Anne - Much earlier in this thread I thought it was generally agreed that the cockade is usually not really part of the regimental dress, but an additional badge, either formal or informal. It was worn for a number of reasons - from designating a special favour bestowed upon the wearer, through to which side you're on in a civil war. The colour depends on any one of those reasons, so the green cockade which you sing about is likely to have been worn by irregulars, militia, or rebels during one of the innumerable Irish troubles... or something.

And although many a soldier at Minden on inadequate rations might have wanted to rip up vegetables from the farmlands they were marching through, they were stuck with roses. The average soldier being what he was (thieving ratbags), they grabbed them instead and stuck them in their hats. There is (perhaps fortunately) no tradition of actually eating them. Putting on a uniform makes you look the same as your mates, but doesn't make you altogether stupid....