artillery gilt eagle and crossed cannon replaced the 

 diamond-shaped plate on the front. In 1842-1843 

 the crossed cannon were replaced by the engineer 

 castle as more in keeping with the original mission of 

 the Academy and the general orientation of its 

 curriculum. 



Shortly after the beginning of hostilities with Mexico 

 in 1846, the Congress authorized the enlistment of a 

 company of "engineer soldiers" that was designated 

 the Company of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers. 

 These were the first enlisted men authorized the Corps 

 of Engineers since the period of the War of 1812. 

 The headgear for these men was prescribed as 

 "Schako — same pattern as that of the artillery, bear- 

 ing a yellow eagle over a castle like that worn by the 

 Cadets.""" 



Struck in thin to medium brass, this plate is the 

 familiar turreted castle of the Corps of Engineers so 

 well known today. It was worn below the eagle. 



T To complete the branches of the Regular Estaljlish- 

 ment during the Mexican War period, the Regiment 

 of Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen must be mentioned, 

 although they were apparently without any distinc- 

 tive branch insignia. 



The regiment was constituted on February 11, 1847, 

 and its uniform " was prescribed 9 days later in the 

 War Department's General Order No. 7. However, 

 the regiment was issued infantry woolen jackets and 

 trousers and never received what little gray issue 

 clothing was sent to them in Mexico almost a year 

 later. Uniform trimmings were to he as for the 

 infantry, with the substitution of the letter "v" 

 where appropriate. So far as presently known, 

 this substitution affected only the button pattern — an 

 appropriate letter "v" on the shield centered on the 

 eagle's breast. 



The 1851 uniform regulations radically changed 

 almost every item of the Army's dress. Most of the 

 distinctive devices were also altered, although more 

 in size and composition than general design. Some 

 devices were completely eliminated. While officers 

 retained insignia of their arm or branch on their hats, 

 enlisted personnel, with the exception of those of 

 engineers and ordnance, had only the letter of their 

 company, their particular arm being designated by 

 the color of collars, cuffs, bands on hats, pompons, 



epaulets, chevrons, and the like. A newly designed 

 sword or waist-belt plate was prescribed for all 

 personnel. All items of uniform and insignia au- 

 thorized in 1851 were included in anillustrated edition 

 of the Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Army 

 of the United States, June 1851. published by William 

 H. Horstmann and Sons, well-known uniform and 

 insignia dealers in Philadelphia."' 



POMPON EAGLE, 1 85 1 



USNM 604853 QS-K 998~). Figure 43. 



Worn attached to the base of the pompon by all 

 enlisted personnel, this brass eagle, similar in general 

 design to that worn on the shako in the 1830's, stands 

 with wings upraised, olive branch in right talon, 

 three arrows in left talon, and a scroll, with national 

 motto, in beak. Above are stars, clouds, and bursts 

 of sun rays. Officers wore an eagle of similar design 

 of gold embroidery on cloth. 



CAP INSIGNIA, GENERAL AND STAFF OFFICERS, I85I 



USNM 604862 (J'-X 1007 f Figure 44. 



This specimen, in accord with regulations, is on 

 dark blue cloth and consists of a gold-embroidered 

 wreath encircling Old English letters "u.s." in 

 silver bullion. Embroidered insignia of this period 

 were all made by hand, and they varied considerably 

 in both detail and size. During the 1861-1865 

 period the same design was made about half this 

 size for wear on officers' forage caps, and the device 

 appeared in \ariant forms. One example is known 

 where the numeral "15" is embroidered over the let- 

 ters "u.s." ;"^ and Miller's Photographic Hislorj of the 

 Civil War includes several photos of general officers 

 whose wreath insignia on the forage cap substitute 

 small rank insignia stars for the letters. 



CAP INSIGNIA, OFFICER, ENGINEERS, 1 85 1 



USNM 300720 . Figure 45 ■ 



On dark blue cloth, this device comprises a gold- 

 embroidered wreath of laurel and palm encircling a 

 turreted castle in silver metal as prescribed in regu- 



'» General Regulations for the .irmy of the I'nilfd Stales, 1847, pp. 

 192-193. 



" A detailed description is given in .Military Collector and 

 Historian (June 1952), vol. 4, no. 2, p. 44. 



'* A partial republication of this work appears in .Military 

 Collector and Historian, vol. 10, no. 1 (spring 1958), pp. 16, 17; 

 no. 2 (summer 1958), pp. 43-45. 



'9 Lewis, p. 64. 



28 



