Short frogged jacket, worn by Isaac Gomez da Costa, Jamaica Light Horse, 1830 (c)

Blue, short frogged officer's jacket with pale buff facings.

The Jamaica Light Horse was an auxiliary unit raised by planters and merchants to protect their interests. In 1831-1832, it joined regular regiments in opposing a revolt by slaves who believed that emancipation (passed in 1833) had already been granted. Although Jamaica's forested and mountainous interior limited the effectiveness of cavalry, the Light Horse also helped suppress the Morant Bay Rebellion (1865), a rising caused by a lack of voting and land rights.