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British Infantryman:
1837
The British soldier in Canada at the time
of Queen Victoria's coronation wore much the same uniform as his UK-based
counterparts did. Home service uniform at the time consisted of a heavy,
scarlet "coatee", a close-fitting short coat with long tails.
Atop his head, he wore a cumbersome bell-top
style shako. These were despised by the troops for their weight and size.
Additionally, he would have had a large plate identifying his regiment
mounted on the front of the shako, however, this is not pictured in the
illustration.
The soldier of the period wore rather tight-fitting
trousers, white in the warm months and dark in the winter. He also carries
an ammunition box around the back of his waist. |
| British Infantryman:
1850
The uniform of the Crimean War era British
infantryman had changed little from his 1830's predecesor. He still wore
the tight-fitting coatee, although this had been trimmed to a different
pattern than before. The coatee was to remain in service until 1855, long
after continental European and American armies had adopted the full-skirted
pattern.
Replacing the unpopular bell-top shako was
a smaller and smarter model that was much lighter and more comfortable
to wear. This evolution continued until the 1870's, with the shako growing
smaller and smaller in height until it was ultimately abandoned.
Around his waist, a new ammunition box is
carried, reflecting the adoption of the new Minič-style rifle. |
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Canadian Cavalryman:
1867
Cavalry, unlike infantry, had an ever-changing
number of uniform patterns which largely depended on the type of cavalry
in question. Lancers differed from Hussars, Hussars differed from Dragoons,
and so on.
The particular horseman in the picture belongs
to the Royal Guides and wears an elaborate dark blue "attila" jacket, normally
associated with Hussar regiments.
On his head is a highly-polished and brightly-plumed
helmet, characteristic of period cavalry. On the front of the helmet is
a gilt unit emblem.
At his waist dangles his sabre and on his
feet he wears long cavalry boots, in this case tucked into his trouser
legs. |
| Canadian Infantryman:
1885
Canadian troops fighting the North-West Rebellion
wore the full-skirted tunic adopted by the British forces in 1855. These
tunics were often older than the fighting men who wore them, and reflected
the poor state of finance the militia was in at the time of the Rebellion.
Headgear was the dark blue spiked helmet adopted
by the British army after Prussia's victory over France in 1870. Although
the helmet had a long career as the British soldier's standard headgear,
Riel's rising was the only occassion in which it was worn on field service.
Some soldiers preferred pith sun helmets (see
Canadian Cavalryman, 1900), forage caps or slouch hats over the spiked
hemlet, and so a wide variety of headgear could be observed in the armies
of the North-West.
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Canadian Cavalryman, 1900
The Canadian force that went to South Africa was vastly different
from any military force previously raised by Canada. Attired in modern
khaki and carrying magazine-fed bolt-action weapons, the Canadian troops
in Africa were the picture of a modern military force.
Depicted in the image is a Canadian cavalryman. He wears the recently
adopted khaki tunic and buff cavalry bandolier. On his head, he wears a
strictly non-regulation slouch hat, which were popular with the troops,
in place of a pith sun helmet (seen below).
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Please note that this display is by no means exhaustive and is intended
only as a brief overview of uniform development in Canada. |
