Officer's Coatee of Capt Hervey Tower

The Coldstream Guards landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Guards Brigade, 1^st Division, English Army of the East.  These were Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s elite personal guards.  In the Crimea the Guards Brigade consisted of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, and Scots Fusilier Guards.  The Guards’ battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

Although they may have modified or discarded uniform parts later, when the Guards Brigade landed, they wore their full parade dress uniform with epaulettes and bearskin cap.  This photograph shows a fine example of a Coldstream Guards’ officer’s coatee, worn during his Crimean service by Captain Hervey Tower, 1st Battalion, 2nd (Coldstream)Regiment of Foot Guards.

The Star of the Order of the Garter, the badge of the Coldstream Guards, can be seen on each side of the Prussian collar.  It is also identified as Coldstream Guards by the sets of two buttons in double rows down the coatee front, thus the 2nd Regiment of Foot Guards.   The 1st (Grenadier) Regiment of Foot Guards buttons are evenly spaced, and the 3rd (Scots Fusilier) Regiment of Foot Guards buttons are in sets of three.  The back of the collar and cuff facings are blue, as were all Guards regiments.  There is a rose and crown in silver on gold on the strap of the epaulettes, designating the rank of Captain.  There was also a difference in the size and shape of the bullion descending from the crescent, depending on the rank.

Close observation shows usage stains on the white lining of the skirts.  In addition, the small slash pockets inside the turn backs can be seen.  These were used to carry such necessary and essential items to a Guards officer as white gloves, or a dance card.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of the Guards Museum, London, UK.

Other Ranks Shako Badge - 19th Regt of Foot

The 19^th Regiment of Foot, nicknamed the Green Howards, landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Light Division of the English Army of the East.  Their battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

The soldiers of most regiments in the British army who landed in the Crimea wore a shako introduced in 1844.  It was said to have been designed in part by Prince Albert, and was not so affectionately known as the Albert Shako.  The 19th Regiment’s Battalion Company enlisted soldiers, called ‘other ranks’, proudly wore the badge in this photograph on the front of their Albert shako.

Its actual size is much smaller than depicted, with the brass circular laurel wreath about 3 inches across and the wreath with crown above it about 4 1/2 inches high.

There were three types of companies in a British line infantry battalion in the Crimea.  Battalion Companies (All other companies than the grenadier company and the light company.) of Regiments of the Line wore this type badge, with their own regimental number.  The Grenadier Company on the right flank would have had a grenade somewhere within the wreath as well as the number.  The Light Company on the left flank would have had a hunting horn within the wreath, as well as the regimental number.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of The Green Howards Museum, Richmond, UK.

Epaulettes of Ensign and Lieutenant Fotheringham - Scots Fusilier Guards

The Scots Fusilier Guards landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Guards Brigade, 1^st Division, English Army of the East.  These were Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s elite personal guards.  In the Crimea the Guards Brigade consisted of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, and Scots Fusilier Guards.  The Guards’ battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

Although they may have modified or discarded uniform parts later, when the Guards Brigade landed, the officers wore their full dress parade uniform with epaulettes and bearskin cap.  The photograph is of a fine example of Scots Fusilier Guards officer’s epaulettes, worn by Ensign and Lieutenant Fotheringham.

They are identified as Scots Fusilier epaulettes belonging to a subaltern (Lieutenant) by the thistle standing alone on the strap within the crescent.  A Captain would have had the same thistle with a crown on the epaulette, and a field officer would have had a Saint Andrew’s star, with crown above it.  There was also a difference in the size and shape of the bullion descending from the crescent depending on the rank.

Scots Fusilier Guards records indicate that Fotheringham served honourably in the Crimea.  He left active service as a Lieutenant and Captain in 1859.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of the National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Officer's Albert Shako 1844 - 55, Grenadier Company, 1st Battalion, 1st (The Royal Scots) Regiment of Foot

The 1^st Regiment of Foot, commonly known as The Royal Regiment or The Royal Scots, landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the 3^rd Division, English Army of the East.  Their battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

This photograph shows an excellent example of the officer’s Albert Shako, which was authorized in December 1843, and began appearing in the ranks in 1844.  It became regulation headgear with the publishing of the 1846 Uniform Regulations, and was replaced by a more stylish, sloping-forward shako in 1855.

