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British Soldiers In The Eighteenth Century
The experience of British soldiers in the eighteenth century would have depended on where he was stationed, the time period and who he was fighting. The British Army underwent significant changes during the eighteenth century, mainly to ensure they would be able to perform well in the numerous wars that Great Britain participated in during the century, such as the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary Wars. Life for a British soldier was often harsh and unforgiving. Discipline was strict in the British Army, with harsh punishments commonly meted out for even minor offences. This was in part a reaction to the constant gambling, whoring, drinking and brawling that British soldiers participated in due to a variety of reasons. A significant amount of training was required before a British soldier was allowed to be sent into the field, while harsh, this allowed the British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soldier Of 29th Regiment 1742
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French or , meaning mercenary, from , meaning shilling's worth or wage, from or , shilling. The word is also related to the Medieval Latin , meaning soldier (literally, "one having pay"). These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word , referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. Occupational designations In most armies use of the word "soldier" has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge and skill-sets. As a result, "soldiers" are referred to by names or ranks which reflect an individual's military occupation specialty arm, service, or branch of military employment, their type of unit, or operational employment or technica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional Cavalry
The Provisional Cavalry was a force levied in Great Britain from 1796 for home defence and organised at the county level. The unit was raised by an Act of Parliament instigated by the Secretary of State for War Henry Dundas who thought light cavalry would be particularly effective against any invading force. It was filled by means of an obligation from Britain's horse owners, who had to provide one trooper for every ten horses owned – a method which drew comparisons to the feudal system. Each county had a quota of cavalrymen that it was expected to provide. The act was unpopular and the number and quality of recruits was low. Dundas preferred the Yeomanry Cavalry system of volunteers and in 1798 instigated measures to increase their numbers, exempting counties from the obligation to raise Provisional Cavalry where the Yeomanry could provide at least 75% of the demanded quota. This proved highly effective with the number of Yeomanry exceeding Dundas' expectations. The Provisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flintlock Mechanism
The flintlock mechanism is a type of lock (firearm), lock used on muskets, rifles, and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. It is commonly referred to as a "flintlock" (without the word ''mechanism''), though that term is also commonly used for the weapons themselves as a whole, and not just the lock mechanism. The flintlock mechanism, also known as the true flintlock, was developed in France in the early 17th century. It quickly replaced earlier technologies, such as the matchlock and wheellock and the earlier flintlocks. It continued to be in common use for over two centuries, until it was finally replaced by the percussion lock. History Flintlock firing mechanisms made their appearance in the 16th century in the form of the snaplock, the snaphance, the miquelet, and the doglock. The so-called ''true flintlock'' was developed in France in the early 17th century. Though its exact origins are not known, credit for the development of the true flintlock is usually gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Bess
"Brown Bess" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. The musket design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. These versions include the Long Land Pattern, the Short Land Pattern, the India Pattern, the New Land Pattern Musket and the Sea Service Musket. The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all 0.75 inch calibre flintlock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire's land forces from 1722 until 1838, when they were superseded by a percussion cap smoothbore musket. The British Ordnance System converted many flintlocks into the new percussion system known as the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the Tower of London destroyed many muskets before they could be converted. Still, the Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century. Most male citizens of the thirteen colonies of British Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank above captain, and one rank below lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks. Background Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers while in some nations, like Germany, majors are often in command of a company. When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including ''general-major'' or ''major general'', denoting a low-level general officer, and ''sergeant major'', denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) of a military unit. The term ''major'' can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Frederick, Duke Of York And Albany
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A soldier by profession, from 1764 to 1803 he was Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück in the Holy Roman Empire. From the death of his father in 1820 until his own death in 1827, he was the heir presumptive to his elder brother, George IV, in both the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Hanover. Frederick was thrust into the British Army at a very early age and was appointed to high command at the age of thirty, when he was given command of a notoriously ineffectual campaign during the War of the First Coalition, a continental war following the French Revolution. Later, as Commander-in-Chief during the Napoleonic Wars, he oversaw the reorganisation of the British Army, establishing vital structural, administrative and recruiting reformsGlo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gentleman Ranker
In the British Army, a gentleman ranker is an Enlisted rank, enlisted soldier suited through education and social background to be a commissioned officer, or indeed a former commissioned officer. Rudyard Kipling titled one of his poems, published 1892, "Gentlemen-Rankers". Gentleman rankers in the British Army The term "gentleman ranker" suggests that the soldier was born to wealth and privilege but disgraced himself and so has enlisted as a common soldier (or one of the Other ranks (UK), other ranks) serving apart from the society that now scorns him. This fate was similar to that of a remittance man, often the black sheep of a "good" family, paid a regular allowance to stay abroad, far from home, where he cannot embarrass the family. The gentleman rankers also included the soldiers who signed on specifically as "gentleman volunteers" in the British Army to serve as private soldiers with the understanding being that they would be given a commission (without purchase) at a later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgian nobility Canada * British peerage titles granted to Canadian subjects of the Crown * Canadian nobility in the aristocracy of France China * Chinese nobility France * Peerage of France * List of French peerages * Peerage of Jerusalem Japan * Peerage of the Empire of Japan * House of Peers (Japan) Portugal * Chamber of Most Worthy Peers Spain * Chamber of Peers (Spain) * List of dukes in the peerage of Spain * List of viscounts in the peerage of Spain * List of barons in the peerage of Spain * List of lords in the peerage of Spain United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland * Peerages in the United Kingdom ** Hereditary peer, holders of titles which can be inherited by an heir ** Life peer, members of the peerage of the United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purchase Of Commissions In The British Army
The purchase of officer commissions in the British Army was the practice of paying money to the Army to be made an officer of a cavalry or infantry regiment of the English and later British Army. By payment, a commission as an officer could be secured, avoiding the need to wait to be promoted for merit or seniority. This practice was the usual way to obtain a commission in the Army from the 17th to the late 19th century. The practice began in 1683, during the reign of King Charles II, and continued until it was abolished on 1 November 1871, as part of the Cardwell Reforms. Formally, the purchase price of a commission was a cash bond for good behaviour, liable to be forfeited to the Army's cashiers (accountants) if found guilty of cowardice, desertion, or gross misconduct. Great Britain and Ireland Only commissions in cavalry and infantry regiments could be purchased and therefore only those up to the rank of colonel. Commissions in the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camp Follower
Camp followers are civilians who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the wives and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have historically been informal army service providers, servicing the needs of encamped soldiers, in particular selling goods or services that the military does not supply—these have included cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sexual services and sutlery. History From the beginning of organized warfare until the end of the 19th century, European and American armies heavily depended on the services of camp followers. These services included delivery and preparation of provisions and transportation of supplies, which augmented the official military support structure. Camp followers usually accompanied the baggage train and they often outnumbered the army itself, adding to its logistical problems. Camp followers were both a support and drain on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutler
A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts. Sutler wagons were associated with the military, while chuck wagons served a similar purpose for civilian wagon trains and outposts. Etymology The word came into English from Dutch, where it appears as ''soetelaar'' or ''zoetelaar''. It meant originally "one who does dirty work, a drudge, a scullion," and derives from ''zoetelen'' (to foul, sully; modern Dutch ''bezoedelen''), a word cognate with "suds" (hot soapy water), "seethe" (to boil) and "sodden". Role in supplying troops These merchants often followed the armies during the French and Indian War, American Revolution, American Civil War, and the Indian Wars, to sell their merchandise to soldiers. Generally, the sutlers built their stores within the limits of an army post or just off the defens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
