1) Public Records Office, Kew Reference 9681, WOLI68, Page 63 to 65. Dated 8th January 1794.

"Sir, the very long and severe campaign which his Majesty's troops under my command have gone through, having necessarily very much damaged the whole of their equipment.... that a complete set of new tents may be sent out for both the regiments cavalry and infantry. A should wish that the troops might be supplied with the new invented round tents which the Brigades of the line have had this campaign and which from experience are found to be infinitely preferable to the old infantry tents".

2) Public Records Office, Kew. Reference 968 LWO I / 168 Pages 135 to 136 Dated 1794

Memorandums submitted to the Right Honourable Henry Dundas by Lt. General Harcourt.

"The camp equipage of the army to be forwarded as fast as possible and as the superior quality of that the Austrians, but particularly the Hanoverians, has been universally admitted. His Rt. Hon. the Duke of York is very desirous that the following improvements may be made in that intended for his army.

1) The Tents to be circular with a wall which not only gives greater space, but is a means of preserving the health of the men .......

2) The Tent pole to be round and jointed and packed in a bucket according to the pattern brought over (approved, the pattern of Trotter)"

3) S.G.P.Ward: Wellingtons Headquarters, pages 14 to 15, pages 200 - 201

Trotter introduced the bell-tent to replace the inferior ridge-pole tents formerly used. See the anonymous "Accurate and impartial Narrative of the War" (London 1795), under date Menin, 19 August 1793:

'But tis easier by far to compose and invent by an English fireside than in Trotter's bell-tent'

Tent with pole and iron collar 3 per company (not issued to infantry Battalions until 1st March 1813. They were carried on mules hitherto used for camp kettles).

Mallets .2 per tent
Pins ...40 per tent

4) A Military Dictionary by William Duane, Philadelphia 1810, page 682.

Bell Tent.... This was the name of a small tent that was formerly in use, also called a tent of arms, being used only for holding arms in the front of the line; the use of it is now exploded; and the form being given to those now used for infantry or cavalry.

Weight, complete with poles 43lbs.
Length of pole 9ft.
Contain 12 men each.
Require 40 pegs.

Round Tent... A circular tent which contains 12 men, the weight complete with pole, 43lbs. Length of pole 10 ft.

5) A Military Dictionary byJames 1816.

Bell Tent ... so called from their resemblance to a bell - serve to shelter the firearms from rain.

Round or circular tent..

Will hold twelve men; the length of the pole is 9 feet.

The weight complete is 43lbs.

6) An inventory of Military Baggage 18

Page 66: Component parts of a Flanders Tent.

Tent Lines 4 ft. long with a runner and Brace 21
Looping Line 14 inches long with 2 Butt 21
Hooks and Eye 1
Swan Hooks and Eye 2
Grummetts 1
Pins 40
Mallets 2
Pole Cap 9 inches long with strap & buckle 2
Pole 10 ft. long in two pieces 1
Iron Collar, Pin and Cord 1

Page 67: Component parts of an Officer Round Tent Lined.

Tent and Green Tammy Linings.
Buttons 64
Swan Hooks15
Eyes 4
Tent Lines & Runners 22
Door Strings 24
Silk ? Strings 24
Pins ) 66
Mallets 2
Pole ) 1
A ? contains the above 1

NB: This tent is exactly similar to the Flanders Tents, with the exception that is has two doorways, and the Flanders Tent, has but one.

Page 83: Description of canvas used in particular packages:

5 Flanders Tents 60 inches split/47 inches/whole split

Page 94/95: Information of the Bales in which the Tents are stored

Two types of tents are shown:

Tents ventilated 5 per bale
Tents Flanders 3 per bale
Poles ventilated 10 per bundle
Poles Flanders 10 per bundle

7) Tents and Tent-life by G. Rhodes 1858

New Cotton Circular Tent
Diameter 12 ft. 6 ins
Length of Pole 9 ft. 9 ins.
Weight 68lbs includes pole,
1 peg-bag, 50 pins, 2 mallets, 2 storm ropes.
Holds 16 men. 3 ventilators.
Number of ropes and loops, 20 each. Wall 2 ft. 6 ins.

New pattern linen circular Diameter 12 ft. 6 ins. Length of pole 10 ft. 4 ins. Weight: same as cotton tent. Holds 16 men. Number of ropes and loops, 20 each. Wall 1 ft.

8) McLennen,'The Art of War in Europe'.

McLennen was an American Officer observer during the Crimean War. He wrote the above book as a report to the U.S. Army.

