American Military Insignia 1800-1851 Part 3

At the start of the War with Mexico Congress leaned heavily on volunteer units, with the hard core of the Regulars remaining unchanged. But early in 1847 it was found necessary to add nine regiments of infantry and one regiment of dragoons.[29] Of the infantry unit's, eight were of the conventional type; the ninth was formed as the Regiment of Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen. Theoretically, only half of this latter regiment was to be mounted. Each horseman was to be paired with a foot soldier who was to get up behind and ride double when speed was needed. In practice, however, none of the Voltigeurs were mounted; the entire unit fought as foot riflemen.[30]

[Footnote 29: Act of February 11, 1847 (_Military Laws_, pp.

379-382).]

[Footnote 30: MAHON, "History of the Organization of the United States Infantry," p. 16.]

All of these new units proved merely creatures of the war, and the coming of peace saw a reduction to the old establishment of eight regiments of infantry, four of artillery, two of dragoons, and one regiment of mounted riflemen.[31] This organization remained substantially unchanged until 1855.[32]

[Footnote 31: Official Army Register, 1848.]

[Footnote 32: UPTON, p. 223.]

Organization of the Militia

The "common" Militia was first established by the various colonies of all able-bodied men between roughly the ages of 16 and 60 for protection against Indian attack. These militiamen were required by law to be enrolled in the unit of their towns.h.i.+p or county, furnish their own arms and equipment, and appear periodically for training.

They were civilian soldiers who had little or no taste for things military, as their performance in both peace and war almost invariably demonstrated. They were not uniformed and contributed little or nothing to the field of military dress.

The "volunteer" or "independent" Militia companies, on the other hand, were something else again. These units, composed of men who enjoyed military life, or rather certain aspects of it, appeared rather early in the Nation's history. The first of these, formed in 1638, was The Military Company of the Ma.s.sachusetts, later and better known as the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Ma.s.sachusetts. By 1750 there were a number of independent companies in existence--many of them chartered--and members.h.i.+p in them had become a recognized part of the social life of the larger urban centers.

The concept of volunteer Militia units was confirmed in the Uniform Militia Act of 1792, which prescribed flank companies of grenadiers, light infantry, or riflemen for the "common" Militia battalions and a company of artillery and a troop of horse for each division, to be formed of volunteers from the Militia at large and to be uniformed and equipped at the individual volunteer's expense. Thus, from within the national Militia structure emerged an elite corps of amateur--as opposed to civilian--soldiers who enjoyed military exercise, and the pomp and circ.u.mstance accompanying it, and who were willing to sacrifice both the time and the money necessary to enjoy it. Since the members were volunteers, they were ready to submit to discipline up to a point; they trained rather frequently; many of the officers made an effort to educate themselves militarily; they chose their own officers; and their relative permanency gave rise to an excellent esprit de corps. In actuality, these organizations became private military clubs, and differed from other male social and fraternal groups only in externals.

The great urban growth of the Nation during the period 1825-1860 was the golden age of the volunteer companies, and by 1845 these units had all but supplanted the common Militia. It would be difficult to even estimate the number of volunteer companies during this period. They sprang up almost everywhere, more in answer to a demand by the younger men of the Nation for a recreation that would meet a social and physical need and by emigrant minorities for a group expression than for reasons military. It was a "gay and gaudy" Militia, with each unit in its own distinctive and generally resplendent uniform. If the "Raleigh Cossacks," the "Hibernia Greens," the "Velvet Light Infantry Company," or the "Teutonic Rifles" were more "invincible in peace"

than visible in war, they were a spectacular, colorful, and exciting integral of the social and military life of the first half of the 19th century.

Insignia of the Regular Army

Uniform regulations prior to 1821 were loosely and vaguely worded, and this was especially true in regard to officers' insignia. For example General Orders of March 30, 1800, stated: "... the swords of all officers, except the generals, to be attached by a white shoulder belt three inches wide, with an oval plate three inches by two and a half ornamented with an eagle."[33] In 1801 the 1st Infantry Regiment directed that "the sword ... for platoon officers ... be worn with a white belt over the coat with a breast plate such as have been by the Colonel established,"[34] and in 1810 a regulation stated that "those gentlemen who have white sword belts and plates [are] to consider them as uniform, but those not so provided will be permitted to wear their waist belts."[35] As a result, the officers generally wore what they wished, and there was a wide variation in design. Most officer insignia were the product of local jewelers and silversmiths, although some known specimens are obviously the work of master craftsmen.

Quality varied as well as design, depending on the affluence of the officer concerned. Some of the plainer plates appear to have been made by rolling silver dollars into an oval shape.

[Footnote 33: General Orders, March 30, 1800 (Records AGO).]

[Footnote 34: Standing Order Book, folio 1, October 1, 1801.]

[Footnote 35: Records AGO.]

In regard to enlisted men's insignia, only the descriptions of the 1800 dragoon helmet plate and the 1814 and 1817 riflemen's cap plates give us anything approaching a clear picture. "Oblong silver plates ... bearing the name of the corps and the number of the regiment" for the infantry in 1812, "plates in front" for the 1812 dragoons, and "gilt plate in front" for the 1812 light artillery are typical examples. As a result, the establishment of a proper chronology for these devices has depended on the careful consideration of specimens excavated at posts where specific units are known to have served at specific times, combined with research in pertinent records of the period in the National Archives.

