Attributed to Henry Walton, 1746–1813 Portrait of a General Officer of a Royal Regiment, Circa 1790

Attributed to Henry Walton, 1746–1813

Portrait of a General Officer of a Royal Regiment, circa 1790

oil on canvas

75 x 62 cm. (25.1/2 x 24.1/2 in.)

The General Officer is wearing a standard infantry officers uniform, probably for a Royal regiment, because the uniform is in the colours of the Royal livery - scarlet, dark blue and gold. All regiments in the Regular Army numbered their buttons after 1768, either in Arabic or Roman letters. From the mid 1780s the coat collar, which originally lay flat on the shoulders, gradually started to be fashioned as a stand-up collar, as here, and that style became official in 1796, but in that year the cut-away style of coat, open over the belly to reveal the waistcoat, was abolished and the lapels were cut so as to fasten all the way down to the waist thereby hiding the waistcoat completely. It is therefore possible to date this portrait at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1792. The Militia also wore uniforms exactly like this and there were several regiments that had dark blue facings and gold lace , for example Linconshire and Lancashire, but there were others. The Militia did not number its buttons and very little is known about what decoration appeared on them.

The British Army during the Napoleonic Wars experienced a time of rapid change. At the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, the army was a small, awkwardly administered force of barely 40,000 men. By the end of the period, the numbers had vastly increased. At its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. The British infantry was "the only military force not to suffer a major reverse at the hands of Napoleonic France."

In 1793, shortly before Britain became involved in the French Revolutionary Wars, the army consisted of three regiments of Household Cavalry, 27 line regiments of cavalry, seven battalions in three regiments of Foot Guards and 81 battalions in 77 numbered regiments of line infantry, with two colonial corps (one in New South Wales and one in Canada). There were 36 Independent Companies of Invalids, known by their Captain's name, scattered in garrisons and forts across Great Britain.

Administered separately by the Board of Ordnance, the artillery had 40 companies in four battalions of Foot Artillery, 10 companies in the Invalid Battalion, two independent companies in India and a Company of Cadets. Two troops of the Royal Horse Artillery were being organised. The Corps of Royal Engineers and Invalid Corps of Royal Engineers were specialised bodies of officers. The Corps of Royal Military Artificers consisted of six companies. There were also two Independent Companies of Artificers.

There was no formal command structure, and a variety of government departments controlled army units depending on where they were stationed; troops in Ireland were controlled by the Irish establishment, rather than the War Office in London, for example. In 1793, the first steps towards formal organisation were taken when fifteen general officers were appointed to command military districts in England and Wales.

Recruitment

Main article: Recruitment in the British Army § Napoleonic wars

During the later part of the 18th century Britain was divided into three recruiting areas—with England and Wales generally called South Britain—which were further divided into Districts with their own Headquarters. Ireland had separate Districts and organisation, and Scotland, or North Britain, was one administrative area. Home defence, enforcement of law and maintenance of order was primarily the responsibility of the Militia, the Royal Veteran Battalions, the Yeomanry and the Fencibles. Another structure of Recruiting Districts and Sub-Divisions existed alongside this.

Main article: Social background of officers and other ranks in the British Army, 1750-1815

The British Army