Red coat (British army)

Red coat or Redcoat is a historical item of military clothing used widely, though not exclusively worn, by most regiments of the British Army from the 17th to the 20th centuries. From the mid-17th century to the 19th century, the uniform of most British soldiers (apart from artillery, rifles and light cavalry) included a madder red coat or coatee. From 1873 onwards, the more vivid shade of scarlet was adopted for all ranks, having previously been worn only by officers, sergeants and all ranks of some cavalry regiments.

The Red Coat has evolved from being the British infantryman's ordinary uniform to a garment retained only for ceremonial purposes. Its official adoption dates from February 1645, when the Parliament of England passed the New Model Army ordinance. The new English Army was formed of 22,000 men, divided into 12 foot regiments of 600 men each, one dragoon regiment of 1000 men, and the artillery, consisting of 900 guns. The infantry regiments wore coats of Venetian red with white facings. A contemporary comment on the New Model Army dated 7 May 1645 stated "the men are Redcoats all, the whole army only are distinguished by the several facings of their coats".

There had been many 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. The Gentlemen Pensioners of James I (now the Gentlemen-at-Arms) had worn red with yellow feathers. At Edgehill, the first battle of the Civil War, the King's people had worn red coats, as had at least two Parliamentary regiments". None of these examples constituted the national uniform that the red coat was later to become.

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