American Military Insignia 1800-1851 Part 18

-- No Militia plates enjoyed wider use or longer life than those patterned after the plate that disappeared from the Regular Establishment with the disbanding of the dragoons in 1815. More than a dozen die variants are known, several worn by more than one Militia unit. Although size and shape may vary, any plate exhibiting a mounted trooper with upraised saber can safely be a.s.signed to mounted Militia.

However, the dating of such plates is a real problem because they are known to have been in use as late as 1861.

A Huddy and Duval print of the Was.h.i.+ngton Cavalry of Philadelphia County shows that unit wearing a plate similar to the one used by the Regulars, differing only in its bra.s.s composition, as opposed to the original pewter of the 1812 regulations.[108] A cap in the collections of the Valley Forge Museum that was worn by a member of this unit in the period 1835-1845 is very similar to the one shown in the Huddy and Duval print. The cap is a copy of the 1812 Regular Army pattern, with somewhat more ornate bra.s.s bindings in place of the iron strips. A similar cap, carrying the label "Canfield and Bro., Baltimore," is owned by Lexington, Virginia, descendants of a member of the Rockbridge [Virginia] Dragoons. That unit is said to have worn such a cap upon first entering Confederate service in 1861.

[Footnote 108: See _U.S. Military Magazine_ (February 1840), pl. 29.]

In the national collections there is a dragoon cap (USNM 604767, S-K 912) carrying a plate of this design struck on a ma.s.sive diamond-shaped piece with concave sides. There are additional variations in several private collections and at the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. The mounted horseman device was also struck on heart-shaped martingale ornaments.

CAP PLATE, DRAGOONS, C. 1830

_USNM 60254-M (S-K 12). Figure 130._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 130]

The horseman on this bra.s.s plate, designed with a rather crude, childlike simplicity, is garbed quite differently than the Regular dragoon on the 1812 pewter specimen. The plate is a.s.signed to the general 1830 period to fit the era of the diamond-shaped plates, but its use doubtless continued on into the 1840's. By nature of its design it would have been a manufacturer's stock pattern.

CAP PLATE, ARTILLERY(?), C. 1830

_USNM 60301-M (S-K 59). Figure 131._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 131]

The eagle on this bra.s.s plate is similar to the ones on the preceding s.h.i.+eld plates, but the Federal s.h.i.+eld on which he stands is ornamented with three star devices composed of smaller stars. An unusual feature of this plate is the addition of the flaming portion of a grenade rising from the eagle's head, a device not a part of any other known cap plate. This symbol suggests artillery, and the plate is of the proper color. Although an unusual over-all design, the lack of any components of state arms or crests indicate that it may have been a stock pattern. The reverse is fitted with two simple bent-wire fasteners.

CAP PLATE, Ma.s.sACHUSETTS INFANTRY, C. 1830

_USNM 60355-M (S-K 111). Figure 132._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 132]

This silver-on-copper plate bears the familiar elements of the Ma.s.sachusetts seal: Indian, in hunting s.h.i.+rt, with bow in right hand, arrow with point downward in left hand, and star above right shoulder.

The crest--an arm grasping a broad sword on a wreath of the colors--is superimposed on a burst of sun rays above. The State's motto is written around the s.h.i.+eld. The earlier plates containing elements of state arms were for the most part confined to the States of Ma.s.sachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. No large plates bearing Pennsylvania State symbols that can be dated prior to 1835 are known.

This seal was not authorized by law until 1885. However, the devices and the motto were elements of the seal of the Commonwealth of Ma.s.sachusetts ordered prepared by the state legislature in 1780 and, although apparently never formally approved, used as such for many years. It differs considerably in detail from the seal in use from 1629 to 1684.[109]

[Footnote 109: See ZIEBER, pp. 141-144.]

CAP PLATE, Ma.s.sACHUSETTS INFANTRY, C. 1835

_USNM 60316-M (S-K 72). Figure 133._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 133]

This scalloped plate, which is struck in thin iron metal and silvered, bears elements of the Ma.s.sachusetts seal, minus the motto, and the legend "Ma.s.sACHUSETTS MILITIA." Its silver color a.s.signs it to the infantry. The form of the specimen indicates that it was probably designed prior to 1839. In consideration of its over-all design and the use of the word "MILITIA," it was probably made as a stock pattern and sold to several different organizations. A plume holder, which has been resoldered to the reverse, appears to be of the same metal as the plate proper. It is pierced at the sides for attachment.

