18th Century British Soldier

1815 private soldier, Battle of Waterloo
1 1812 pattern Belgic Shako as worn by a centre company soldier of the Coldstream Guards
during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. It has white worsted woollen cap cords and tassels, a
brass cap plate bearing a Coldstream star in the centre, a black leather cockade worn on the
left hand side red and white feathered plume to indicate that the wearer is from a centre
company. If the soldier was from the Grenadier Company he would wear a white plume and
from the Light Company a Green plume
2 Fingerless woollen gloves
3 Soldiers red short coat bearing the rank of Corporal, it was lined with course linen and had
Royal Blue facings, white worsted lace pewter buttons in two's as is the custom for the
Coldstream Guards.
4 Black linen stock and leather stock worn around the neck
5 White waistcoat jacket, which had thinner sleeves than the body and would be worn under
the red short coat or on its own for fatigue or off duty wear around the camp.
6 Linen shirts and under garments
7 Black painted canvas knapsack which contained all the soldiers personal equipment and
possessions when on campaign, it bears the Star of the Garter with the words Coldstream
Guards in the centre scroll. On the top is a rolled Greatcoat and mess tins held in place by
pipeclayed buff leather straps
8 Leather cartridge box which contained 60 rounds of pre-packed ball cartridge ammunition, it
has a Coldstream Guards star fitted to it and was carried on the right hip by a pipeclayed buff
leather shoulder belt. Also visible is the bayonet scabbard and crossbelt worn on the left side
9 Wooden bowl containing a days ration of salted beef, rations would be carried in the linen
haversack
10 Pewter mug
11 Hard tack biscuits and cheese, carried in the linen haversack

12 Knife, fork and spoon kept in a linen bag and a days ration of bread
13 Linen haversack worn on the left hip
14 Soldier's games, draughts and a board made from a piece of tent canvas, a pack of cards
and a wooden yo-yo
15 Grey woollen gaiters, with leather foot straps and pewter buttons
16 Woollen socks
17 Brass sundial compass
18 Straight lasted shoes. The leather was rough side out and as they were straight lasted
there was no right or left shoe; soldiers were expected to swop them around to prevent
excessive wear on one side
19 Leather pouch, containing coins, dice made from flattened musket balls
20 Pocket watch on a length of woven binding
21 Wooden water canteen on a leather strap worn on the left hip
22 Washing and shaving kit
23 Small mirror in a stout wooden frame
24 Bone hair comb and bone handled toothbrush with horsehair bristles
25 Clothes pegs
26 & 27 Greased paper containing black ball, a mixture of tallow, beeswax and soot, used to
polish and help waterproof shoes and cartridge box.
28 Horse hair boot brushes and bristle cloths brush
29 Wooden button stick, used to polish buttons and prevent clothing being stained in the
process
30 Tin containing finely ground brick dust, which was mixed with olive oil and used as a metal
polish
31 Small bristle scrubbing brush
32 Sewing kit, containing linen and sinew thread, spare buttons, wooden thimble, wooden
needle case and scissors
33 Fife, a small, high-pitched instrument, similar to the piccolo
34 Wooden cartridge block used to store ammunition
35 Tin container stored below the wooden block, used to store additional packs of ammunition
and spare musket flints
36, 37 & 38 Flint, steel and tinder contained in a brass case and used to light fires
39 Tin container for gun oil
40 Gun tool and worm used to strip and reassemble the Brown Bess musket for cleaning and
repair, it was a simple device made up of two screwdriver heads and pointed needle used to
push out the metal pins holding the barrel to the stock, screwed onto the pin is a worm which
could be screwed on to the ramrod and was used to help remove cleaning cloth or unfired
charges from the barrel
41 Feather spring clamp, used to remove the frizzen from the lock
42 Ramrod puller, used to remove a ramrod stuck in the barrel or stock
43 Musket flint with a scrap of notched leather and a piece of notched lead either of which
would be placed around the flint and then helped secure the flint in the hammer
44 Canvas case containing spare flints, stored in the cartridge box tin
45 Leather lock stall, used to place over the frizzen to protect it and prevent accidental
sparking that could fire the weapon
46 17" triangular socket bayonet which fitted onto the musket, the same fitting method was
subsequently used for the modern electric light
47 Soldiers pen knife
48 Reading glasses
49 1807 British Army drill regulations and leather covered notebook
50 Brown Bess musket was in service from 1722 to 1838 - some were even shipped to the
Crimea in 1854. It weighed 4.8kg and was made up of three component parts the lock, stock
and barrel. It had an effective range of 100 meters but was capable of firing to 250 meters. It
fired a .75 musket ball made of lead, which was contained as part of a paper tube made from
Cartridge Grade paper which contained gunpowder. The soldier would remove the cartridge
from the cartridge box, bite off the end to release the powder, pour a small amount into the
pan and the rest down the barrel. The now empty cartridge still attached to the musket ball
would then be placed into the barrel as wadding and the ramrod used to ram it down. The
musket would be cocked and was then ready to fire. When the trigger was pulled the hammer
containing the flint would strike the frizzen, causing sparks to ignite the gunpowder in the pan
and pass through the touch hole to ignite the main charge and fire the musket ball. A well
drilled soldier was capable of firing 4 shots a minute

18th Century British Soldier

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1815 private soldier, Battle of Waterloo

11 Hard tack biscuits and cheese, carried in the linen haversack

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