Ind Coys reference. What were Blazons?

[figheadair]

Interesting. I had not seen that reference before, nor have I seen any references relating to early Highland military uniforms (especially in the Independent Companies) that mentions badges.

This is pure conjecture, but badges may have been issued in the context of modern police badges, i.e., to certify that the individual Highlander was indeed a member of an Independent Company, who in those early days were 1) engaged in law enforcement activities and 2) may not yet have been fully uniformed in red coat, Government tartan, etc, for identification purposes. I can imagine that a problem may have existed from unscrupulous Highlanders attempting to pass themselves off as Independent Company members to gain some sort of advantage over prospective victims.

What form did these blazons/badges take? Has anybody seen one? To the best of my knowledge, Highland regiments didn't start putting regimental numbers/titles (except for regimental names and rack marks on muskets, bayonets and swords) on regimental uniform items until the American War of Independence.

I had assumed that blazons and badges were different but it might be that they were in fact the same thing, it's not entirely clear. Until these references surfaced no-one had ever heard of either in connection with the Ind Coys and so we have to make some educated guesses at this point. As I said, I have assumed that the badges (with their individual number) would have been metal but other than that have no idea of what they were or looked like. The idea that they might have been some sort of official mark like a police badge is an interesting possibility. I will follow this up with the NMS.

So far as uniform is concerned, we know that the men wore plaids and that they were to be 'as near as the same sort and colour' as possible, and they the men were also issued shirts, stocks, shoes and hose. There is no mention of them being issued coats so it's possible they weren't. Even if they were I doubt that they would have been red ones before the various companies were regimented in 1739.