-- Painted cap fronts were worn during the War of the Revolution by several units of the Continental Army--including the Light Infantry Company of the Canadian Regiment, Haslet's Delaware Regiment, and the Rhode Island Train of Artillery[110]--and it is probable that the practice continued among some volunteer corps up to the War of 1812.

Their use in the uniformed Militia units generally declined after the introduction of die-struck metal cap plates. Two notable exceptions are a cap plate of the Morris Rangers that is attached to a civilian-type round hat of the 1812-1814 period[111] and the cap front described below (fig. 137).

[Footnote 110: Ill.u.s.trated in LEFFERTS, pls. 4, 7, 21.]

[Footnote 111: In the collections of the Morristown National Historical Park. The Morris Rangers was one of three uniformed Militia units in Morris County, New Jersey, at the outbreak of the War of 1812; it saw service at Paulus Hook in 1814 (HOPKINS, pp. 271-272).]

Although discarded by the more elite volunteer corps, painted metal hat fronts in the "tombstone" shape similar to that of the Morris Rangers continued to be used, to some extent, by the common Militia.

Easily attached to the ordinary civilian hat of the period, they provided the common Militia a quick and inexpensive transformation from civilian to military dress at their infrequent musters perhaps as late as 1840. There are several contemporary sketches of these musters and in one, dated 1829 (fig. 134), these "tombstone" plates can be identified.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 134.--From Library of Congress print.]

A total of perhaps a dozen of these hat fronts are known. Most are of Connecticut origin, although at least two containing New York State devices are extant. The most elaborate of these devices bears, oddly enough, elements of the Connecticut State seal, the motto _Qui Trans.

Sust._, and the crest of the Ma.s.sachusetts coat of arms--an arm grasping a broad-sword (fig. 135). The elaborate detail of this plate indicates that it was probably an officer's. The fact that unit designations on other such known hat fronts run as high as the "23d Regt." is definite proof that these were devices of the common Militia as opposed to the volunteer corps.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 135.--Specimen in Campbell collection.]

PAINTED CAP FRONT, CONNECTICUT, C. 1821

_USNM 604764-M (S-K 909). Figure 136._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 136]

This painted front, of leather rather than metal, forms an integral part of the cap itself. Edged in gold, it has the unit designation "LIGHT INFANTRY: 2d COMP." in gold at the top; a s.h.i.+eld in the center contains elements of the Connecticut State seal, and below it is the state motto "QUI TRANS SUST" ("He who brought us over here will sustains us").

CAP FRONT, C. 1830

_USNM 60243-M (S-K 1). Figure 137._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 137]

A majority of these hat fronts are very similar in design, size, and shape, and are painted over a black background on thin precut sheets of tinned iron. This specimen carries a gold eagle with the Federal s.h.i.+eld on its breast and a ribbon in its beak. The unit designation, "2d COMP{Y}. 23d REG{T}.", also in gold, is below. The artwork, although somewhat unartistically executed, has an attractive simplicity. Other such hat fronts in the national collections are of the 2d Company, 6th Regiment; 3d Company, 6th Regiment; and 1st Company, 8th Regiment. The plate shown here has metal loops soldered to the reverse close to the edge midway between top and bottom for attachment to a civilian type hat by means of a ribbon or strip of cloth. Other such plates have hole for attachment with string.

CAP PLATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, c. 1835-1850

_USNM 60318-M (S-K 74). Figure 138._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 138]

This crescent-shaped, silver-on-copper plate bears an eagle that is very similar in design to the one adopted by the Regular Army in 1821.

Sometimes mistakenly identified as a gorget because of its shape, the crescent form of the specimen is an old South Carolina State heraldic device. A cap worn by the Charleston Light Dragoons after the Civil War, and probably before, carries a similar crescent-shaped plate, with the familiar palmetto tree device subst.i.tuted for the eagle.[112]

The design of the eagle, however, places this piece in the 1835-1850 period. A silvered ornament, it may have been made originally for either infantry or dragoons, and must be considered a manufacturer's stock pattern.

[Footnote 112: Ill.u.s.trated in _Military Collector and Historian_ (1951), vol. 3, no. 3, p. 59.]