Adult British Redcoat Fancy Dress Costume Mens, Revolutionary War Halloween Outfit, Historical Colonial Jacket for Theater

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Reenactors in the red-coated uniform of the 33rd Regiment of Foot as worn during the Napoleonic Wars between 1812 and 1816. Note the brighter scarlet of the officer on the right.

The scarlet tunic remains in the current British Army Dress Regulations. It is one of three coloured tunics used by the British Army; alongside dark green tunics (used by The Rifles and Royal Gurkha Rifles), and dark blue tunics (used by several units, such as the Royal Artillery). The scarlet tunic is presently used as part of the full dress uniforms for the Life Guards and several other cavalry units, the Foot Guards, the Royal Engineers, line infantry regiments, generals, and most army staff officers of the British Army. [63] The locally recruited Royal Gibraltar Regiment also uses a scarlet tunic as part of its winter ceremonial dress. Accounts of the time usually refer to British soldiers as "Regulars" [32] or "the King's men". However, there is evidence of the term "red coats" being used informally, as a colloquial expression. During the Siege of Boston, on 4 January 1776, General George Washington used the term "red coats" in a letter to Joseph Reed. [33] In an earlier letter dated 13 October 1775, Washington used a variation of the expression, stating, "whenever the Redcoat gentry pleases to step out of their Intrenchments." [34] Major General John Stark of the Continental Army was purported to have said during the Battle of Bennington (16 August 1777), "There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" [35]Maroon: Parachute Regiment, all ranks serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade ( not restricted to Parachute qualified personnel) other than the non–Parachute Regiment Infantry Battalion or Army Air Corps and attached Arms personnel The red coat evolved from being the British infantryman's normally worn uniform to a garment retained only for ceremonial purposes. Its official adoption dates from February 1645, when the Parliament of England passed the New Model Army ordinance. The new English Army was formed of 22,000 men, paper strength, comprising eleven regiments of cavalry each of 600 men for a total of 6,600, twelve regiments of infantry each of 1,200 men for a total of 14,400, and one regiment of 1,000 dragoons and the artillery, consisting of 900 men. The infantry regiments wore coats of Venetian red with white, blue or yellow facings. A contemporary comment on the New Model Army dated 7 May 1645 stated: "the men are Redcoats all, the whole army only are distinguished by the several facings of their coats." [9] [18] Robert Seymor (1735). A survey of the cities of London and Westminster, borough of Southwark, and parts Adjacent. London: J. Read, p. 897. Retrieved 2017-02-12. Life in the army was extremely disciplined [31] and even minor matters of misconduct did not go unpunished. The courts– either regimental, district or general– were advised by a military lawyer and made up of panels of officers, with some sentences even being determined by the commander-in-chief. [32]

Even after the adoption of khaki service dress in 1902, most British infantry and some cavalry regiments continued to wear scarlet tunics on parade and for off-duty "walking out dress", until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Shortt, James G. (23 July 1981). The Special Air Service. Bloomsbury USA. p.37. ISBN 0-85045-396-8. Since 2011, No 5 Dress has no longer been issued due to the introduction of the Personal Clothing System – Combat Uniform (PCS-CU).

See also: Full dress uniform Line infantry full dress ( Duke of Wellington's Regiment): scarlet full dress tunic of pre–World War I pattern, Home Service helmet of 1878.

The cloth for private soldiers used up until the late 18th century was plain weave broadcloth weighing 16 oz per square yard, made from coarser blends of English wool. The weights often quoted in contemporary documents are given per running yard, though; so for a cloth of 54" width a yard weighed 24 oz. This sometimes leads to the erroneous statement that the cloth weighed 24 oz per square yard. In the United States, "Redcoat" is associated in cultural memory with the British soldiers who fought against the Patriots during the American Revolutionary War. The Library of Congress possesses several examples of the uniforms the British Army used during this time. [30] Most soldiers who fought the Patriots wore the red coat, though some German auxiliaries and some Loyalist units had blue or green clothing. [31] Officers' coats were made from superfine broadcloth; manufactured from much finer imported Spanish wool, spun finer and with more warps and wefts per inch. The result was a slightly lighter cloth than that used for privates, still essentially a broadcloth and maintaining the characteristics of that cloth, but slightly lighter and with a much finer quality finish. The dye used for privates' coats of the infantry, guard and line, was rose madder. A vegetable dye, it was recognised as economical, simple and reliable and remained the first choice for lower quality reds from the ancient world until chemical dyes became cheaper in the latter 19th century. From the time of the New Model Army broad-brimmed Flemish hats were worn. After the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 the Monmouth cap, a broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt hat, with one side of the brim generally turned up, was introduced. Then came the tall Flemish hat which developed into the low-crowned Carolina hat and the tricorne hat. During James II’s reign the grenadier cap was introduced for grenadiers. Scottish Highland infantry regiments from about 1763 wore feather bonnets.

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No. 12 also covers whatever day-to-day working dress may be authorised at a local or regimental level. Formerly an olive green shirt and trousers were often worn, but this has been replaced with combat dress shirt and trousers worn with beret and stable belt (identical to that of No. 7 Dress). British Army Dress Committee (August 2005). Joint Service Publication 336: The Defence Supply Chain Manual. Vol.12 , Part 3, Pamphlet 3, Sect. 1 (3rded.). Archived from the original on 2007-11-06 . Retrieved 29 July 2008. Holmes, Richard (2002). Redcoat. The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. p.184. ISBN 0-00-653152-0. Scarlet tunics ceased to be general issue upon British mobilisation in August 1914. The Brigade of Guards resumed wearing their scarlet full dress in 1920 but for the remainder of the army red coats were only authorised for wear by regimental bands and officers in mess dress or on certain limited social or ceremonial occasions (notably attendance at court functions or weddings). [14] [15] [16] The reason for not generally reintroducing the distinctive full dress was primarily financial, as the scarlet cloth requires expensive cochineal dye.

When on campaign, soldiers would normally be supplied with an allowance of bread, meat, oatmeal or rice and either beer or rum to wash it down with. A typical daily allowance for a group of up to six men consisted of 6 lb ( 2.7 kg) of bread or flour, 10 + 1⁄ 2 lb ( 4.5 kg) of beef, 1 + 1⁄ 2 lb ( 0.7 kg) of rice or oatmeal and 8 gills ( 2 pints) of rum. A soldier in camp could expect to be provided with a loaf of bread for which would last about four days. [50] From the mid-17th century to the 19th century, the uniform of most British soldiers (apart from artillery, rifles and light cavalry) included a madder red coat or coatee. From 1873 onwards, the more vivid shade of scarlet was adopted for all ranks, having previously been worn only by officers, sergeants and all ranks of some cavalry regiments. [5] History [ edit ] Earlier instances [ edit ]

Some Regiments and Corps wear a stable belt in No 8 dress whilst others restrict its use to Nos 13 and 14 Dress. On exercises and operations the stable belt is replaced with a plain green field belt, with nylon Personal Load Carrying Equipment and the Osprey body armour vest with pouches attached using the PALS system being worn for load-bearing purposes.