Military Headgear in the 18th Century - with Drawings by the Author

As early as around 1670, uniforms of gray natural wool were introduced for the infantry in France; this base color later changed over time to a white color.

Officers were initially left largely free regarding uniform regulations. However, officers' uniforms often corresponded in color with the facings of the enlisted men's uniforms (Kannik, Uniforms in Colours, p. 146). The tendency toward such harmonization continued.

A distinguishing feature of officers was, moreover, primarily the standing collar as a remnant of the earlier cuirass.

The cut of the uniform (coat and waistcoat) of the French infantry remained wider than that of the Prussian uniform. The collars displayed the regiment color. Regiments also differed in the number of buttons (on the sleeve facings) and the shape of the pocket flaps.

The tricorn served as headgear. It was typical for civilian and military fashion in the late 17th and 18th centuries. It is said to be derived from the round hat with a wide brim worn by Spanish soldiers, who appeared in Central Europe particularly during the fight against the Netherlands (in the Eighty Years' War from 1568 to 1648).

To achieve better protection against the weather and, above all, to allow rainwater to run off, the brim was first turned up on one side and then on all sides, creating the tricorn.

It also became part of civilian dress and was displaced by the bicorne in the late 18th century.

Top left: winged cap of a hussar around 1785.

Top right: dragoon helmet (officer) around 1785.

Center right: tricorn of a cavalryman around 1760.

Center left: officer's epaulette 1760.

Bottom: front plate of a grenadier cap of an officer. Around 1774 - 94.

The Old Prussian musketeers also wore the tricorn, which was still the earlier round hat, but—as mentioned—with turned-up sides. Over time (after 1740) the hat became increasingly flatter. It was made of black felt. For a secure fit it was tied behind the queue.

The hat brims had a narrow edging, which was white. On No. 6 it consisted of a gold lace. Non-commissioned officers also wore a gold lace on the hat as well as black-and-white hat plumes.

Furthermore, hat plumes were worn. These were of different colors and served as an additional regimental badge.

The same colors as the hat plume were shown by a hat cord, which was wrapped around the crown of the hat with two small tassels.

On the left side of the hat a brass button was attached at the front.

Non-commissioned officers, as a distinct rank group, were also distinguished by special uniform insignia and armament. A gold lace was worn on the hat. The hat plume had been black-and-white since 1718, as was the hat cord.

This pattern was also followed by the plume on the grenadier cap of the corresponding non-commissioned officers.

The grenadiers (Granatiere) emerged as a variant of the infantry in the 17th century. They specialized in the handling of the hand grenade and, due to the rather risky handling of this weapon, were regarded as an elite troop. At the end of the 17th century grenadiers were increased in number in various armies and were also grouped into special units and concentrated for example in sieges of fortresses or in battle.

A particular characteristic of the grenadiers was their distinctive headgear. This developed in two variants, on the one hand as a bearskin and on the other as a conical metal cap. It is curious that at that time the first style was preferred particularly by Catholic and the second particularly by Protestant states, so that, as with the base colors of the uniforms, a certain clothing pattern can also be observed here.

The latter form is found in the Old Prussian army.

The grenadier cap developed from the pointed cap (camp cap), which was worn instead of the hat. The latter was inconvenient when throwing the hand grenade over the musket.

A similar development is found in other armies with the dragoons as mounted infantry.

Before 1700 the cap-sack of the grenadier cap still hung down and was then raised and stabilized by means of fishbone stays. The tip of the cap was adorned with a woolen tuft. This corresponded to the hat plume of the musketeer's hat. The now stiff cloth front was initially decorated with embroidery and later with metal fittings or metal emblems. Over time these grew into a metal front plate.

The initially still pierced metal front plate showed the cloth backing in this early phase and then became a fully metal front plate; for example, for No. 6 it was already applied around 1729. The front metal consisted of tombac.

In the Old Prussian army before 1740, the so-called red Grenadier Guard Battalion together with the II and III Battalions formed the Life Regiment or King's Regiment (No. 6).

