Figure 17 



clipped corners. \\'ithin a raised border is an oval 

 surrounded by cannon, cannon balls, and a drum, 

 with the unit designation ''1 r^art^". At the top 

 of the oval can be seen grasping claws, obviously 

 those of an eagle (as sketched in by the artist) and 

 similar to those on the buttons referred to above. 

 Single holes at the clipped corners provided means of 

 attachment. It seems probable that the design of the 

 missing portion also include flags and additional arms 

 and accoutrements. 



^ The design of the "yellow front plate" authorized 

 and issued to the Regiment of Light Artillery "in 1812 

 was unknown for many years. In May 1961 one of 

 the authors fortunately located this plate (fig. 20) in 

 the collections of the Niagara Historical Society 



'< Letter dated February 26, 1812, from Irvine to Secretary 

 of War (Records AGO). In clothing returns for 1812 of light 

 artillery companies stationed at Williamsville, N. Y., "caps 

 and plates" are listed as being "on hand" (Records AGO). 



Figure 18. — .Specimen in Cianipbcli cnlict lion. 



Museum at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, included 

 in a group of British badges of the War of 1812 period. 

 There can be no doubt that the specimen is Ameri- 

 can: the eagle's head is of the same design as that 

 on the third pattern 1812 infantry cap plate (fig. 9); 

 the wreath of laurel appears on both the 1800 and 

 1812 dragoon helmet plates; and the thunderbolts 

 in the eagle's right talon are wholly American, as 

 opposed to British, and are of the period. In the 

 Fort Ticonderoga Museum collections there is a 

 gold signet ring (original owner unknown) that has 

 an almost identical design. 



This is one of the largest plates ever worn by the 

 Regular Establishment. It measures 4}^ by 5% inches, 

 and it is not surprising that it was replaced because 

 of its size. On May 19, 1814, the Commissary Gen- 

 eral of Purchases wrote Lt. Col. J. R. Fenwick, 

 second-in-command of the light artillery, asking his 

 opinion of a new design and stating flatly: "The 

 present light artillery plate is too large by one-half." ^^ 

 The plate illustrated as figure 21 is offered as a pcs- 



'■■' Letter in Records AGO. 



18 



