Insignia of the Regular Army 



Uniform regulations prior to 1821 were loosely and 

 vaguely worded, and this was especially true in re- 

 gard 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."'' In 1801 the 1st Infantry Regiment 

 directed that "the sword . . . for platoon offi- 

 cers ... be worn with a white belt over the coat 

 with a breast plate such as have been by the Colonel 

 established,"'* 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 

 lielts." '^ 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 speci- 

 mens 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. 



In regard to enlisted men's insignia, only the de- 

 scriptions 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 num- 

 ber 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 con- 

 sideration 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 60330-M (S-K 86). 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 brass 

 front, with a mounted dragoon in the act of charg- 

 ing." '^ This oval plate, struck in thin brass 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 con- 

 temporar\-. 



" General Orders, March 30, 1800 (Records .\GO). 

 " Standing Order Book, folio 1, October 1, 1801. 

 " Records AGO. 



3c Records .\GO. 



