CHAP. VIII. DRESS. I WOULD suggest a slight alteration in the present kit of the dragoon, and a very considerable one in the present dress. The uniform of a soldier is of more importance than might at first sight appear, for if handsomely and serviceably dressed the man naturally takes a pride in his appearance, and is careful of his clothes. Various attempts have been made to unite the useful and ornamental, and numerous alterations have been tried of late, which seem most effectually to have destroyed a military appearance without attaining the desired end of utility.* A dragoon should have two-and only two -dresses; the one as serviceable as possible as a working dress-the other as handsome as possible, for parade purposes. It is useless attempting to combine the two, and not necessary. The working dress should be a loosely made, blue monkey-jacket; something like that worn by sailors, and made of rough cloth, with brass regimental buttons, and chain shoulder-scales.† It * Man-millinery in any shape is an abuse and prostitution of the English character. Borrow and copy from foreigners whatever may be truly valuable in arms -it is right and fitting so to do; but let us dress ourselves in serviceable garb, that fears no stain, nor needs a host of furbishers to keep it in order. — Nolan. Many have taken to curb-chains over the right shoulder, for it should hook round the throat, the collar being lined with leather to keep it stiff, and no stock used. Pantaloons of blue or red cloth, high boots, gauntlet gloves, and a steel or brass helmet like the present heavy dragoons, should complete this costume, which would be loose and serviceable, yet very soldierlike. For full dress. A blue or red coat, like that recently worn by the Blues, or Life Guards, with a white breastplate similar to that worn en grande tenue by the French dragoons, chain scales for the shoulders, aiguillettes, the rest as in undress. Thus the coatee and aiguillettes, would comprise the only portion of the whole uniform which would be different from the undress. Hussars should wear the same undress, and might revert to their old full dress, but all dragoons should wear gauntlets. High boots and pantaloons are undoubtedly the most soldierlike and serviceable, and the only objection I have ever heard urged against them, was the impossibility of the dragoons carrying two pairs; whilst if only one were issued, he would be unable to turn out properly in case of repairs being requisite. But with carts attached to a regiment, two pair might easily be carried, as one would always be in wear. These boots have great advantages on service. On coming in from a march the soldier takes them off, and puts on a pair of highlows while he performs his stable duties; his pantaloons are clean and dry, instead of wet and encrusted with mud, like the present overalls. Having seems this is a favourite cut of the niggers, and numbers have been disabled by it. Letter from the late Major Smith, 2nd Dragoon Guards, written four days before his death at Lucknow, to Captain Wirgman, 10th Hussars. scraped the dirt off the boots, he just sponges them over, and is again fit to turn out clean without any trouble. A loose monkey-jacket is the most comfortable dress in the world where work is required; it lasts longer than any other, always looks well, and fits any men of about the same size. The present light stable jacket on service wears very badly, is sure to get torn, and soon looks old and dirty. No troops in the world are so unserviceably dressed as the English. As long as they remain in quarters, the men are dressed strictly alike, and look very well. But the moment they have real work in the field, all uniformity immediately disappears. I have invariably seen this to be the case, and as regards dress, after three months of real hard service, an English regiment has the appearance of a mob. Yet we do not find this to be the case with the French, or other nations. Hard work and wear would make no difference in the dress I propose, and the men would look nearly as well at the end of a campaign as at the beginning; at all events uniformity could always be preserved. Every one who was in the Crimea must remember the appearance of the infantry regiments when they turned out for trench or other duties no three men together dressed alike, and had the cavalry fallen in for any share of work, they would soon have been in as bad a state. I remember, at the Cape, during the Caffre war, seeing a regiment march into King William's Town without a vestige of the original uniform: it had all been torn to pieces, and the men had made coats out of their blankets, and trowsers out of anything they could get. A tight, well fitting jacket is all very well for a dragoon to walk but this is not the purpose for which the soldier is intended, and real service should be the main object in view, both as regards his clothing and equipment. At the same time give him one very handsome dress, and make him an object of admiration to the multitude, for many a recruit is caught by a showy uniform, who eventually makes a real soldier. CHAP. IX. ARMS. THE sword is the legitimate arm of every dragoon, whilst that queen of weapons the lance should only be placed in the hands of strong, picked men, and perfect horsemen. Every dragoon should carry some kind of firearm. Great improvements have recently been made in firearms of all descriptions, but the latest for cavalry purposes is the breech-loading carbine. This is a very light, handy weapon, and is carried on the back, attached to the bandolier belt, instead of being strapped to the saddle. This mode of carrying it is certainly preferable to the present, and has many advantages. In the first place, the man's back is, to a great extent, protected from a sword cut; and as the carbine is always carried by the soldier, the very common accident of carbines being broken from the horse rolling with the arm strapped, is altogether avoided. It might be supposed that this plan of slinging would be cumbersome to the man, and impede his movements; but on inquiring particularly from the French dragoons, who adopt the principle with much heavier arms, I found that the men unanimously preferred it to the old mode of strapping. This breech-loading carbine has been severely tried in England, and found to answer perfectly; but I must confess that I am very sceptical as |