Quote "The English Tent, with the last modifications, adopted during this campaign, is similar to their former pattern, a cone with a circular base resting on the ground. The modifications.... consists in the fastening of the Tent Cords to each seam of the canvas about two feet six inches from the base, all below being fastened at pleasure, by loops passing over the same pins that secure the Cords. The advantage of this arrangement is free ventilation of the interior of the Tent by raising all that part below the attachment of the tent cords.

The canvas near the vortex of the cone is sewed to either leather or hide, forming the termination of the tent. This part receives the tent pole, and through it ventilators are made so arranged as to guard against rain or snow, while the hide or leather gives the necessary strength for the head of the pole. The tent-pole is in two parts, put together with a metal socket-joint".

McLennen also states that the angle of the Bell Tent in the Crimean is 70.

9) Wellington's General Order 1st March 1813.

Instructed that Camp Kettle Mules be given over to transport tents for NCO's and Soldiers. Each company was to be provided with a mule to carr-y three tents. It was further instructed that the mule should only be used to carry tents.

10) J. Cooper: 'Rough notes of Seven Campaigns' (1809-15), published 1869.

J.S.AJR. Vol. 32 Page 181

11) J. Green: 'The Vicissitudes of a Soldier's Life'

Page 151: Victoria Campaign 1813

we returned to the green and pitched out tents: each company had three tents and a mule to carry them".

12) J. Cooke: 'Memoirs of the late war'

1813 Campaign: "The great-coats belonging to the Soldiers were delivered into store, it being considered that the blanket was a sufficient covering for them at night, the more particularly as tents were ser-ved out for the use of the whole army, in the proportion of three to each Company".

13) Random shoots from a Rifleman, by Captain Sir John Kincaid.

Page 291 "whereas we were now indulged in the before unheard luxury of a tent - three being allowed to the soldiers of each company and one to the Officers". Salamanca Campaign 1812.

14) Letters of Sergeant Wheeler 1808-28 Page 111:

"On the 24th (May 1813) we encamped on the plains of Miranda and find a great difference already in having tents. The Spaniards are lost in admiration at the sight.... We were in full view of our division but the tents were not pitched. I heard the bugle sound to stand by the tents. I managed to draw the people's attention into an opposite direction from the camp till the bugle sounded again, this was in about a minute. I then pointed to the Camp, how they were surprised.

A minute before nothing was to be seen but the soldiers, now the whole camp was studded with several hundred bill tents as white as snow and as regularly placed as if it had been the work of much labour and time".

As related by an old British Army Officer to me: "Dotted along the Grand Trunk Road in India were camping places for the British Army. When the tents arrived they would be put in place and then put up together at the same moment, to the sound of the bugle.

15) G. Simmons, "A British Rifle Man". Page 115 2nd November 1810.

English Bell tents arrived for the Light Division to replace the poor and small Portugese ones, which proved a great luxury".

16) The Bell Tents used by the Troops are not to be confused with the "Bell of Arms tent, this being a small tent used in camp to store the arms. Infantry Clothing Regulations 1802, paragraph 5:

"None used (Bell of Arms) with the present camp equipages. Qy. should this article be kept up in the Regulations".

As there is no evidence in later pictures or prints of British Army encampments it suggests its use was discontinued after 1802, though it is listed in the Inventory of Baggage 1816 (see note 6).

17) Notes on the diameter of the Napoleonic era "Bell Tent"

So far no known figure for the diameter has been found but a calculated guess may be made as follows:

(a) The average height of a British Soldier during the period was 5 ft.6/7" If the soldiers slept in the Bell Tents like spokes in a wheel, then two soldiers laying feet to feet plus the width (approx) of the tent pole gives a measurement of 5ft. 7 ins. + 5 ft. 7 ins. + 2 ins. = 11 ft. 4 ins. Therefore no Bell Tent would have a diameter less than that figure otherwise it would not be able to sleep twelve men.

(b) A Bell Tent is constructed of a number of panels. The panels are made of canvas which comes in 3 ft. wide strips. Canvas during the period was I believe also made in 3 ft. widths. Bell Tents are usually constructed of panels but an even number of panels, thus 10, 12, 14, 16 etc. Though they can be made with uneven numbers I understand that it is not the usual practice.

Also each panel in the tent usually represents one man. Take a fellow's shoulder width; it's approximately the same as a panel width (35 ins.). A Bell Tent for twelve men had therefore to have a minimum of twelve panels.

A Bell Tent with twelve panels and a height of 9 ft. 9 ins. to 10 ft. would give a diameter of 11 ft. 2 ins. which is still too small. Also there would not be enough canvas left over for the eaves (4" to 6" long). Plus two panels are usually for the doorway, you would have to step on people to get in and out.

