18th Century Artillery and Wagon Colours
Continental Artillery drilling at Williamsburg, Virginia. American artillery of the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783, initially used outdated artillery pieces with iron barrels and some captured British guns with lighter bronze barrels. The wooden parts of gun carriages were painted red, green, yellow, grey, or blue, or only varnished to protect the wood. The colour of artillery carriages apparently depended on the availability of suitable paints and stains. In later years, France supplied artillery pieces which were already painted French artillery green, a medium olive green mixed from ochre and black.
Artillery and Wagon Colour Table
| Nation | Year | Wood | Metal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | ochre | black | |
| Bavaria | bluegrey | black | |
| Bavaria | 1760 | red | black |
| Covered ammunition wagons of the Bavarian army were painted red. | |||
| Denmark | 1708 | red | yellow |
| Danish bronze guns and mortars were painted red with yellow metal fittings, and black wheel rims. | |||
| Franconia | red? | black? | |
| Covered ammunition wagons of the Franconian Circle were painted red. | |||
| France | light grey | dark grey | |
| France | red | black | |
| France | blue with fleurs de lis | black | |
| Until the introduction of the olive green artillery colour, French guns and wagons were painted in a variety of colours. | |||
| Great Britain | grey | black | |
| Hanover | red | black | |
| Hesse-Cassel | white, with red wheel spokes and red trail chest | red | |
| Some of the guns used during the Seven Years’ War were supplied by the County of Schaumburg-Lippe (Bückeburg). | |||
| Hesse-Darmstadt | medium blue | black | |
| Prussia | medium blue | black | |
| Russia | red, later apple green | black or unpainted | |
| Saxony | black | yellow | |
| Saxony | dark green | black | |
| Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg | ca. 1800 | green and white striped gun carriage, unpainted wooden wheels | black |
| Schaumburg-Lippe (Bückeburg) | white | black | |
| Württemberg | yellow | black | |
| Würzburg | red | black | |
Iron gun barrels were usually painted black to protect them from rust. Bronce gun barrel only needed to be cleaned and polished. Civilian farm wagons and covered wagons were often left unpainted, stained brown, or just varnished to protect the wood.