Red coat (military uniform)

Red coat, also referred to as redcoat or scarlet tunic, is a military garment formerly much used by British infantrymen, so customarily that the term became a common synecdoche for the soldiers themselves.

The red coat was widely (though not exclusively) used by the infantry units of the British military, including the British Army and Royal Marines, from the 16th to 19th centuries. The garment was also widely used by the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces and the British Indian Army during the 18th and 19th centuries. Though, by the 20th century, the red coat was abandoned for practical duties in favour of khaki by all British Empire military units, it continues to be used for ceremonial full dress and mess dress uniforms in many countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.^[1]

The usage of red coats by English soldiers dates back to the Tudor period, when the Yeomen of the Guard and the Yeomen Warders were both equipped in the royal colours of the House of Tudor, red and gold. During the Tudor conquest of Ireland and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, units of English soldiers were equipped in red coats, most notably the New Model Army, which fought on the Parliamentary side.^[2]^[3]^[4]

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]

There had been instances of red military clothing pre-dating its general adoption by the New Model Army. The uniforms of the Yeomen of the Guard and the Yeomen Warders, both formed in 1485, have traditionally been in Tudor red (representing the colour of the Welsh dragon) and gold.^[6] The Gentlemen Pensioners of King James I wore red uniforms with yellow feathers in their hats.^[7] At the Battle of Edgehill, the first battle of the English Civil War, Royalist troops wore red coats, as did at least two Parliamentary regiments.^[8] However, none of these examples constituted the national uniform that the red coat was later to become.^[9]

17th–18th century

Soldiers of the 4th Regiment of Horse, 1687

Soldier of the 29th Regiment of Foot, 1742

Soldier of the 60th (Royal American) Regiment, 1758

Grenadier of the 40th Regiment of Foot, 1767

Officer of the 71st Regiment of Foot, 1776

The Thin Red Line (Battle of Balaclava)

Barnes, Major R. M. (1951). History of the Regiments & Uniforms of the British Army. Seeley Service & Co.

(1982). British Infantry Uniforms Since 1660. Blandford Press. ISBN 978-1-85079-009-9.

Barthorp, Michael

Carman, W.Y. (1957). British Military Uniforms from Contemporary Pictures. Feltham Middlesex: Hamlyn Publishing Group.

Carman, W.Y. (1968). British Military Uniforms from Contemporary Pictures. Hamlyn Publishing Group.

Carman, W.Y. (n.d.). British Military Uniforms from Contemporary Pictures. Hamlyn Publishing Group.

Carman, W.Y.; Simkin, Richard (1985). Uniforms of the British Army — the Infantry Regiments. Exeter: Webb & Bower. 978-0-86350-031-2.

ISBN

Kannik, Preben (1968). Military Uniforms of the World in Colour. Blandford Press. 0-71370482-9.

ISBN

Lawson, Cecil C. P. (1969) [1940]. A History of the Uniforms of the British Army, Volume I: From the Beginning to 1760. London: Kaye & Ward. 978-0-7182-0814-1.

ISBN

Mollo, John (1972). Military Fashion. Barrie and Jenkins. 978-0-214-65349-0.

ISBN

Young, Peter; Holmes, Richard (27 September 1999). The English Civil War. Wordsworth Editions. 978-1-84022-222-7.