Summer or winter the men of the [British] line regiments wore the same heavy greatcoats with sleeves tight as stockings.
The stock, or waistcoat, was equally tight and had a high stiff collar which forced the soldier to keep his head up, even when the sun was in his eyes. His pants were as tight as possible and the gaiters, put on wet, frequently shrank so that they hampered the circulation in his legs. From the belt around his waist hung his bayonet scabbard which knocked against his calves as he walked. On his right hip, supported by a broad, constricting belt which ran over his shoulder and across his chest, was his rectangular cartridge box, which interfered with his haversack, if, as now [Boston, 1775], he was carrying his full equipment.
Charles Willson Peale (1741—1827)
Oil on canvas; 91.4 x 71.1 x 2.5cm (36 x 28 x 1 in). National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian), Washington, DC.
Oil on canvas; 49 7/8 x 39 3/4 in. (126.4 x 101 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Oil on canvas. Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Philadelphia, PA.
Oil on canvas. Independence National Historical Park, Portrait Collection (Second Bank of the United States), Philadelphia, PA.
Oil on canvas; height: 124.46 cm (49 in), width: 99.06 cm (39 in). Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Oil on canvas. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD.
Oil on canvas; 50 x 40-1/2 in. Private collection.
Oil on canvas; 36 13/16 x 32 1/16 inches (93.5 x 81.4 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA.
Oil on canvas; 86 1/2" x 56 3/4". Maryland State Art Collection, Annapolis, MD.
Oil on canvas. Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA.