UID:
almafu_9958351905102883
Format:
1 online resource(x,293p.) :
,
illustrations.
Edition:
Electronic reproduction. : Harvard University Press, 1996. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Edition:
System requirements: Web browser.
Edition:
Access may be restricted to users at subscribing institutions.
ISBN:
9780674182608
Content:
In the theater of war, how important is costume? And in peacetime, what purpose does military spectacle serve? This book takes us behind the scenes of the British military at the height of its brilliance to show us how dress and discipline helped to mold the military man and attempted to seduce the hearts and minds of a nation while serving to intimidate civil rioters in peacetime. Often ridiculed for their constrictive splendor, British army uniforms of the early nineteenth century nonetheless played a powerful role in the troops' performance on campaign, in battle, and as dramatic entertainment in peacetime. Plumbing a wide variety of military sources, most tellingly the memoirs and letters of soldiers and civilians, Scott Hughes Myerly reveals how these ornate sartorial creations, combining symbols of solidarity and inspiration, vivid color, and physical restraint, enhanced the managerial effects of rigid discipline, drill, and torturous punishments, but also helped foster regimental esprit de corps. Encouraging recruitment, enforcing discipline within the military, and boosting morale were essential but not the only functions of martial dress. Myerly also explores the role of the resplendent uniform and its associated gaudy trappings and customs during civil peace and disorder--whether employed as public relations through spectacular free entertainment, or imitated by rioters and rebels opposing the status quo. Dress, drills, parades, inspections, pomp, and order: as this richly illustrated book conducts us through the details of the creation, design, functions, and meaning of these aspects of the martial image, it exposes the underpinnings of a mentality--and vision--that extends far beyond the military subculture into the civic and social order that we call modernity.
Content:
In the theater of war, how important is costume? And in peacetime, what purpose does military spectacle serve? This book takes us behind the scenes of the British military at the height of its brilliance to show us the role of dress in war and peace.
Note:
Frontmatter --
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CONTENTS --
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Introduction: Army Life --
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CHAPTER ONE. The Spectacular Image --
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CHAPTER TWO. Command and Design --
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CHAPTER THREE. Recruiting --
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CHAPTER FOUR. Discipline --
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CHAPTER FIVE. Morale --
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CHAPTER SIX. Campaign and Combat --
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CHAPTER SEVEN. Civil Disorder --
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CHAPTER EIGHT. Entertainment, Power, and Paradigm --
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Conclusion: The Martial Vision --
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BIBLIOGRAPHY --
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NOTES --
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --
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INDEX.
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Also available in print edition.
,
In English.
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780674182585
Language:
English
DOI:
10.4159/harvard.9780674182608
URL:
https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674182608
URL:
https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674182608
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