A Bell Tent with fourteen panels and a height of 9 ft. 9 ins. to 10 ft. would give a diameter of 12 ft. 6 ins. (13 ft - 6 ins. for the eaves). This gives a panel each for twelve men, enough canvas for the eaves and spare for the doorway.

A sixteen panel Bell Tent gives a 14 ft. 4 ins. (14 ft. 10 ins. - 6 ins. for the eaves) diameter but this appears too large when compared with the period prints.

(c) Calculations based on a canvas width of 36 ins. minus one inch for the seam 35 ins.

10 panels = 10 x 35 ins. = 350 ins.

350 ins fl 22/7 = 11.4 in. = 9 ft. 3 in. - 6 in. for the eaves = 8 ft. 9 ins.

12 panels = 12 x 35 in. = 420 ins.

420 in fl 22/7 = 134 in. = 11 ft. 2 in. - 6 in. for the eaves = 10 ft. 8 in.

14 panels = 14 x 35 in. = 490 in.

490 in. fl 22/7 = 156 in. = 13 ft. - 6 in. for the eaves = 12 ft. 6 in.

16 panels = 16 x 35 in. = 560 in.

560 in. fl 22/7 178 in. = 14 ft. 10in. - 6 in. for the eaves 14 ft. 4 in.

18) Shape of the Bell Tent.

The shape depends not on the diameter of the tent but on the relationship between the height of the walls and the height of the pole.

Thus a Bell Tent with a 9 ft. pole and 2 ft. walls would give the same squat appearance as one with a 10 ft. pole and 3 ft. walls. Conversely a 9 ft pole and 1 ft. walls would give roughly the same conical appearance as a 10 ft. pole and 18 ft. walls.

19) The Bell Tent Walls:

We know they had walls; the order of 1794 (see note 2) refers to them, also period prints show them.

The prints of the period show a steep sided tent, more conical than squat. This indicates that the wall was small in relationship to the pole's height. Trying to scale the prints gives a wall measurement of around 12 to 18 inches.

I refer back to the measurement of canvas. Canvas comes in widths of 3 ft. Again, if the canvas used at the time came in these dimensions a 3 ft. wide strip could be cut to give 3 wall heights of 11 ins. or two wall heights of 17 ins. (In every case you lose 1 in. for the seams). Thus the wall would either be 11 ins. or 17 ins. high.

Given that the soldiers slept like spokes in a wheel, feet to the centre pole and heads to the outer, a wall of 11 ins. would not give much head room. A 17 in. wall would give more head room. Also cutting the canvas to make two walls is easier and less trouble than cutting it to make three walls.

20) The hide (or leather) hood:

At the top of the tent was stitched a leather or hide hood. This was to reinforce the canvas. The tent pole had a rounded head which did not go through the top but rested inside the apex. The leather hood took the strain.

Prints of the period show the hood with various lengths, some large and some small. Photographs from the Crimean War show it quite small. Scaling the hoods length up gives a measurement between 7 to 10 inches in length. The Tentsmith contracted to make Bell Tents for the Durhams usually makes them with a reinforced canvas hood 7 inches in length. It might have been left up to the Government Contractor anyway.

The inventory of Military Baggage though gives the hoods length or Pole Cap as 9 inches, which ties in with the pictorial evidence. The inventory also mentions straps and buckles (two). What were they used for! On a print dated 1868 of Highland troops; Bell Tents in the background have what appear to be straps and buckles around their tops. If this is so, then the strap would be buckled tight around the top to hold the pole in place. This would explain their inclusion in the 1816 inventory and possibly account for the odd shaped tops found in many period prints.

The 1802 Dress regulations state (Para 5, section B):

"Bell of Arms to be painted in the same manner (as the drums, with the colour of the facing Regiment, with the King's Cypher and Crown, and the number of the Regiment under it)" I presume the practice of painting the hood would have continued on the Bell (Flanders) Tents, thus the 68th would have a hood painted green, their facing colour.

21) Ventilators: Prints of the period do not show them, but there is no hard evidence to suggest they did or did not have them.

Photographs of the Crimean War show the ventilators just underneath the leather hood. McLennen states that the ventilators were made through the hide or leather hood. I think he got this wrong. It would weaken the hide and this take away its reason for being there. Also it's too small to have ventilators made into it.

22) Doorway: On modern Bell Tents the doorway comes in two sections. The part of the angle is separate from the wall section. This gives the following advantages:

(a) In inclement weather or at night, the top part can be closed and the bottom (wall) section left open so you can crawl in or out.

