The artist who painted Thomas Beckit in 1800 also painted this picture of two rank-and-file men galloping and practicing their sword drill. They have no rank badges on their sleeves like Beckit but they do wear the same strange headgear. It can be seen that it is a short shako with a tall front showing a large badge and a scroll beneath, probably inscribed with the regimental title. Both troopers have large white plumes on the left side of the cap. The left hand figure has a long queue on the back of his hair. Up until 1796 hair was formed into a club shape but after 1796 hair was ordered to be made into a queue, nine inches long with an inch showing below the binding. In 1804 this was shortened to 8 inches, then in 1808 the queue was abolished and hair was to be cut short.
The short-tailed jackets buttoned to just below the waist, and had doubled yellow lace across the front. There were four bars of lace on the sleeve, with buttons in the middle, and there were yellow lace edges on the blue turn-backs of the tails. The shoulders had lace-edged red wings attached to blue shoulder straps, also edged in yellow. Both men have white leather pouch-belts with black pouches on their backs. The rolled cloaks on the back of the saddle are red with a white lining which shows on the outside of the roll. They have lightweight black boots which replaced the heavy boots worn in the middle of the 18th century. They were hollowed out behind the knee and worn with white ‘plush’ breeches. But this was only for reviews and field days. On active service grey overalls were worn with ankle boots.
The watercolour painting is from the Brown University Digital Repository. They date it as 1802 and attribute the work to John Leeth(?).
