Other forms: redcoats
The British are coming! The redcoats are coming! That’s what the Americans warned as British soldiers, or redcoats, were on their way to battle during the American Revolution. Guess what color the British soldiers’ coats were?
While the use of the term redcoat is commonly thought of as an American invention (at least by most Americans), it was actually coined before the 17th century English Civil War. The redcoats in that conflict were the soldiers who supported Oliver Cromwell. Until the late 19th century, most British soldiers wore a uniform that included some sort of red coat. During the American Revolution, George Washington himself referred in letters to British soldiers as redcoats.