The gilt chain chinstrap and shako badge denote an officer’s cap, while the white ball tuft and grenade within the shako badge indicate the Grenadier Company, on the right flank of the regiment.  The Grenadier Company led the way in an attack, and often functioned as skirmishers for the regiment, operating with the Light Company (A hunting horn in the badge and a green ball tuft) on the left flank.

The shako badge is a gilt eight-pointed star with battle honours on the star’s rays.  In the center of the badge is a laurel wreath surmounted by a crown.  Below the wreath is a scroll with the word “Peninsula,” and below that a Sphinx over the word “Egypt.”  Within the wreath is a grenade with “1” on the ball, circled with the words “Royal Regiment.”

The shako is black beaver.  Regulations specify it will be six and three quarters inches high.  The actual height measurement of this shako is six and seven eighths inches.  Perhaps it stretched a bit over the years or it was merely made that way for the officer, who would have contracted for its manufacture and paid from his own pocket.  It is correctly a quarter inch less in diameter at the top than at the bottom.  There is a two and three eighths inches wide front peak, and an inch and a quarter wide peak at the rear.  The gilt chin chain is fastened at the sides with rose-pattern ornaments.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of The Royal Scots Museum, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Uniform of Capt & LtCol Percy, VC, Grenadier Guards

The Grenadier Guards landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Guards Brigade, 1^st Division, English Army of the East.  These were Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s elite personal guards.  In the Crimea, the Guards Brigade consisted of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Fusilier Guards.  The Guards’ battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

Henry Percy was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards at age nineteen.  After almost twenty years of service, he embarked for the Crimea at age thirty-seven, as a Captain and Lieutenant Colonel (The dual rank system exclusive to Her Majesty’s Guards regiments).

At Alma he was wounded in the arm, but continued to lead his men in battle.  At Inkerman he led a charge into the Sandbag Battery, then held it against repeated Russian assaults by superior numbers.  Having run out of ammunition, he ordered his men to throw stones at the attacking enemy.  The Russians began doing the same, knocking Percy off the parapet once.  Upon his climbing back up, he was knocked senseless with another even larger stone.  He awoke bleeding badly and half blinded, but was able to join his men in a charge driving the enemy down the hill below the battery.  Out of ammunition and cut off, the wounded Percy led his men through dense brush to safety.  He received the Victoria Cross from Queen Victoria, personally, in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857.

This photograph shows his coatee, sash, and epaulettes under an officer’s greatcoat draped over the coatee in the manner commonly worn by officers in the Crimea.  Note that Percy had cut the standing collar from his coatee, no doubt to make it less restrictive on campaign.  The right sleeve of the coatee (not visible under the greatcoat) shows signs of rough field repair and dried blood.  The epaulettes show the grenade of the Grenadier Guards, and the braiding and crown of a Captain and Lieutenant Colonel.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of the Guards Museum, London, UK.

Officer's Shoulder-Belt Plate, Battalion Company, 19th Regiment of Foot

The 19^th Regiment of Foot, later nicknamed the Green Howards, landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Light Division of the English Army of the East.  Their battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

Most of the British officers who went to the Crimea carried a sword, and in some cases, a pistol, to defend themselves.  Various types of pistols were carried stuck in waist belts or saddlebags, but the sword was carried within easy reach on a sword belt across the officer’s right shoulder and hanging at his left hip.  This belt bore a breast plate more ornate and detailed than the enlisted soldiers (known as the ‘other ranks’) wore.

The artifact in this photograph is such an officer’s sword-belt plate of the 19^th Regiment.  It is in excellent condition, with the exception of the chipped green malachite within the rope circle.  The officer’s regimental number is in Roman numerals (XIX).  Such a badge worn by enlisted soldiers would merely contain the Arabic number “19.”  The rope pattern, number, crown, and rectangular plate are gilt for officers.  The eight-pointed star is silver.

