I had missed this previously on Örjan Martinsson's Tacitus.nu website, regarding Danish infantry:
"In the beginning of this period the vest and leg clothing (breeches and stockings) were usually in the same colour as the facings and lining. But according to Schorr and Höglund were [sic.] these items red in all regiments from 1711. Karsten Skjold Petersen claims however that this did not happen until 1716 and that the vest and leg clothing before that were in the regimental colour. Although it occurred in the battle of Gadebusch that the soldiers' stockings were covered by red gaiters made of red canvas."
So, an example of 'occasional' use of gaiters in the Great Northern War...

That’s very interesting James. I’ll have have to check that site out. I hadn’t really considered the appearance of gaiters into question until now. I know that while doing some research on the Kronostaf website (great source btw) that French troops did start wearing them during the war but I haven’t checked out what other nations were doing at the time. I know Marlborough himself preferred to wear gaiters over riding boots, which makes me think that they existed in the British army in some capacity.

A splendid looking pose there. Happy New Year to yourself and everyone else in the community! Always enjoy studying and reading these posts (seriously, I have Excel files). :joy: