British Uniform Notes, Rifle Volunteers
To the disquiet of the War Department, the Rifle Volunteers were raised in 1859 in response to public enthusiasm and a fear of invasion. They were organised into local Corps, usually comprising civilians from a specific location, occupation or profession, with membership ranging from say 50 to 1,000 men. By 1875, if there were numerous small Corps in a locality, they might be overseen by an Administrative Corps. From the outset each Corps chose and paid for its own uniform and voted for its own officers. In addition to the payment of an annual subscription for membership, the Volunteer was expected to purchase a uniform coat, trousers, waist belt, bayonet sheaf, cartouche (cartridge) box and cap. Other purchases might include a knapsack and great coat. A bayonet, rifle and 60 rounds were provided for free by the War Department. To some extent the Corps were shooting and social clubs under the umbrella of military training. While only the event of war would bring the Volunteers under military control, in 1872 jurisdiction was transferred from the county Lord-Lieutenants to the War Department.
In 1875 uniforms were still the choice of the individual Corps with many influenced by European Jaegers, meaning that grey and green were very popular. Different facings and lace might differentiate but headgear also varied, with some wearing a kepi, some the Kilmarnock cap, some the shako and others the light infantry busby. Prior to the mid-1860s, the shakos worn by some units seem to have been affixed with a more elaborate plume. After 1879, the shako was replaced with the Home Service Helmet, though photographs show other units still wearing the shako as late as 1893. An earlier form of headgear was the 1860 forage (pill box) cap. In some images of a particular Corps, a mix of headgear is worn. Officers uniforms were more elaborate, generally with more lace, with swords carried on ceremonial occasions. Regulations prohibited flags, which were not authorised for parades, though some Corps had their own banners for local use.
Attached to the waist belt was the cartridge box, containing the rounds for the rifle. An alternative and sometimes addition to the box, was a cartridge pouch affixed to a cross-belt worn over the left shoulder. This is referred to the Enfield Cross-belt, perhaps alluding to it having been used with the Enfield muskets that were issued in the early days of the Rifle Volunteers.
As the War Department considered the Volunteers to be enthusiastic but amateurish civilians (which they were) it didn’t retain much in the way of records, so it can be quite difficult to work out who wore what and when.
A selection of the uniforms worn by the Rifle Volunteers:
The author’s interpretation of the field uniform, equipment and weaponry of a volunteer rifleman, circa 1875, based on the 7th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps:
The rifle was the breech-loading three-band (long) Snider-Enfield, which was issued to the Volunteers from 1870. The Snider stayed in use until replaced by the Martini Henry, with the Rifle Volunteers receiving phased replacements from 1879. In the Regulars, senior NCOs such as Sergeants were issued with the two-band (short) Snider, though in the Volunteers they can be seen carrying either model.
With regard to operation in the field, some insight is provided in the fictitious ‘The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer’, by George Chesney (published 1871):
The total of 6 masters provides sufficient variation for a unit of 12, as 1 set of 6 merely have beards added to provide ostensibly different minis. Specialist minis such as officer and buglers are separately converted. Thus, at wargaming scale a smallish Corps might be represented by a 1st unit of:
Officer
Bugler
10 Riflemen
While a larger Corps might an additional 2nd unit of:
- In the event of war the issued rifle was kept on the person and the uniform worn in anticipation of call-up (the Volunteer talks of commuting from Surrey to his City of London office, with rifle and in uniform; p.10)
- In addition to his minimum equipment, the Volunteer had privately purchased a greatcoat and knapsack (p.12); an off-white canvas knapsack is included in the above interpretation as a practical addition for field duty
- Unlike the Regulars and the Militia, the volunteers were not issued with haversacks (back packs; p.15)
- The volunteers were not carrying water bottles (p.15) nor, judging by the absence of cooking utensils, mess tins (p.17)
- There are references both to the bayonet being sheafed (p.26) and to it being used in combat (p.30)
- Minimal ammunition appears to have been carried, with haphazard resupply being limited to 20 rounds per man (p.34)
As already mentioned, the Rifle Volunteers were organised as local Corps of varying size. For this project’s wargaming purposes, a Corps will be represented by 1 or more units of 6 or 12 minis.
In the absence of an already available product from which to create the variety of uniforms adopted by the Volunteers, the author created 6 master figures that were then repeatedly cast in white metal. In creating these masters for casting, the author sculpted some elements but also converted or used parts from other commercially available products; given the Intellectual Property Rights inherent in these parts, the author sought and obtained agreement from their owners.
The total of 6 masters provides sufficient variation for a unit of 12, as 1 set of 6 merely have beards added to provide ostensibly different minis. Specialist minis such as officer and buglers are separately converted. Thus, at wargaming scale a smallish Corps might be represented by a 1st unit of:
Officer
Bugler
10 Riflemen
While a larger Corps might an additional 2nd unit of:
Sergeant
11 Riflemen
11 Riflemen
As their relatively simple uniform and equipment provides a good starting point for the huge range of Volunteer units, the 6 masters were based on the 7th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps:
