Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1800 to provide sharpshooters, scouts and skirmishers. The brigade was distinguished by its use of green uniforms as standard in place of the traditional red-the first regular infantry corps in the British Army to do so. The new regiment was armed with the Baker rifle which, though it took two or three times as long to load 1] and required a separate calibre of ball (leading to supply issues), was considerably more accurate and effective at a longer range than the standard issue Brown Bess musket of the line regiments and regular light infantry companies. This rifle was an accurate weapon for its day with reported kills being taken at 100 to 300 yards (270 m) away. During the Peninsula War, Rifleman Thomas Plunkett of the 1st Battalion, 95th Rifles shot the French General Auguste-Marie-Fran ois Colbert at a range that may have been even greater.