Light Dragoon Officer’s Tarleton Helmets

10^th Light Dragoon Officer’s Tarleton Helmet

 9^th Light Dragoon Officer’s Tarleton Helmet

 

With its flashy fur crest and feather plume the helmets pictured here are eye catching pieces of Georgian era military headgear that remained popular with British cavalry units until circa 1812.  The helmet is known as the Tarleton helmet and is named after Banastre Tarleton who led a British legion through the southern colonies during the American War for Independence.  The historical record shows no indication that Tarleton had anything to do with the design of the helmet.  It is known that Tarleton wore this type of helmet while serving with the 16^th Light Dragoons and is the same type of helmet the members of Tarleton’s Legion worn.  It is plausible that he personally incorporated the helmet into the legion uniform.  The helmet became

synonymous with the legion and was therefore named after Tarleton.  This September we will be offering two examples of the Tarleton helmet: one from the 10^th Light Dragoons, the other from the 9^th Light Dragoons.  The 10^th Light Dragoons participated in the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo. During the Victorian era the regiment was renamed the 10^th (The Prince of Wales’s Own) Royal Hussars and saw action in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, Battle of Ali Masjid and Battle of El Teb.  The 9^th Light Dragoons became the 9^th Queen’s Royal Lancers.  The 9^th has the distinction of participating in more campaigns in India than any other British regiment of the period.

One of the many museum quality European military headgear, uniforms, & medals in our upcoming premiere auction this September.

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