Could anyone tell me did the foot guards use the baker rifle at Waterloo? the light companies I mean.

TIA.
Mike.

http://napolun.com/mirror/napoleoni...eigners_British_army.htm#britishinfantrylight

This may help! it looks like only the Rifle brigades carried the Baker Rifle! .. light companies, still seemed to use the 'Brown-Bess',.. see below

Mark

See also: History of British light infantry
A number of infantry regiments were newly formed as, or converted into, dedicated regular light infantry regiments. During the early war against the French, the British Army was bolstered by light infantry mercenaries from Germany and the Low Countries, but the British light infantry companies proved inadequate against the experienced and far more numerous French during the Flanders campaign, and in the Netherlands in 1799, and light infantry development became urgent.[15]
The first rifle-armed unit, the 5th Battalion of the 60th Regiment, was formed mainly from German émigrés before 1795. An Experimental Corps of Riflemen, armed with the Baker rifle, was formed in 1800, and was brought into the line as the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) in 1802. Some of the light units of the King's German Legion were also armed with the same weapon. The rifle-armed units saw extensive service, most prominently in the Peninsular War where the mountainous terrain saw them in their element.
In 1803, Sir John Moore converted two regiments (the 43rd Foot and his own regiment, the 52nd Foot), to light infantry at Shorncliffe Camp, the new specialised training camp for light infantry.[16] Five other regiments (the 51st, 68th, 71st, 85th and 90th) were subsequently converted to light infantry. Under Moore, this change of role was accompanied by a change in the methods of training and discipline, encouraging initiative and replacing punishment for minor infractions with a system of rewards for good conduct.
Light infantry and rifle battalions were composed of eight companies. While the rifle-armed units adopted a dark green uniform, the musket-armed light infantry units wore tailless jackets in the traditional red colour.[5] In addition to light infantry duties, they could form up in close order and perform as line infantry if required. They were armed with the "New Light Infantry Land Pattern" of the standard musket, which had a rudimentary backsight to aid individual accuracy, using the bayonet lug as a foresight.
While line regiments fired in volleys, light infantry skirmishers fired at will, taking careful aim at targets.[17]



Mark

Mike, in The Waterloo Companion, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterloo-Companion-Complete-Historys-Famous/dp/185410764X
there is a list of the units armed with the Baker and no Foot Guards light companies are mentioned.

Roger.

Roger I have the waterloo companion as well, I read that too, I also have a copy of uniforms of waterloo by p haythornthwaite plate 11 shows a guards (coldsteam) sgt armed with a baker rifle poetic lisence maybe???

mike.

Mike, I knew I'd seen an illustration showing that somewhere but couldn't remember where.
Personally I'd go along with Adkin in this case but there again..... I'll keep looking.

Roger.

Uniforms during the "100 days"
http://centjours.mont-saint-jean.com/

Mark pretty much covered it all very well.
Most definitely, the Foot Guards were organized as a "Line" regiment, that is 8 center companies and 2 flank companies, one Grenadier and one Light. All companies would be armed and equiped the same. The flank companies would have shoulder wings instead of straps, the grenadiers would be big men with white plumes while the light company would be smaller athletic men who were good marksmen and could act as skirmishers for the regiment. They wore green plumes. All used the Brown Bess and socket bayonet.

At that time the the only British regiments with the Baker Rifle were the 60th (American Rifles) and the 95th (Rifle regiment). These were trained light infantry regiments and weren't broken into center, light and grenadier companies. The only other regiments with Bakers were German Rifle regiments and some Portugese light infantry units (cocadores, I think the spelling is way off ).

Bakers were still not widely accepted by the British military establishment as being slow to reload and expensive to produce. They also didn't like the idea of the individual soldier acting independantly and away from the umbrella of the main battle line and its' officers. Definitely a big trust issue there.

Good Luck

Colin

Another interesting snippet of info is only two companies of the 3rd bn. 95th had the Baker at Waterloo. I bet the musket armed Riflemen weren't too happy.

Roger.

That is interesting Roger, i never heard that before. Was it some kind of supply SNAFU?

Colin

It's in the Waterloo Companion book Colin, it doesn't give a reason which is a shame.

Roger.

Now I need to know! Let the research begin!!!!

When you find out let me know.