Several military forces have used red-coloured coats in the past. The combined Denmark–Norway army wore red uniforms from the 17th century to the union's dissolution in 1814. 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. Members of the Paraguayan Army also wore red-coloured coats during the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870). [80] Members of the Royal Burmese Armed Forces were also recorded to have worn western-style red-coloured uniforms during the 18th and 19th centuries. Life for a British soldier was often harsh and unforgiving. Discipline was strict in the British Army, with harsh punishments commonly meted out for even minor offences. This was in part a reaction to the constant gambling, whoring, drinking, and brawling that British soldiers participated in due to a variety of reasons. A significant amount of training was required before a British soldier was allowed to be sent into the field, while harsh, this allowed the British to become one the foremost powers in Europe by the end of the century. The uniform distinction for a corporal was a shoulder knot of white cord on the right shoulder, a vestige of the extra slow match carried in earlier days. By the 1780s, regiments shifted to a single white silk epaulette. Other than the knot/epaulette, corporals wore the same uniforms as privates. Carman, W.Y.; Simkin, Richard (1985). Uniforms of the British Army — the Infantry Regiments. Exeter: Webb & Bower. ISBN 978-0-86350-031-2.

Regulation for the Uniform Cloathing of the Marching Regiments of Foot", reproduced in Edwards, T J (1953). Standards, Guidons and Colours of the Commonwealth Forces. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. pp.191–193. No part of the Cloathing or Ornaments of the Regiments to be altered, after the following Regulations are put into execution by His Majesty's permission. Full dress is still regularly worn on ceremonial occasions by the Foot Guards, the Household Cavalry and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. It is issued at public expense to these units and to the various Royal Corps of Army Music Bands for ceremonial use. [3] Other units may obtain Full Dress on occasion, as it can be worn whenever a parade is attended or ordained by the monarch or a member of the British Royal Family, including ceremonial parades, state funerals, and public duties around royal residences (such as the Changing of the Guard), or participating in the Lord Mayor's Show. [4] Lancers forming a guard of honour in full dress From the time of the New Model Army broad-brimmed Flemish hats were worn. After the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 the Monmouth cap, a broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt hat, with one side of the brim generally turned up, was introduced. Then came the tall Flemish hat which developed into the low-crowned Carolina hat and the tricorne hat. During James II’s reign the grenadier cap was introduced for grenadiers. Scottish Highland infantry regiments from about 1763 wore feather bonnets. No. 12 also covers whatever day-to-day working dress may be authorised at a local or regimental level. Formerly an olive green shirt and trousers were often worn, but this has been replaced with combat dress shirt and trousers worn with beret and stable belt (identical to that of No. 7 Dress). Khaki Uniform 1848–49: First Introduction by Lumsden and Hodson", Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, JSAHR 82 (Winter 2004) pp 341–347Commando green: Commando qualified personnel serving in Commando units (including the Special Boat Service) During the 18th and much of the nineteenth centuries the cheaply made coats of other ranks in the British army were produced by a variety of contractors, using the laborious process of dyeing described above. Accordingly, even when new, batches of garments sent to regiments might be issued in different shades of red. This tendency towards variations in appearance, commented on by contemporary observers, would subsequently be compounded by weather bleaching and soaking. [79]) McGuigan, Ron (June 2003). "The Forgotten Army: Fencible Regiments of Great Britain 1793–1816". The Napoleon Series . Retrieved 10 August 2011. Side view of pith helmet, showing the regimental coloured flash. The same flashes were used on slouch hats worn by the British during world war two, but smaller. Scarlet tunics ceased to be general issue upon British mobilisation in August 1914. The Brigade of Guards resumed wearing their scarlet full dress in 1920, but for the remainder of the army red coats were only authorised for wear by regimental bands and officers in mess dress or on certain limited social or ceremonial occasions (notably attendance at court functions or weddings). [48] [49] [50] The reason for not generally reintroducing the distinctive full dress was primarily financial, as the scarlet cloth requires expensive cochineal dye dyed in the grain of the cloth by old-fashioned methods. [51]

