The Royal Artillery Uniform

          In the 18th Century, the artillery was a separate part of the British military with its own headquarters and training center at Woolwich. As a result, the men of the Royal Artillery had different procedures and uniform regulations. In time of war, the highly trained artillery crews would be assigned to operate guns under command of the army, usually to provide close support for the infantry in the field. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Fourth Battalion of the Royal Artillery was serving in North America and so were destined to bear the brunt of the fighting there throughout the conflict
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          As per the regulations of the period, the regimental coats worn by our gunners are cut the same as those worn by the infantry but are constructed of blue wool with red trim. Yellow worsted binding (called "lace") surrounds the plain yellow metal buttons on the cuffs and lapels. Small clothes are white like those worn by the infantry, but the cocked hat is bound in yellow wool tape. The men sometimes wear a plain grey smock in lieu of the regimental coat.

          Along with the usual haversack and canteen, our gunners carry a variety of implements used in serving our authentic reproduction of an original light British field gun. The gun's bronze barrel is an exact copy of one surrendered by the British at Saratoga, N.Y. The original was one of a number of three pounders ordered from the German foundry of Verbruggen specifically for use by the British in North America. It is mounted on a compact, solid oak "Grasshopper" style carriage typical of those used extensively in the rough terrain and narrow roadways of revolutionary America.