The red grenadiers wore a particularly tall form of the grenadier cap, initially still with a cloth front, which displayed the silver guard star with the motto Semper talis.

This unit had a full metal front plate quite early, but from 1733 such a plate is also found with Infantry Regiment No. 15 and from 1738 with Infantry Regiment No. 3.

The grenadier caps of the Old Prussian infantry regiments showed on this front plate various ornamentations with manifold decorative elements, motifs and patterns, notably the royal cypher, the crowned (Prussian) eagle, the star of the Order of the Black Eagle, the lion as an expression of martial strength, various cipher devices and the usual military armaments in opulent baroque decoration.

The grenadiers still wore the hat until the year 1725, but thereafter only the grenadier cap. However, the officers of the grenadiers continued to wear the hat.

In the Old Prussian infantry regulations of 1726 (pp. 619 ff.) it stated regarding the procurement and wearing of the grenadier cap: "Every year new grenadier caps without metal and every 3rd year new grenadier caps with metal shall be made." And further: "The grenadier caps must fit very close on the head, and not sit too low" (so also regulated in the economy regulations for No. 3 and No. 14 from the year 1725 (Dieterich, p. 183)).

At the beginning of the Seven Years' War (1756) there were 12 Prussian mounted regiments with 5 squadrons each, the squadrons being divided into 2 companies. In addition came the regiment Garde du Corps, established in 1740, with (from 1756) 3 squadrons.

The cuirassiers wore the hat, as was customary for heavy cavalry of other European states.

The hat was made of black felt. Around its brims ran tufts of different colors depending on the squadron.

The cockade consisted of a strong band of wool. For protection of the head an iron cross was additionally worn.

From 1762 white feather plumes had been introduced.

At the beginning of the Seven Years' War (1756) there were 12 Prussian dragoon regiments (a total of 70 squadrons), of which D I - IV, VII - XII comprised 5 and D V and VI 10 squadrons.

The hat, hairstyle, boots, breeches, gloves, cloak, stable coat, baggage and harness of the dragoons corresponded, according to Jany/Skarbina, to the items of the cuirassiers.

The dragoon regiment Grenadiers à Cheval (D III.) wore the depicted distinctive grenadier cap. After a military defeat at Baumgarten in 1741, however, the regiment lost its special headgear.

The eight Prussian hussar regiments existing in 1756 each comprised 10 squadrons; in H 5 there was a banner of Bosniaks. In 1762 the latter was expanded to a regiment with a total of 10 squadrons (H 9).

In the new edition (Jany/Skarbina, 1908–12) of 100 plates from the work: The Army of Frederick the Great in its Uniform (Armeewerk) by Adolph Menzel, the headgear of the hussars is described as follows: "In 5 regiments it is cylindrical and lined with bearskin. The upper end is closed with a sack-like sewn piece of cloth, kolpack, and inside at the side the feather plume together with a cord (of thick cordage) is attached. The height of the cap is 11 inches for regiments No. 1 and 4, and 12 inches for No. 2, 3 and 9. Four other regiments wore caps of felt (Hungarian hats). In these as well, a cord and feather plume are attached at the upper end. Around the lower end runs a broad, pointed piece of cloth called a wing, because it flutters loosely during fast riding. The height of the caps of regiments No. 6 and 7 is 9–10 inches, those of regiments 5 and 8 10–11 inches."

The Old Prussian artillery consisted of the field artillery, the garrison artillery and the horse artillery. The latter only arose in the Seven Years' War (1756–63). The field artillery (garrison: Potsdam) was first divided into companies in 1698. The garrison artillery was distributed across various fortresses. Finally, in 1782 Silberberg and Graudenz received their own companies.

The field artillery consisted of 4 regiments at the end of the Seven Years' War.

It was always stationed in Berlin, although regiments No. 2 to 4 received garrisons in towns of the Mark from 1763; later — 1764–1772 — these regiments were again relocated to new barracks in Berlin.

A peculiarity of the Old Prussian artillery were the bombardier caps shown here, which were even still in use after 1756 in the garrison artillery.