The National Archives, London, War Office, WO 26/21, pp. 502, 507, 509, General View of the Faceings of the several Marching Regiments of Foot Major R. M. Barnes, Plates XX and XXII "A History of the Regiments & Uniforms of the British Army", First Sphere Books edition 1792Red de Círculos Bolivarianos asegura que la oposición está dolida por celebración del Bicentenario en Noticias24.com" . Retrieved 3 January 2017. See also: Full dress uniform Line infantry full dress ( Duke of Wellington's Regiment): scarlet full dress tunic of pre–World War I pattern, Home Service helmet of 1878. British Army Dress Committee (August 2005). Joint Service Publication 336: The Defence Supply Chain Manual. Vol.12 , Part 3, Pamphlet 3, Sect. 3 (3rded.). p.Para. 313. Archived from the original on 2007-11-06 . Retrieved 2008-07-29. Broadcloth is so called not because it is finished wide, 54" not being particularly so, but because it was woven nearly half as wide again and shrunk down to finish 54". This shrinking, or milling, process made the cloth very dense, bringing all the threads very tightly together, and gave a felted blind finish to the cloth. These factors meant that it was harder wearing, more weatherproof and could take a raw edge; the hems of the garment could be simply cut and left without hemming as the threads were so heavily shrunk together as to prevent fraying.

Life Guards, Blues and Royals, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and Royal Dragoon Guards wear metal helmets with plumes, the plumes variously coloured to distinguish them. Sergeants wore coats of slightly better cloth than privates, scarlet not dull madder red. Sergeants’ wore hats trimmed with silver lace and their coats trimmed with plain white lace instead of the regimental pattern. They also wore a red wool sash with a stripe of the regiment’s facing color woven in the middle. Regiments with red facings wore a white stripe. For duty on more formal occasions a sergeants carried a halberd and short sword, but for most duty in America, sergeants carried a musket with bayonet. The ratio of women following the army varies widely over the period, ranging up to 17 women per 100 men in some theatres of the American Revolution. [38] [ bettersourceneeded] These women were expected to work and carry out any of the services required by the soldiers: cooking and washing were common domestic duties but these women often doubled up as nurses and carers. [39] Receiving a wage from the army meant that they could earn a decent living as a camp follower. The sutlers could also make a profit by selling their wares– coffee, liquor, beer etc.– to those they followed.Camp followers [ edit ] Camp followers, a part of British military life during the 18th century (historical reenactment) There had been isolated instances of red military clothing pre-dating its general adoption by the New Model Army. The uniforms of the Yeoman of the Guard (formed 1485) and the Yeomen Warders (also formed 1485) have traditionally been in Tudor red and gold. [3] :3 The Gentlemen Pensioners of James I (now the Gentlemen-at-Arms) had worn red with yellow feathers". [4] At Edgehill, the first battle of the Civil War, the King's lifeguard had worn red coats, as had at least two Parliamentary regiments". [5] However none of these examples constituted the national uniform that the red coat was later to become. [3]

The term redshirts was also used in mid-19th century Italy to refer to volunteers who followed Giuseppe Garibaldi during the unification of Italy. However, the term redshirt is derived from the red shirts or loose-fitting blouses worn by volunteers, as opposed to a specific piece of military garment. Colley, Linda (1992). Britons: Forging the Nation 1707–1837. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-7126-6050-1. a b c d "Dress instructions - Chapter 6. Full dress and undress uniforms". Canadian Forces Dress Instructions. Government of Canada. 13 November 2019 . Retrieved 27 December 2019. Even after the adoption of khaki service dress in 1902, most British infantry and some cavalry regiments continued to wear scarlet tunics on parade and for off-duty "walking out dress", until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.The National Archives, London, War Office, WO 26/21, p. 509, Regulation for the Uniform Clothing of the Cavalry and Camp Colours The National Archives, London, War Office, WO 3/19, p. 329, Infantry and Cavalry to wear their hair Queued British Army parade, including a provincial officer with a gorget and cap hat, grenadiers and light infantry. Note the regimental colours with rank in the centre. Philip O'Sullivan Beare (1621), Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Compendium, Vol. II, Bk IV, Chap XV, translated as Ireland Under Elizabeth by Matthew J. Byrne (1903). See p. 27 of Byrne's translation. Broadcloth is so called not because it is finished wide, 54 inches not being particularly wide, but because it was woven nearly half as wide again and shrunk down to finish 54 inches. This shrinking, or milling, process made the cloth very dense, bringing all the threads very tightly together, and gave a felted blind finish to the cloth. These factors meant that it was harder-wearing, more weatherproof and could take a raw edge; the hems of the garment could be simply cut and left without hemming as the threads were so heavily shrunk together as to prevent fraying.