These pages will attempt to compile and set out what information I have on the dress and equipage of the 1803 infantry volunteers of a few selected counties. (Pages on infantry volunteers, infantry armed associations, yeomanry and cavalry associations of the 1790’s can be found in a separate series under their own parent page, here. Pages on the Local Militia, the successors to the 1803 volunteers, can be found under their parent page, here, with some detailed general comments.)
The re-formed or second wave volunteers of 1803 were obliged or encouraged to adopt a greater conformity in their appearance than their predecessors of the 1790’s, adhering not only to the established schema – infantry red, artillery blue, rifles green – but also to the facing colours of their county militia regiments. Most complied. But for the student, any loss of variety and eccentricity is more than made up for by the far richer documentation of this period, as I hope these pages will demonstrate. Even so, the entries for some units will look rather thin, and there’s plenty more to be added, especially from archival sources. In the meantime, this is a start.
Pages set up so far are for:
Cheshire: volunteer infantry of 1803
Lancashire: Liverpool volunteer infantry and artillery of 1803
Lancashire: Manchester volunteer infantry of 1803
This Re-illuminated School of Mars 