uniform

Uniforms, Accoutrements, & Weaponry

The Queen's Rangers was the first regiment in the British Army to wear green uniforms for purposes of camouflage. As Simcoe later wrote,

"green is without comparison the best colour for light troops with dark accoutrements, and if put on in the spring, by autumn it nearly fades with the leaves, preserving it's characteristics of being scarcely discernable at a distance".

Our group seeks to recreate the Light Infantry Company of the Queen's Rangers as it would have looked in the campaign season of 1780. Our principal source of information has been Captain James Murray's watercolours of the period with additional material drawn from contemporary evidence of light troops serving in British regiments. All members are clean-shaven as required in the British Army.

Items of kit, Light Infantryman

Leather cap with plume, feather, cockade.

Short, round jacket with lace and 'QR' buttons.

White linen shirt with black neck stock.

White regimental breeches.

Leather garters with brass buckles.

White stockings.

Painted canvas half-gaiters.

Shoes, rough side out.

Cartridge box on shoulder belt, with brass plate.

Bayonet and hatchet on shoulder belt.

Painted canvas knapsack with 'RP' blanket.

Linen haversack.

Tin canteen on red cord (during 1780 wood canteens)

Brown Bess musket, short-land pattern, with leather sling.

Footnote

The smart appearance above was rarely maintained during campaigns. Simcoe acknowledged an occasion when many rangers were barefooted! Our display, however, claims to show soldiers preparing to set off on expedition with uniforms and accoutrements newly issued.

Light Infantry Hunting Horn c.1790

Although it has no markings, the original condition and wide funnel of this hunting horn indicates an early date of manufacture. Identical horns are shown in the collection of George Washington and in the Germantown drawings by Xavier Gatta.

Such instruments became a popular method for giving out orders amongst British light infantry formations during the late 18th century.

Credit: Group Historian's collection

Cartouche Box 1760-1802

This disitinctive item is in the Wardrobe Regimental Museum, Salisbury. It was worn round the waist and held 18 cartridges. The embossed gold GR3 & crown has largely worn away and an ornate GR and piping has been painted at a later date. This style of box had official use during 1760 to 1784. We believe it has been revamped for further use in the French Revolutionary wars 1793-1802 due to an acute shortage of cartridge boxes for the numerous new formations hastily raised.

Here the group historian dicusses the item with Alistair Riggs of the museum.