Queen Anne Commands: Clothing the Kettle Drummer to the Ordnance, 1705–1708

Abstract

The account books of the Board of Ordnance in the National Archives list the provisions made to the Ordnance, including clothing, and offer a wonderful insight into uniform provided to the soldiers serving with this branch of the military at time of the War of the Spanish Succession. Through a series of accounts dating from 1706 to 1708 this paper demonstrates how one position under the control of the Board of Ordnance, that of the kettle drummer, was ostentatious in the extreme requiring ninety yards of gold lace. The article will relate his clothing to clothing provided to other soldiers, and show how his clothes reflected the high status of the kettle drummer.