Left, Andrew Taylor of the 72nd Highlanders during the Crimea War. Like JBW, Andrew Taylor was a Colour Sergeant and so the uniform he's wearing would be very similar to JBW's. Andrew Taylor is wearing a black feather bonnet with a brass regimental badge on a black rosette on the bonnet's left side. The double breasted doublet is scarlet with a yellow collar and cuffs. On the right arm is the rank badge. The doublet had brass lozenge shaped buttons which had on them the number 72 below a crown. He's also wearing a crimson sash over a white waist belt. On his back, is a black knapsack with either a gray blanket or great coat strapped and rolled on top. The trews (trousers) were in Prince Charles Edward Stuart tartan. The rifle is the Long Enfield with a white sling. The muzzle stopper is in place. This last was made of cork with a brass top.

The picture on the right is a soldier of a different rank and with a slightly different uniform as worn in 1857. However, the uniform is still the 72nd Highlanders. I've shown it so that you can get a sense of the uniform's colours. Recall that JBW was probably average height for that time, so the soldiers above were probably about 5"7" tall.

The 72nd Highlander Regiment started its life as The Seaforth Highlanders Regiment which was raised in 1778 by the Earl of Seaforth. It became the 72nd ( Highland ) Regiment of Foot in 1786. The regiment saw service in East India and Cape of Good Hope prior to 1809. 1809 was the year that all Scottish regiments will remember, as it was the year in which many of the regiments lost their `Highland' status and ceased to wear the kilt. Unfortunately, the 72nd was one of those regiments.

In subsequent years, the 72nd saw service in Cape Colony, Mauritius, the Kaffir War in South Africa, and Ireland. In recognition of its record as a reliable regiment, in 1823 it was re-titled The 72nd -Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders (For Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany) and allowed to resume wearing highland dress such as the feather bonnet. However, instead of the kilt, it wore trews of Royal Stuart tartan. The regiment has been amalgamated with other regiments over time but it is still active and is known as the Queen's Own Highlanders.

Sources

The uniform pictures were found by doing Google searches in the images section - "72nd Highlanders" and "colour sergeant". The original locations are no longer functioning.

The History of the unit was found on www.regiments.com.