Hi does any one know why the 28th were still wearing the pre-1812 stove pipe shako at Waterloo and how much longer did they retain it for? Did they ever have Belgic shakos?
Thank you.
Paul

Paul, the evidence would appear scanty, though the tradition is well intrenched. It seems to rely on a sketch by Capt George Jones in his 1817 compilation "The battle of Waterloo, with those of Ligny at Quatre Bras" which shows Colonel Belson and the 28th regiment holding off the French cavalry.

An anonymous staff officer who saw them on the march from Brussels, wrote "The old 28th followed, having their number both in front and rear of their low caps a memorial of Egypt." (Recollections of Waterloo, United Service Magazine.)

What he meant by 'low caps' is an intriguing question. The 1812 cap was a squat affair, despite its high front. Is that what he meant? Or was he seeing battered 'sugar loaf' caps caps in dire need of replacement?

Lady Butler's canvas of the 28th at Quatre Bras wearing 1812 caps can probably be dismissed as evidence. in this regard.

Various traditions claim the 28th wore their old caps as a distinction 'earned' at Alexandria in 1801, or 'granted 'by Wellington in the peninsula. These can presumably be filed with other traditions of the sort relating to regimental idiosyncracies.