Concerning the question did Grenadiers wear their bearskin caps on April 19, 1775? There is no evidence either way that I could find. But here is a watercolor of a fusilier of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers on guard duty in Boston in 1775. It is part of a multi plate watercolor panorama of Boston done by Lieutenant Richard Williams of the 23rd. He mentioned in his journal sitting stop a hill in Boston to paint this. In one plate there is a fusilier on guard duty. He is identified by his cap, the blue facings on his coat, no shoulder wings and the three feathers of the Prince of Wales in his cartridge box and rear of his cap. All of which are very clear in the original works.
A full size copy of the entire panorama is on display at the Battle Road Visitor Center, Minute Man National Historical Park, Lincoln, Massachusetts. For additional information please see;
Nichipor, Mark A. "Richard Williams and the Cartridge box badge of the Royal Welch Fusiliers."
Military Color for and Historian, 37 (summer 1985), pp. 93-94.
And at the end of the day, who cares ...if you want to paint grenadiers wearing bearskin caps - go for it! No one can prove they DIDNT wear them - and they are only toy soldiers anyway, so we can all do what we like, that is the beauty of the hobby, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAs you can see I field my Grenadiers in caps :) My post here and previous were only to add to the historical evidence. As you say we cannot prove one way or the other. But it is fun to see what is out there.
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