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From: "Nelson Denton" <>
Subject: Re: [UEL] Jared's General Question
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 03:13:43 -0500
References: <002401c2bca7$a37ffeb0$2e279618@tracy> <2984.156.80.138.109.1042646153.squirrel@www.jedh.com>


More brain dead remarks :-)) regarding uniforms and taylors

Yes the company was usually broken down into 2-3 or more platoons/sometimes
erroneously called "divisions" each led by a
lieutenant or a senior sergeant. then each platoon was broken into sections
or squads.

Regular Army Battalions often referred to as "The Regiment" Regiments were
actually training groups that sent out Battalions of men most Regiments had
1-4 battalions. 1 was usually kept in Britain for recruitment and training
and the others were sent around the world into battle - A battalion had
around 450 -500 men more or less on a good day plus a mass of camp followers
and hangers on. The battalions were divided into 10 companies of about 45
men each or as needed.

The Camp followers were wives, children, sweethearts, whores and gypsies
and dozens of civilians who worked at driving the supply wagons, selling
food and drinks to the troops, and worked at jobs that any society needs.
These people often outnumbered the soldiers and were a constant source of
problems.

The official hangers-on were of several groups which were later officially
licensed as "members of the regiment " and were required to be of very good
character.

Wives- sometimes a very informal arrangement
Vivandiers or Sutlers - those who supplied food, clothing etc. to troops
in the field.
Cantiniers - people who ran a 'canteen' or fixed base where food and
drink was offered.
Blanchisseuses - these were the women who did the laundry.
General purpose civilian assistants. taylors, blacksmiths , carpenters,
doctors, dentists, ferriers, wagon drivers etc. as needed


Under European style warfare the armies lined up in long rows and fought
side by side with limited movement so there was little need for formal
organisation below the company level.

The guerrilla warfare of North America soon forced a lot of changes in the
British style of warfare.

The "Section (British) or Squad (US) came about as a result of the natural
need to fit a limited (5-12)number of men around a fire, in a tent or
somebody's house. The men would naturally then tend to group together and
form a team. They lived and ate as a group over a single pot of food.by the
fire.
Usually a servant of some sort helped out, a wife of one of the men or even
a slave.
A Sergeant or Corporal was usually left in charge of them.
These formations were not as important as the larger groups so they were
formed as needed. The smallest group was usually called a Corporals Guard
or a Detail. It was usually one or two men or so led by a Corporal or Chosen
Man for some trivial duty such as guarding prisoners, gathering firewood,
or digging latrines etc.

A Patrol is an "act" not a group. This could have been one or two men
crawling around in the dark in enemy territory or an entire Battalion of
Light Cavalry sent to harass the enemy's supply lines.

Regarding taylors in most cases they would have been civilians (men and
women) who made the uniforms and adjusted them for the officers and men.
Uniforms and boots were mass produced in small, medium and large and then
fitted as needed to the men as they wished. Probably most uniforms would
have come
from factories in England . Although we see paintings of soldiers in
perfectly fitted uniforms this was rare and most soldiers were mostly half
dressed in civilian garb except for parade duties when they tried to look
their best. Your family member was probably assigned to collecting the
uniforms and equipment from the dead patching up the bullet holes and
adjusting them to fit and issuing it to the new men as needed.

Officers wore custom made uniforms and although there were regulations on
the patterns these were often ignored by the foppish elite. We think of
most British soldiers in Red coats but this only applies to British
infantry. Calvary and Artillery units wore other colours blue, pink, purple,
green etc.
Some militia and elite units such as the Rangers and Rifle units started to
wear dark green and black so they could fade into the woods. Hats were often
of French patterns as they considered them war trophies.

Every regiment had it's own distinctive design of uniform based on approved
styles .
Even in a battalion there were differences based upon the soldiers
specialty.
There were Light Companies made up of young fast footed eager men who were
used to harass the enemy with quick sneak attacks
The Grenadier company made up of the older more seasoned elites used for
the tough stuff and the Centre companies made up of the riff raff and
leftovers that were sent forward to catch all the bullets.

Drummers and bandsmen often were dressed to the nines and they acted as
stretcher bearers/medics during the battles. A hard job for as they were
not armed or allowed to fight and they saw up close the horror of war that
was often went unseen by the soldiers fighting for their lives.
Rank was indicated by V shaped stripes on the sleeves for non-commissioned
officers and by gold epaulets on officers coats , generals were
distinguished by
the pattern of buttons on their coats!

The poor officer who was left with the job of sorting out all these uniforms
and getting new ones made had a rough life.


This total lack of any standardization often led to arguments and duels
over who outranked whom. And disasters occurred when different regiments
confused
each other for the enemy.



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