Red coat (military uniform)

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

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.

One concerns an engagement, twenty years later in 1581, during the Second Desmond Rebellion, in which he says, "a company of English soldiers, distinguished by their dress and arms, who were called 'red coats' [Vestibus et armis insignis erat cohors Anglorum quae "Sagorum rubrorem" nominabantur], and being sent to war [in Ireland] by the Queen were overwhelmed near Lismore by John Fitzedmund Fitzgerald, the seneschal.

"[10] The other relates to a rout by William Burke, Lord of Bealatury, in 1599 of "English recruits clad in red coats" (qui erant tyrones Angli sagis rubris induti).

In 1584, the Lord President of the Council informed the Sheriffs and Justices of Lancashire who were charged with raising 200 foot soldiers for service in Ireland that they should be furnished with "a cassocke of some motley, sad grene coller, or russett".

To the surprise of continental observers they stormed sand-dunes 150 feet (46 m) high, fighting experienced Spanish soldiers from their summits with musket fire and push of pike.

[24] Red coats were also an exclusive feature of British regular infantry until the 1802 dress regulations announced the adoption of dark green by the newly raised rifle regiments.

From an early stage red coats were lined with contrasting colours and turned out to provide distinctive regimental facings (lapels, cuffs and collars).

[41] This included scarlet "frocks" (plain jackets in harder-wearing material designed for informal wear[42] ) as part of their active service uniform[43] although some regiments sent from India were in khaki drill.

[47] While nearly all technical and support branches of the army wore dark blue, the Royal Engineers had worn red since the Peninsular War in order to draw less fire when serving amongst red-coated infantry.

[56] Thereafter red coatees became the normal parade and battle dress for marine infantry, although the staining effects of salt spray meant that white fatigue jackets and subsequently blue undress tunics were often substituted for shipboard duties.

The scarlet full-dress tunics of the Royal Marine Light Infantry were abolished in 1923 when the two branches of the Corps were amalgamated and dark blue became the universal uniform colour for both ceremonial and ordinary occasions.

These include the Australian, British, Canadian, Fijian, Ghanaian, Indian, Jamaican, Kenyan, New Zealand, Pakistani, Singaporean, and Sri Lankan armies.

During the 19th century, several volunteer militias in New Zealand wore a variety of scarlet, dark blue, or green tunics, closely following the contemporary uniforms of the British Army.

From the modern perspective, the retention of a highly conspicuous colour such as red for active service appears inexplicable and foolhardy, regardless of how striking it may have looked on the parade ground.

However, in the days of the musket (a weapon of limited range and accuracy) and black powder, battle field visibility was quickly obscured by clouds of smoke.

Furthermore, the vegetable dyes used until the 19th century would fade over time to a pink or ruddy-brown, so on a long campaign in a hot climate the colour was less conspicuous than the modern scarlet shade would be.

Before the Tudor period, red frequently appeared in the cloth livery provided for the household personnel—including guard troops—of many European royal houses and Italian or Church principalities.

During the English Civil War red dyes were imported in large quantities for use by units and individuals of both sides, though this was the beginning of the trend for long overcoats.

"[69] On traditional battlefields with large engagements, visibility was not considered a military disadvantage until the general adoption of rifles in the 1850s, followed by smokeless powder after 1880.

As part of a series of reforms following the Second Boer War (which had been fought in this inconspicuous clothing of Indian origin), a darker khaki serge was adopted in 1902 for service dress in Britain itself.

The British military authorities were more practical in their considerations than their French counterparts, who incurred heavy casualties by retaining highly visible blue coats and red trousers for active service[71] until several months into World War I.

Amongst other diverse examples, Spanish hussars, Japanese Navy[74] and United States Marine Corps bandsmen, and Serbian generals had red tunics as part of their gala or court dress[75] during this period.

The modern scarlet wool is supplied by Abimelech Hainsworth and is much lighter in weight than the traditional material, which was intended for hard wear on active service.

[68] The cloth for private soldiers used up until the late 18th century was plain weave broadcloth weighing 16 ounces per square yard (540 g/m2), made from coarser blends of English wool.

Infantry sergeants, some cavalry regiments and many volunteer corps (which were often formed from prosperous middle-class citizens who paid for their own uniforms) used various mock scarlets; a brighter red but derived from cheaper materials than the cochineal used for officers' coats.

The alum, argol and tin liquor, which acted as mordants or dye fixatives, were boiled together for half an hour, and the madder and cochineal were added for another ten minutes.

A number of Danish Army infantry, cavalry and artillery regiments continued to wear red coats from 1814 to 1848, when they were replaced by dark blue service tunics.

[83] During the Venezuelan War of Independence, the Ejército Libertador (Army of Liberation) adopted the red hussar cavalry uniforms used by the British Legions' Company of Honor Guard for Simón Bolívar.

Prior to World War I, officers of the Prussian Army's Guard Cuirassier Regiment wore scarlet tunics as part of their gala uniform for court functions.