Cap and Helmet Devices

DRAGOON HELMET PLATE, 1800

_USNM 66330-M (S-K 86). Figure 1._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 1]

The first known distinctive metal branch insignia authorized for the Army was this helmet plate. General Order, U.S. Army, dated March 30, 1800, prescribed for "Cavalry ... a helmet of leather crowned with black horse hair and having a bra.s.s front, with a mounted dragoon in the act of charging."[36] This oval plate, struck in thin bra.s.s with lead-filled back, has a raised rim, within which is a mounted, helmeted horseman in the act of charging; overhead is an eagle with a wreath in its beak. A double-wire fastener soldered to the back is not contemporary.

[Footnote 36: Records AGO.]

DRAGOON HELMET PLATE, 1800, DIE SAMPLE

_USNM 60283-M (S-K 41). Figure 2._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 2]

Although from a different die, this plate, struck in thin bra.s.s, appears to be a die sample of the plate described above. It is also possible that it is a sample of the dragoon plate authorized in 1812.

-- The 1813 uniform regulations specified for enlisted men of the artillery a "black leather c.o.c.kade, with points 4 inches in diameter, a yellow b.u.t.ton and eagle in the center, the b.u.t.ton in uniform with the coat b.u.t.ton."[37] This specification gives some validity to the belief that a c.o.c.kade with an approximation of the artillery b.u.t.ton tooled on it may also have been worn.

[Footnote 37: General Order, Southern Department, U.S. Army, January 24, 1813 (photostatic copy in files of division of military history, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution); also, _American State Papers_, p. 434.]

LEATHER c.o.c.kADE, ARTILLERY, C. 1808-1812

_USNM 60256-M (S-K 14). Figure 3._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 3]

This c.o.c.kade is of black leather of the size prescribed by the 1813 regulations. Tooled into the upper fan is an eagle-on-cannon device with a stack of 6 cannon b.a.l.l.s under the trail; an arc of 15 stars partially surrounds the eagle device. It is believed to have been worn on artillery _chapeaux de bras_ as early as 1808.

The specimen is unmarked as to maker, but from correspondence of Callendar Irvine, Commissary General of Purchases from 1812 to 1841, it seems very possible that c.o.c.kades similar to this one were made by Robert Dingee of New York City. Dingee is first listed in New York directories as a "saddler" (1812); he is listed later as "city weigher" (1828) and "inspector of green hides" (1831). The eagle-on-cannon design is similar to that of several Regular artillery b.u.t.tons worn between 1802 and 1821, but it most closely approximates a b.u.t.ton Johnson a.s.signs to the period 1794-1810.[38]

[Footnote 38: Specimen no. 156 in JOHNSON, vol. 1, p. 43, vol. 2, p.

9.]

-- The question has been raised as to whether the Regulars ever wore a c.o.c.kade with such a device. The 1813 and 1814 uniform regulations merely specified black leather c.o.c.kades of 4 inches and 4-1/2 inches in diameter respectively. However, since the Militia generally did not start adopting Regular Army devices until the 1820's it seems probable that this c.o.c.kade was an item of Regular Army issue, despite the lack of evidence of specific authorization.

As early as January 1799 War Office orders specified: "All persons belonging to the Army, to wear a black c.o.c.kade, with a small white eagle in the center. The c.o.c.kade of noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates to be of leather with Eagles of tin."[39] This regulation was repeated in 1800.[40] By 1802 these c.o.c.kade eagles had taken the colors used for the b.u.t.tons and lace of the different arms.

The Purveyor of Public Supplies in that year purchased c.o.c.kade eagles in tin (white) for infantry and in bra.s.s (yellow) for artillery enlisted men at a cost of one and two cents, respectively.[41] The c.o.c.kade eagles of infantry officers were to be of silver and those of artillery officers of gold. c.o.c.kades for company officers and enlisted personnel were to be of leather. The loosely worded regulation of 1813 infers that field officers' c.o.c.kades might be of silk similar to the "black Ribbon" binding specified for their hats.[42]

[Footnote 39: TODD, "Three Leather c.o.c.kades," pp. 24-25.]

[Footnote 40: General Order, March 30, 1800 (Records AGO).]

[Footnote 41: "Statement of Articles of Clothing, 1802," in papers of Purveyor of Public Supplies (Records AGO).]

[Footnote 42: General Order, Southern Department, U.S. Army, January 24, 1813 (photostatic copy in files of division of military history, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution); also, _American State Papers_, p. 434.]

It is extremely difficult to determine whether c.o.c.kade eagles are of Regular Army or Militia origin, and to date them if the latter. They have been found in a wide variety of design and size, ranging from the rather plain example (fig. 6) to the highly refined one on the general officer's _chapeau de bras_ (fig. 4). Examination of hats worn by both Regulars and Militia prior to 1821 reveals that there is little to choose between the eagles worn by the two components. After 1821, however, when Militia insignia tended to become more ornate and Regular devices more uniform, some of the Militia specimens emerge as distinct types because they have no Regular counterparts. Origin of the specimen, including excavations of military cantonment sites where the make-up of the garrison can be determined, has been the primary criterion used in a.s.signment to either Regular Army or Militia, and to a lesser extent in dating. Over-all design and method of manufacture have also been considered in dating.