Tenth Hussars

Coloured aquatint by and after William Heath, published by J Watson, Vere Street, Bond Street, London, 25 April 1820. From an album of 18 aquatints entitled 'Military Costume of the British Cavalry, 1820'.

Hussars were light cavalry mounted on fast horses. They were used to fight skirmish battles and for reconnoitring. Originally Hungarian, by the mid-18th century most European armies had recruited Hussar regiments. The British Army first encountered them during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), but did not start transforming certain of its own light dragoon regiments into hussars until 1807.