16127 - 43rd Regiment of Foot Drummer Marching

During the 18th century British infantry regiments were identified by the color of the facings (collar, cuffs, and lapels) of their coats, and numbers or designs on their flags and drums. In addition the facings were often decorated with false buttonholes made of woven woolen tape (lace) in various widths. Lace patterns were specific to the regiment and could be in white, yellow, or white with a series of colored lines. To further complicate things, the drummers and fifers of line regiments, which often exceeded 20 men, wore reversed colors to set them apart from the regular soldiers. Thus, a drummer of the 43rd Regiment would wear a white coat with red facings rather than the red coat with white facings of the rest of the regiment.