade; "Grenadiers," or second grade; and "unfit for the Army," or third grade. Like all features of dress which are exaggerated, the big busbies of the Guards have on more than one occasion afforded material for the caricaturist. Leech depicted the soldiers of the Brigade of Guards warming their hands and feet in their busbies, which they used as muffs; and an amusing series of sketches for the amusement of the young people was published not long ago, in which the soldier disappeared almost entirely into his busby and became a sort of Humpty-Dumpty.

Tall hats of the type of our modern silk hats were not unknown in the Army. Perhaps it may come as a shock to some that Lord Howard of Effingham is shown in a portrait as wearing a top hat, in shape very similar to the modern form, but ornamented with a plume of ostrich feathers. There is, we believe, however, still one top hat which is served out by the War Office at the present day, and this is worn by the Chapel Keeper at Wellington Barracks.

Of buttons we have already spoken times out of number, and it may be interesting to mention here that the various regiments of the Brigade of Guards may be told by the arrangement of buttons on the tunic. They are arranged at even distances apart in the Grenadiers, in twos on the Coldstreams, and in threes on the Scots Guards, and in fours on the Irish Guards, which were created of recent years.

We find plenty of survivals in the Army of buttons which are seen in similar places to those on civilians' clothes. Mr. P. W. Reynolds has pointed out another, which is found in connection with a cord loop on the collars of the officers of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry. This is a survival of a fashion once universal in the British Infantry, though the loop often consisted of half-inch lace instead of cord. The button was originally on a turned-down collar, and previous to that was on the coat, coming through a hole in the collar with a view to holding the latter properly in place.

If officers and sergeants were seen together it would probably be noticed that the former wear their sashes over the left shoulder, whilst the latter wear theirs over the right. To this a single exception can, however, be found. In the Twenty-ninth Foot the sergeants and officers both wear their sashes over the left shoulder, and this custom has been traced back to the battle of Culloden, where so many officers were slain that the sergeants had to take their places.

The drummers of the Leicestershire Regiment on state occasions wear tiger-skin aprons instead of the usual ones of pipeclayed leather. This is connected, as is also their badge, with their services in India.

A point that is perhaps not generally known is that officers going on voyages in hot climates are allowed to substitute the kamarband for the mess waistcoat, various colours being adopted by various regiments.

We have seen the origin of the red coat so far as it affects the modern army. Under these circumstances it is hardly necessary to say that it is not intended to prevent the soldier from seeing his blood when he is wounded, as has sometimes been suggested. It might be taken as acting as a warning colour like that of the wasp or hornet, but we have also noticed the way in which conspicuous dress is replaced by protectively coloured uniforms when the soldiers are upon active service.

We cannot help mentioning, however, one case in which the ornamental garb of peace proves useful to its wearer. We find in the animal kingdom that, whatever may happen in modern times in our own case, the males are as a rule the more brightly coloured, and we have come to call the brilliant hues with which they are endowed "courtship colours." The charm which our gallant soldiers seem to have for the fair sex surely entitles us to reckon the gay uniforms of our Army as coming into the category of "courtship colours."

XXVI

NAVAL UNIFORMS

SUPPOSED SURVIVALS--PETTICOATS AND WIDE BREECHES

If we had headed this chapter "survivals in naval dress," we should have been in the historic predicament of the writer who took as his topic the snakes of Iceland, and afterwards had to own that there were none. It would be better, however, if we were to say that there are no survivals of a strictly naval kind, as then we should be nearer the truth. There are, of course, in the uniform of both officers and men, plenty of survivals from civilian costume, such as we have spent much time in describing. Though the crews of the galleys, which are the boats reserved for the captain's use, had, in the case of the smart ships, long been dressed in a uniform manner, the actual uniforms of the Navy only date from a little before the year 1767.

The colours, blue and white, so tradition says, were due to an inspiration which George II received, while the subject was under discussion, on seeing the Duchess of Bedford riding in a new habit which was of blue faced with white.

There are two points in the dress of the ordinary sailor which are commonly supposed to be interesting survivals, and indeed they appear on the surface to have all the makings of such. It has been thought that the black silk handkerchief which a sailor wears round his neck was first put on as mourning for the death of Nelson. The other matter is the blue jean collar which covers the similar-shaped one which is made of the same material as the sailor's jumper. This would no doubt have protected its fellow from the grease of the pigtail which sailors wore once; but Commander Robinson, who has gone into the question, says that pigtails were discarded before the blue jean collar came into existence, and at the same time tells us that black silk handkerchiefs were adopted previous to the time of Nelson. It is not perhaps very widely known that sailors at one time wore a kind of kilt or petticoat, and this no longer ago than the year 1779.

Some thirty or forty years earlier there were in vogue loose slops like the petticoat breeches of the reign of Charles II, and the collar of the coat, which was open at the neck, turned back on to the shoulders.

The trousers, however, that are now adopted are tight round the body and thighs, but remain very loose round the legs, and are therefore somewhat curious. The method of buttoning is one which they share with the gentlemen of George II's time, the old-fashioned labourer, and, we believe, the bishop.

XXVII

THE COSTUME OF PUPPETS

PUNCH AND JUDY--FASHION DOLLS--DOLLS IN SWADDLING CLOTHES--THE EGYPTIAN "SHABBIES"

By way of a change let us turn from people to their images--in fact, to puppets and dolls--for these semblances and caricatures of human forms are generally clothed, and at times may present to us very curious survivals. Let us begin with Punch and Judy, and in this connection we must not forget the dog Toby, for the ruff which he wears round his neck is a reminiscence of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Punch himself, however, is very much older than his clothes, though to find the explanation of the hump in front we must examine the clothes of the time of Henry III of France, when the men's busked doublets came down low to a strap-shaped point, and had a great padded punch-like protuberance.[37]

For other peculiarities that we see we may have to go to the times of Henry IV of France, but the character is very many centuries older; and the careful investigations made by a friend of the present writer, Mr. George Heppel,[38] into the history of Punch have shown why his present costume was adopted and what was his prototype.