Part 19 (1/2)

CAP PLATE, WAs.h.i.+NGTON GRAYS, C. 1835

_USNM 60251-M (S-K 9). Figure 139._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 139]

This bra.s.s, diamond-shaped plate was worn by the Was.h.i.+ngton Grays, a light artillery outfit of Philadelphia. Within a raised oval are a profile of Was.h.i.+ngton--with his shoulders draped in a toga, a typically neocla.s.sic touch--and, below, the unit designation ”GRAYS”

in raised letters. A matching oval shoulder-belt plate struck from the same die is known.[113]

[Footnote 113: See _U.S. Military Magazine_ (April 1839), pl. 5.]

Many Militia units named themselves after prominent military personalities. There were Was.h.i.+ngton Guards, Was.h.i.+ngton Rifles, Jackson Artillerists, and so forth.

CAP PLATE, NATIONAL GREYS, C. 1835

_USNM 60291-M (S-K 49). Figure 140._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 140]

An ill.u.s.tration in _U.S. Military Magazine_[114] shows this plate being worn by the National Greys; however, with such a nondistinctive center ornament as the rosette of six petals, it must surely have been a stock pattern sold to many different organizations. The sunburst proper is struck in bra.s.s, as is the rosette, and each of the rays is pierced at the end for attachment. The rosette is affixed with a bra.s.s bolt, also for attachment, which must have extended through the front of the cap.

[Footnote 114: May 1839, pl. 7.]

CAP PLATE, ARTILLERY, C. 1840-1850

_USNM 60333-M (S-K 89). Figure 141._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 141]

This plate is struck in very thin bra.s.s. The combination of devices in the design, especially of the cannon and cannon b.a.l.l.s, indicates that it was probably made for Militia artillery. Its shape suggests that it may have been worn high on the cap front, with the sunburst serving an added function as a c.o.c.kade of sorts. It was very probably a stock pattern.

CAP PLATE, MOUNTED TROOPS, C. 1836

_USNM 60319-M (S-K 75). Figure 142._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 142]

From the size of this bra.s.s plate it can be a.s.sumed that it was worn without other ornament on the front of the round leather cap a.s.sociated with mounted troops. The upper portion of the s.h.i.+eld bears 8-pointed stars, an unusual feature. The arrows in the eagle's left talon point inward, a characteristic of eagle representation between 1832 and 1836. The plate is known both in bra.s.s and with silver finish. It was probably a stock pattern issued to both cavalry and mounted artillery.

CAP EAGLE, C. 1836

_USNM 60391-M (S-K 147). Figure 143._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 143]

This bra.s.s eagle was worn in combination with backgrounds of full-, half-, and three-quarter sunbursts and as a single ornament on the cap front. The inward-pointed arrows in the left talon place it in the 1832-1836 period. Known in both bra.s.s and silver-on-copper, it was a popular stock pattern sold to many units.