Life in the Barracks in the Warren, where the Artillery at Woolwich were stationed, with the exception of one company, which was detached at Greenwich whenever the Warren was overcrowded, can be gathered from the Standing Orders which survive in the old MS. order-books in the Royal Artillery Regimental Library and Royal Artillery Record Office. A few of these orders, extracted from the books whose contents extend over the period between 1741 and 1757, cannot fail to be interesting.
The establishment of each company at the commencement of that period was as follows:—One Captain, one Captain-Lieutenant, one First Lieutenant, one Second Lieutenant, three Lieutenant Fireworkers, three Sergeants, three Corporals, eight Bombardiers, twenty Gunners, sixty-four Matrosses, and two Drummers—in all, one hundred and seven.
The uniform dress of the officers was a plain blue coat, lined with scarlet, a large scarlet Argyle cuff, double-breasted, and with yellow buttons to the bottom of the skirts; scarlet waistcoat and breeches—the waistcoat trimmed with broad gold lace,—and a gold-laced hat. The Sergeants' coats were trimmed, the lappels, cuffs, and pockets with a broad single gold lace; the Corporals' and Bombardiers' with a narrow single gold lace; the Gunners' and Matrosses', plain-blue coats; all the non-commissioned officers and men having scarlet half-lappels, scarlet cuffs, and slashed sleeves with five buttons, and blue waistcoats and breeches; the Sergeants' hats trimmed with a broad and the other non-commissioned officers' and men's with a narrow gold lace. White spatterdashes were then worn. The Regimental clothing was delivered to the non-commissioned officers and men once a year, with the exception of the Regimental coats, which they only received every second year; receiving in the intermediate year a coarse blue loose surtout, which served for laboratory work, cooking, fatigue duties, &c. The arms of the officers were fusees without bayonets, and not uniform. The sergeants, corporals, and bombardiers were armed with halberds and long brass-hilted swords; "the gunners carried field-staffs about two feet longer than a halberd, with two lintstock cocks branching out at the head, and a spear projecting between and beyond them (great care was paid to keeping these very bright); a buff belt over the left shoulder, slinging a large powder-horn, mounted with brass over the right pocket; and the same long brass-hilted swords as worn by the non-commissioned officers. The matrosses had only common muskets and bayonets, with cartouche-boxes."[[13]]
The variations in the dress of the Regiment which subsequently were made will be noted in their proper places.
A few of the orders issued by General Borgard are given to show the interior economy of the Regiment in 1743 and subsequent years:
March 13, 1743. "That the corporals and bombardiers do not drink with any of the private men."
March 29, 1743. "That if any non-commissioned officer or gunner make himself unfit for the King's duty, either by drinking, whoring, or any other bad practice, he will send them to the Hospital at London for cure, and discharge them out of the Regiment."
January 30, 1744. "That no man go out a-shooting, on any account whatever."
August 15, 1744. "The Captains to advertise all their deserters in the newspapers."
October 29, 1744. "That none of the people go three miles out of quarters without a passport, in writing, from the Captain or officer commanding the Company to which they belong."