Other British Regiments of Horse
The artist Charles Hamilton Smith was a serving officer in the British Army, although born of a Flemish family called Smet. He produced many paintings and prints that tell us much about military uniform of the early 19th century. This is a detail from his scheme which sets out the uniforms of all the regular cavalry regiments. The ones in this picture are light dragoons, although not all of them are shown here, and it is interesting to compare the uniform of the 15th with the others.The uniform is now in the form of a short, waist length blue jacket with rows of white braid across the chest, the collar and cuffs in the facing colour. There is now only one shoulder belt for the carbine and pouch, while the sword is hung from a waist belt. Some of the figures have a pointed piece at bottom left which represents the shabraque worn over the saddle; the 15th has a dark blue one. The helmets are all Tarleton style except the 25th who have a shako. The turbans on the helmets match the colour of the facings but the 15th have a black turban. The plumes are of varying length, tall for the 15th, and white over red like the rest. The all red plume, recently granted, has gone.
Three of the regiments shown have sabretaches including the 15th which has a red one. Five of the regiments have buff shoulder belts while the others have white, and four have buff breeches. The 15th have a buff shoulder belt and breeches.
Three of the regiments shown have sabretaches including the 15th which has a red one. Five of the regiments have buff shoulder belts while the others have white, and four have buff breeches. The 15th have a buff shoulder belt and breeches.