The Black Watch wears a red hackle or feather in its bonnets, a distinction won on the battlefield, and its pipers are the only ones in the army wearing feather bonnets instead of glengarry caps.
THE GREENJACKETS
The King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade are known as the Greenjackets, from the colour of their full dress uniform, and like all Rifle regiments wear fur busbies. They do not carry colours, their battle honours being emblazoned on their appointments. They do not carry their rifles at the slope but at the trail. There are two other Rifle regiments in the British Army, these being the Scottish Rifles (The Cameronians) and the Royal Irish Rifles.
THE ELEPHANT COLOURS.
The Highland Light Infantry and Seaforth Highlanders enjoy the privilege of carrying a third colour on parade, this having been presented to them to commemorate their bravery at the battle of Assaye, and being emblazoned with an elephant is known as the Assaye or Elephant Colour. The Seaforth is the only regiment to have a Gaelic motto.
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders have a larger proportion of Gaelic-speaking soldiers in their ranks than any other, most of them hailing from the most northern part of the Highlands.
BATTLE HONOURS.
Before the great war on the Continent the King's Royal Rifle Corps were credited with the highest number of battle honours, viz., 40, the Gloucester Regiment being second with 34, then in order the Rifle Brigade 33, Highland Light Infantry 32, Black Watch and Gordon Highlanders 31 each, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Royal Scots, South Staffordshire Regiment and South Lancashire Regiment 29 each, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 27, Sherwood Foresters, Seaforth Highlanders, Royal Munster Fusiliers, Northamptonshire Regiment and Royal Dublin Fusiliers 25 each, and The Buffs, East Surrey Regiment and Grenadier Guards 24 each. The 16th Lancers have the highest number of honours amongst the Cavalry regiments, viz., 18, the 9th Lancers having 16, and the 14th Hussars 15.
Many other matters of interest attaching to each regiment will be found in the following pages.