Warriors For The Working Day
Military Art
By
Paul Hitchin
145 Walsall Road
Pelsall
Walsall
WS3 4BP
UK
Telephone
07967630942
Skirmishers – French Voltigeur and British 95th
Rifleman
Light troops were
introduced into European armies in the mid eighteenth
century. Each British line battalion being given a Light
Company to act as skirmishers and harry the advance of
an enemy. Later the army went one stage further with the
introduction of Light Infantry Regiments and in
particular two units of riflemen, the 60th
and 95th Rifles. Both units were
distinguished by their green uniforms and were armed
with the far more accurate Baker rifle with an effective
range of several hundred yards. Their green clothing
supposedly helped them blend with the landscape since
they were trained to fight in a more flexible and
independent manner that their red coated line
counterparts.The French did
not adopt the rifle during the Napoleonic Wars but their
Voltigeur companies were supposed to fight in a similar
manner, skirmishing in front of the line troops. Their
uniforms featured green and yellow epaulettes and
hunting horn badges. The man portrayed here is a
Sergeant, a veteran of more than 14 years service.Both men are portrayed in campaign
dress as worn in the Peninsular War in Spain with
evidence of the wear and tear of campaign.
