Feileadh Mor tartan as camouflage?

[kingandrew]

Regarding the matter of camo vs. bright colored uniforms on the battlefield:

In the 1700s-early 1800s, the main infantry weapon was the musket. These were not very accurate, had a very short range, and gave you one shot before a slow reloading process. So the best way to kill a worthwhile number of enemy soldiers was to line up your men shoulder to shoulder and have them all fire at once, to send a "wall of lead" towards your opponents, who were lined up to do the same to you. Camouflage would serve little purpose under such conditions.

Well-trained soldiers could manage to get off three shots a minute, most were slower. When the enemy line is barely out of shouting distance, the 20-30 seconds it takes to reload is enough time for charging foes to reach you for hand-to-hand fighting. This is why bayonets were so important and why "musketeers" were known for their sword skills. A great deal of the fighting was done by hand at close range. A "Highland charge" would be an effective tactic under these conditions.

The US Civil War was a turning point for this style of fighting. As rifling became widespread for cannons and soldiers' guns, range was radically extended, making it suicidal to charge into enemy positions (see Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg). At the same time, the ability to fire more shots and reload more quickly added to this effect. By the last part of the War in Petersburg, troops were essentially rehearsing the sort of trench warfare we associate with the Western Front in World War I. Concealment became a valuable tool.

The battles of the '45 and earlier would have been fought as much by sword, bayonet, and dirk as by guns. So battlefield camo would have been pointless. The famous painting of Culloden certainly shows the two sides to be brightly arrayed and making no attempt to hide in bushes or trenchwork of any kind.

However, as noted above, a tartan could help a hunter hide from his prey, or a fugitive to conceal himself in the woods from his pursuers. I'm sure there were Scots who took advantage of this fact quite frequently, although I doubt it was a specific goal of the tartan-weving process.

The stuff about ghillie suits and shepherd's cloaks is quite interesting. I really appreciate the pictures.

Andrew