Each troop had the following vehicles:9 ammunition wagons, each with six horses., 1 spare wheel wagon, with six horses, 1 forge, with four horses, 1 baggage wagon, with four horses.

All NCOs and other ranks were supplied with a haversack, a blanket and a canteen. Drivers had a forage cord and corn sacks. Each two-gun division was provided with two tents and two camp kettles which were carried on the wagons. The wheelwright's tools were held in the limber of the spare wheel wagon. The total number of horses, including mounts for the officers and men, was 226. Horse leather was brown. The near-side horses had saddles for the drivers, the horse all having blinkers.

UNIFORMS

The early uniform consisted of a blue coat with a scarlet collar, cuffs, lapels and turnbacks. It was fastened at the top and cut away below the top to reveal the white waistcoat beneath. Breeches were white doeskin or kerseymere with black gaiters which reached to the knee and were fastened on the outside. Officers wore knee- length black boots, and officers were further distinguished by epaulettes of interwoven gilt rings on a scarlet cloth backing, and a crimson sash around the waist which was knotted on the left side. A white buff crossbelt, with a black leather cartridge pouch attached to the rear, was worn over the right shoulder. The belt was joined at the chest with a gilt, oval plate which was embossed with the arms of the Ordnance (a shield containing three cannon balls above three cannon).

All ranks wore a black helmet with a black leather peak and a black bearskin comb on the top. Around the helmet was a crowned, circular, gilt badge edged with a Garter inscribed with the words 'Royal Regt. Of Artillery' and in the centre the Royal GR Cypher. Above the peak was a gilt band stamped with the title 'Royal Horse Artillery'. On the right-hand side of the helmet was a fourteen inches long white feather plume, held in a socket behind the turban. There were no chinstraps or chinscales. The helmet had two brass strips on each side which afforded protection against sabre cuts.

In 1799 the uniform changed. The coat was replaced by a blue shell jacket with the edges piped yellow. The collar (which was open, exposing the black leather neck stock) and the cuffs remained scarlet. The collar and the pointed cuffs were also piped yellow (or gold for officers) and above the point of the cuff was a yellow Hungarian knot. The rear seams of the jacket were piped yellow, again ending with a Hungarian knot. The front of the jacket was decorated with yellow or gold lace, which later became cord braiding.

Surviving examples [3] show twentyfour bars of cord but other cord arrangements were also adopted. 'The regulation jacket was to have on the breast equal blue and lace, that is, the space between the lace was to be of the same breadth as the lace itself,' recalled on RHA officer. [4]

This however was too poor to satisfy us: and as regulations in those days were too little adhered to away from headquarters, everyone put on as much more lace as his fancy dictated or his purse permitted. For my part, my first jacket resembled a furze-bush in full blossom, for it was one mass of gold from the collar to the sash ... and other jackets which I had afterwards, of more modest description, had only six loops of lace on the breast.

The jacket had three rows of buttons, one down the centre and one each at the extremities of the braiding, which, with twenty- four cord bars, made seventy-two buttons. The ball-shaped buttons were engraved with a crowned Garter around the Royal Cypher. Breeches remained white, with officers having black Hessian boots trimmed in gold with gold tassels. On campaign, blue- grey overalls were usually worn by all ranks, with a scarlet stripe down the outside leg and brass buttons in the centre of the stripe. The overalls were reinforced with black leather on the inside leg and around the bottom. In 1811 the black leather became brown, and the bottom band of leather was fixed at three inches in width.

Officers wore the crimson waist sash around the jacket, but about three inches above the natural waist line. The sash was knotted, with hanging tassels, on the right front. Around 1805 officers began wearing a blue pelisse, adorned with gold lace and trimmed in brown fur sable. In 1808 the pelisse, tolerated before, received official sanction. The fur became grey astrachan. The pelisse was usually worn sung over the left shoulder.

The crossbelt was white buff leather, the pouch remained black. Around the waist was a white leather sword belt with two white sword slings. Other ranks also had a brown leather holster attached to the waistband.

The helmet remained unaltered until after the turn of the century when it was modified by lowering the back and increasing the size of the comb. The turban became black (or possibly dark blue) and was fixed in place by a brass chain. Brass chin scales were also fitted and these were attached to the helmet by brass rosettes on either side. The peak was strengthened by a brass rim. The RHA also had a black leather forage cap with a frontal brass GR badge, and a blue cloth stable cap trimmed in red which was fastened by laces at the back.

The pre-1799 shabraque was blue with a line of gold or yellow braid about two inches from the edge. At the pointed rear corner was a yellow/gold tassel. The corners of the shabraque were stiffened with leather. The later shabraque was edged with a broad yellow/gold lace band. In the rear corner was a gold crowned Royal Cypher for officers and a yellow crown over a red Cypher for other ranks. The pistol holster covers at the front of the saddle also displayed the crowned GR Cypher. A round, blue valise, piped yellow, was strapped to the rear of the saddle. The ends of the valise bore the letters RAH in gold for officers and red for other ranks. [5]

The two Rocket Troops wore a uniform identical to that worn by the rest of the corps but without the crossbelt which from which was suspended the sword. Instead the sword was held on the saddle in two black leather straps and a white crossbelt with a black leather pouch was worn across the left shoulder. The rocket sticks had a blue and white swallow-tail pennant.

CORPS OF ROYAL ARTILLERY DRIVERS