Dating to ca. 1690, this plug bayonet was used by an English officer. By sticking such a weapon into the muzzle of a musket, it could be easily converted into a lance-like weapon.
The use of red is not exclusive to the British but is also found in Saxon, Danish, and Swiss armies – although in the mind of the average human, ‘redcoats’ are only ever one nationality. Numerous hypotheses abound, including the common but unlikely yarn that red coats disguise a bleeding wound. Why would that be important to the British and no one else?
During the first 50 years of their existence, the English, Scottish, and Irish armies and county militias used a variety of coat colours including green, white, yellow, blue, grey, brown, and purple, but red was most common from the 1670s. Most, but not all, Scots regiments wore red coats, as did the Irish.
