Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of the Big Battalions => Topic started by: Dining Room Battles on January 19, 2021, 07:19:48 PM
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Hello all,
I'm getting ready to paint the 71st Regiment Frasers' Highlanders. Since the facing colors are white, does the piper and drummer wear red coats or white coats? Thanks in advance.
Neil
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For the 71st Highlanders the drummers would have worn reversed colours so white coats with red facings. The pipers would wear the same scarlet coats as the rest of the regiment.
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f8/8d/0a/f88d0adc915e05e6b88e13605acc611a.jpg)
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/44/5b/b8/445bb80589373312ba57c924c43824d7.jpg)
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Bear in mind that the drummers of regiments with white facings would also have worn red "small clothes" (ie waistcoat and breeches) as well; in the case of a "kilted" regiment, like the 71st, this would have been waistcoat only and the overalls (leggings in winter) would have been the same colour as those of the rank-and-file, as seen in the illustration.
Note that the pipers wore red coats as they were actual soldiers from the ranks who were paid a bit extra by the officers, or perhaps from regimental funds, to do this as an extra duty, whereas the drummers/fifers would have been specialists and listed as such in the twice-yearly Muster Rolls.
The 71st appear to have worn their kilts only in the first year or so of their time in America (ie 1776), and adopted overalls from that point on, as did the 42nd. Other kilted regiments, which arrived later in the war, also seem to have adopted overalls quite quickly.
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71st
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Yikes! Conflicting information!
Neil
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Yikes! Conflicting information!
Neil
Not really, the print is not based on dress regulations. The 18th Century Dress Regulations, as has already been said, had the drummers in reversed colours and were on the regimental establishment. The pipers were soldiers wearing regimental uniform. Often they may well have been the officer's personal piper from his clan. The drummers were (still are) musicians. Pipers have always played the "Scots" into battle and several have won gallantry medals doing so.
On my platoon commander's course in the early 1970s one highland officer who attended brought his hereditary piper with him. He played our syndicate (The Celtic Syndicate of Scots, Irish and Welsh) into action as required on our exercises and battle drills. On the Company dawn attack he played us through the January mist onto the "enemy" positions.