American Military Insignia 1800-1851 Part 22

CAP PLATE, 1845-1850

_USNM 604559-M (S-K 706). Figure 168._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 168]

The first of the stock patterns, with basic wreath and 8-pointed starlike sunburst, has the numeral "1" on black leather as a center device. Other specimens in the national collections have single numerals, single letters, branch of service devices, and state coats of arms. This plate, and those following, were worn through the 1850's on the dress cap copied after the pattern adopted for the Regular Establishment in 1851. It is struck in bra.s.s.

CAP PLATE, 1845-1850

_USNM 604617-M (S-K 764). Figure 169._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 169]

This stock pattern, in bra.s.s, is very definitely military in composition, employing cannon and flag-staff spearheads radiating from a beaded center and superimposed on a sunburst background. The metal letter "1" is backed with black leather.

CAP AND CAP PLATE, ALBANY BURGESSES CORPS, C. 1851

_USNM 604681-M (S-K 827). Figure 170._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 170]

This unusually ornate and distinctive plate is that of the Albany [New York] Burgesses Corps that was founded, as stated on the plate itself, October 8, 1833. The arms and the motto "a.s.sIDUITY", appearing above the ribbon with the letters "A B C," are those of the city of Albany.

CAP AND CAP PLATE, RIFLES, C. 1851

_USNM 604666-M (S-K 813). Figure 171._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 171]

The original b.u.t.tons on the sides of this cap have the eagle with the letter "R" (used by both Regulars and Militia) on the s.h.i.+eld. The bra.s.s plate proper, however, includes no device indicative of any particular branch of service; combining flags and a Federal s.h.i.+eld surmounted by an eagle, it may well have been a stock pattern.

CAP PLATE, C. 1850(?)

_USNM 604551 (S-K 698). Figure 172._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 172]

The type and form of this eagle plate give no clue to its age, or to the ident.i.ty of the unit that wore it other than the numeral "1" in the eagle's beak and the letter "E" in the s.h.i.+eld. It is a type more apt to have been made about 1850 than later. The eagle is struck in bra.s.s, and the stippled inner portion of the s.h.i.+eld, product of a separate strike, is soldered in place; thus, the plate proper must be considered a stock pattern.

CAP PLATE, C. 1850(?)

_USNM 604552-M (S-K 699). Figure 173._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 173]

A companion piece to the preceding plate, this specimen differs in that the letters "R G" and their stippled background are struck integrally with the plate proper--indicating that two dies were combined for a single strike--and in that the s.h.i.+eld, ribbon, and numeral "1" have been silvered.

CAP PLATE, 10TH REGIMENT, Ma.s.sACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER MILITIA, C. 1850

_USNM 60358-M (S-K 114). Figure 174._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 174]

This plate is of a type form worn on Militia dress caps prior to the Civil War. There is little doubt that plates such as this continued in use for several decades after their initial appearance. This bra.s.s specimen, surmounted by elements of the Ma.s.sachusetts seal, is struck as a stock pattern for Ma.s.sachusetts troops with the center left blank. The numeral "10" is applied to a black-painted metal disk affixed with simple wire fasteners.

CAP PLATE, GEORGIA, C. 1850

_USNM 604545-M (S-K 692). Figure 175._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 175]

This plate and the one following are of Militia types worn on caps in the 1850's and perhaps earlier. Such plates are known to have been in use with little or no change almost to the present day on military school dress shakos and dress caps worn by some National Guard units.

The plate proper, which is of bra.s.s, is the well-known half-sunburst device so popular in the 1830's and 1840's. The Georgia state seal, also in bra.s.s, is applied with wire fasteners. The plate is dated later than a similar one of the Republican Blues (fig. 152) because of the "feel" of the piece and the fact that it cannot be ascribed to a particular unit whose existence can be dated.

CAP PLATE, VIRGINIA, C. 1850

_USNM 604547-M (S-K 694). Figure 176._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 176]

This plate differs from the preceding one only in that it subst.i.tutes the coat of arms of Virginia for that of Georgia. The backgrounds, although very similar, are products of different dies.

Shoulder-Belt and Waist-Belt Plates

WAIST-BELT PLATE, 1ST MARINE ARTILLERY, 1813

_USNM 60323-M (S-K 79). Figure 177._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 177]

Undoubtedly one of the most interesting of all the Militia plates of the War of 1812 period is this rectangular one worn by John S. Stiles of (as indicated by the engraving) the "First Marine Artillery of the Union." Engraved in bra.s.s, it bears an unusual combination of military and naval devices--the familiar eagle-on-cannon of the Regular artillery and the eagle with oval s.h.i.+eld that appears on naval officers' b.u.t.tons of the period.[124] Actually, the devices befit the character of the organization. The following quotation from _Niles Weekly Register_ of Baltimore, June 26, 1813, tells something of the unit:

The First Marine Artillery of the Union, an a.s.sociation of the masters and mates of vessels in Baltimore, about 170 strong all told, a.s.sembled on Sunday last and proceeded to the Rev. Mr.

Glendy's church in full uniform, where they received an address suited to the occasion; which, as usual, done honor to the head and heart to the reverend orator. We cannot pa.s.s over this pleasant incident without observing that the members of this invaluable corps are they who, of all other cla.s.ses of society, feel the burthens and privations of the war.

[Footnote 124: JOHNSON, vol. 1, pp. 40, 74.]

Obviously, this organization was one of the state fencible units enlisted for defense only, but little else is known about it. In 1814 there was in Baltimore, a Corps of Marine Artillery commanded by a Capt. George Stiles. The roster of this unit, however, does not include the name John S. Stiles. Other records do indicate that a Lt.