(b) The top section can be left closed forming a 'doorstep'.

The other way is to have the door sewed in one piece. There is again no evidence to suggest what doorway existed in the period. Some photographs of the Crimean show what looks like a two door system, to top open and the bottom half fastened thus forming a 'doorstep'.

There is some evidence for an Officers Bell Tent having an inner door but this might just be through the extra lining in their tents.

23) Ground Sheets: There is no evidence for these. Indeed one of the main causes of illness during the Crimean War was the lack of groundsheets. The troops coming back from cold wet trenches having to lay on the damp ground on nothing but their blankets. Timber floors were eventually supplied.

24) Markings: On a print (now in the N.A.M. possession) painted not long after the Battle of Alexandra 1801 is shown a Bell Tent with the marking 28 Reg. above the door. The 28th being present at the battle.

No doubt the usual B.O. and Broad Arrow were to be found marked on the canvas and pole.

25) Pole: Various heights are recorded from 9 ft. to 10 ft. The evidence suggests the Pole came in two parts with a metal socketjoint, pin and cord.

SUMMARY

The Bell Tent, also called the Flanders Tent, Round Tent, Circular Tent or Duke of Yorks pattern, came into being due to the inadequacies of the Army's then tentage during the 1793/4 Flanders Campaign. From this date the Bell Tent's appearance is seen in prints and pictures suggesting its use is growing. By 1813, the British Army in the Peninsula is being equipped with three per Infantry Company. Thereafter it is used throughout the remainder of the Peninsula Campaign, during the Waterloo Campaign and even makes its appearance in Canada towards the end of the 1812 War. Indeed, some of the Peninsula Bell Tents survived to give a somewhat dubious and threadbare shelter forty years later on in the Crimean.

No definite pattern has yet been found for the Napoleonic Bell tent though there are clues to its shape and size. There are also variants to the Bell Tent; the Flanders version being for other ranks and the Round Tent being for Officers.

After weighing up all the evidence the pattern adopted by the 68th Durham Light Infantry is as follows:

A) Height of Tent 9 ft to 10 ft. The height to be as near 10 ft. as possible and not less than 9 ft. 9 ins. But, once the height is set all Tents to be made the same.

B) Fourteen panels, giving a 12 ft. 6 ins. diameter. This gives one panel per soldier plus two panels for the door.

C) The wall height to be 17 ins. (actually 18 ins. but minus one inch for the seam). This will give a steep conical shape like the period prints.

D) Nine inch leather/hid cone. To be painted Regimental facing colour.

E) Two part doorway. Door flaps to be tied.

F) To have two ventilators.

G) Above the doorway, "68th R" to be painted.

H) A Bell Tent 10 ft. high with a 12 ft. 6 ins. diameter and 17 inch high wall gives roughly a 70 degree angle at the apex. The same as McLennen mentions.

Even so, after finalising the pattern there was still some questions that had not been answered. What were the swan-hooks and eyes for - to fasten the doorway? What were the straps and buckles for. It is given that 40 pins are required for the tents - the 68th pattern takes 26/27 pegs, where were the extra pegs used, were they spares? A print in the N.A.M. may give a clue to this question. Extra guy ropes could be seen on a print of Bell Tents, the guys positioned between our guy ropes from the eaves.

George Simmons of the 95th Rifles mentions in his diary that English Bell tents were issued in November 1810. Kincaid mentions that the 95th are given Bell Tents for the Salamanca Campaign.

Why did the Rifles have Bell Tents at this date and no-one else. It might be explained that the Light Division by the nature of its work on outpost duty or detached from the main army at times, needed tents more than the rest of the army. The Army could stay in Cantonments until a need for them to move.

This might fit in with Rifleman Costello's statement that he carried a mess-tin, centre-tin and lid in 1809 (Edward Costello, Adventures of a Soldier). In other words a 'D' Tin. If this was true and not a trick of memory (he wrote the book in 1852) then Riflemen could cook their food quickly without the use of the large Flanders Kettles carried by mules. The mules could be used to carry the tents which in fact they were ordered to do so for the rest of the army in 1813.

Certainly there was correspondence regarding Flanders and Tin-Kettles between Crauford and Wellington (letter 22nd September 1809); Wellington favouring the Flanders Kettle and Crauford the lighter tin ones.

The army could have used the 95th, a trusted Regiment, as an experiment to see if the mess-tins actually worked. Maybe at Cranford prompting. In doing so saving time in cooking thus increasing rapidity of forming and moving, and also allowing them to carry Bell Tents.

Bell Tent Introduction