Although there is wear on the plate, there is no specific evidence of this artifact having been in the Crimea.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of The Green Howards Museum, Richmond, UK.

Bearskin Cap worn by Sir Charles Russell, VC, Grenadier Guards, in the Crimea

The Grenadier Guards landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Guards Brigade, 1^st Division, English Army of the East.  These were Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s elite personal guards.  In the Crimea the Guards Brigade consisted of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, and Scots Fusilier Guards.  The Guards’ battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

Sir Charles Russell was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest decoration for bravery, for his actions at the Battle of Inkerman, 5 November 1854, at age twenty-eight.  The then Brevet Major Russell offered to dislodge a significant group of Russians from the Sandbag Battery, asking if anyone would follow him.  A sergeant and two privates volunteered.  His assault party met much resistance, and seemed on several occasions to be close to annihilation.  Their skill, particularly with the bayonet, prevailed, and the enemy was sent on their way.  Russell fought with great distinction, at one point wrenching the rifle from the hands of a large, powerful Russian.  Sir Charles achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring from the Guards.

The 1846 Uniform Regulations describe the cap in the photograph as a “bear-skin, twelve inches deep, fastened under the chin by a plain gilt taper chain.”  Just prior to embarking for the Crimea, the Guards modified their bearskin caps by cutting them down a few inches.  Perhaps in keeping with this modification, the actual measurement for the cap in this photograph was ten inches deep.  It is also interesting that this bearskin is a soft leather collapsible cap, rather than the stiff Guards caps routinely seen, which have a bamboo-like cage beneath the skin itself.  The white goat’s hair plume on the left side indicates the bearskin is Grenadier Guards, who were on the right flank of the Guards Brigade.  A Coldstream Guards’ scarlet cut-feather plume was on the right side, as they were on the left flank.  The Scots Fusilier Guards had no plume and were in the center of the line.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of the Guards Museum, London, UK.

Highland Officer's Doublet - 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot

As a result of publishing an image of the Scottish Feathered Bonnet, I received an email from someone with an interest in the Black Watch in the Crimean War. Thus I thought I would publish this excellent example of the traditional highland military dress.

The 42nd Regiment of Foot, more commonly known today as The Black Watch, landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Highland Brigade, 1^st Division, English Army of the East.  Their battle honours include Alma, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

The coat in this photograph is the scarlet doublet, introduced in 1855, and worn by Black Watch officers during the later part of the Crimean War, at least through 1856.  Although the facings on collar and slash cuffs appear black, this is a regiment designated as ‘Royal’, therefore, the facings are a very dark blue.

The doublet has two rows of nine each regimental pattern diamond-shaped highland buttons down the front.  Each button bears a crown over the number ‘42’.  There are two ‘Inverness’ style skirts on the lower front with three buttons each, and loops of gold braid.  There were short skirts on the rear as well.

The single row of braid and the crescent badge on both sides of the collar indicate that an Ensign wore this particular doublet. Ensigns were not only Second Lieutenants in the Crimean period, but often carried the colour or colours – the Ensign of the regiment and the Queen’s colour.

Although the doublet shows campaign wear, and a roughly hand-stitched mend under the left arm, there is no specific evidence it saw action in the Crimea.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of The Black Watch Museum, Perth, Scotland.

Nearly Complete Marching Order - Other Ranks - 19th Regt of Foot

Please excuse my not having blogged in a bit.  Life, as it often does, got in the way.  Since my response to publishing photographic images and descriptions from “Crimean Memories: Artefacts of the Crimean War, has met with positive responses, I shall continue to do so for a time.

The 19^th Regiment of Foot, better known today as the Green Howards, landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Light Division of the English Army of the East.  Their battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

The artifacts in this photograph represent the only known museum presentation of a nearly Complete Marching Order uniform, with shako (1844-1855), enlisted soldier’s coatee, and nearly full accoutrements and equipment, as worn in the Crimea in 1854.  Based upon the shoulder epaulettes, the white over red shako plume, and the plain number 19 in the shako badge (without a grenade for grenadier company or a hunting horn for light company) we know that this is the uniform of a member of a ”battalion company” of a line regiment.

The red serge coatee has two tails in the back, which have white turn-backs.  The coatee has grass-coloured regimental facings on collar and cuffs.  There are ten rows of doubled white tape with square end loops across the front.  The coatee is fastened by a single row of pewter buttons bearing the regimental number 19.

You can see on the back a black Trotter style knapsack with white leather shoulder straps across the front.  The black waterproof cloth-covered mess tin set is  just visible strapped to the knapsack top. The leather cartridge box can just be seen peeking out from where it is suspended on the cross belt on the right side, under the right arm.

The manikin is wearing one plain white cross belt, and the then newly issued waist belt with locket buckle.  The outer ring of the buckle bears the name of the county the regiment is from:  York North Riding Regiment, today the North Yorkshire Regiment.  Inside the ring is, again, the number 19.  No bayonet is on this manikin, but would have been worn with the scabbard affixed to a leather frog on the left side of the waist belt.  Note the small white pouch slid onto the shoulder belt to contain percussion caps for igniting the powder in the barrel when firing the soldier’s rifle musket.

Originally the bayonet in its scabbard was worn on a second cross belt across the opposite shoulder, which also contained a brass belt plate with the regiment’s number on it.  Just before departing for the Crimea, the second cross belt was eliminated in some line regiments, and replaced by the waist belt.  The locket buckle at the waist, bearing the regimental number, replaced the brass shoulder belt plate.

The soldier represented by the manikin is wearing the British standard issue round canteen on a leather strap, painted a bluish colour.  The soldier does not have a linen haversack over his shoulder, normally used to carry rations.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of The Green Howards Museum, Richmond, UK.

Sir James Scarlett's specially modified helmet

General Sir James Scarlett was placed in command of the entire Heavy Brigade of cavalry in the Crimean campaign.  English Army of the East landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, without the Heavy Cavalry Brigade (2^nd Cavalry Brigade), which was still at Varna, awaiting transport.  Brigadier General Scarlett began landing the Heavy Brigade along the Crimean coast on 24 September 1854, and completed the landing at Balaclava on 6 October 1854.  The Heavy Brigade battle honours include The Battle of Balaclava and the Siege of Sevastopol.

On 25 October 1854, in South Valley at the Battle of Balaclava, General Scarlett led his Heavy Brigade in a charge against a strong force of Russian cavalry, and succeeded in driving them off the field.  Unfortunately, not much is heard of this charge, as it was over-shadowed by the spectacular disaster that followed it.  This was when Lord Cardigan led his Light Cavalry Brigade against massed Russian artillery and cavalry down a gauntlet of enemy fire in the North Valley.  The Heavy Brigade followed in support of the Light into the Valley of Death, but stopped midway into the valley on orders from Lord Lucan, who commanded the entire cavalry division.

General Scarlett’s own regiment was the 5^th Dragoon Guards.  The helmet of the 5^th Dragoon Guards is brass, but the front peak is straight down over the eyes, and there is a regimental badge on the front.  Scarlett was nearsighted and designed the helmet in this photograph with the front peak extended forward, no doubt to lend a better view.  He substituted long elegant black feathers for the horsehair plum.  He also seems to have redesigned the 5^th Dragoon Guards helmet plate with a full silver garter surmounted by a crown, leaving out the dragoon badge in the center.  Altogether this makes the helmet and this photograph quite unique.

Ironically, in spite of the better view afforded by his modified helmet, the near-sighted Scarlett almost missed the on-coming Russian cavalry until a staff officer politely pointed them out to him.

This artifact was photographed courtesy of the Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Burnley, Lancashire, UK, where the Scarlett collection is maintained.