Figure 129 



wearing a plate similar to the one used by the Rea:u- 

 lars, differing only in its brass composition, as opposed 

 to the original pewter of the 1812 regulations.'"* 

 A cap in the collections of the Valley Forge Museum 

 that was worn by a member of this unit in the period 

 1835-1845 is very similar to the one shown in the 

 Huddy and Duval print. The cap is a copy of the 

 1812 Regular Army pattern, with somewhat more 

 ornate brass bindings in place of the iron strips. A 

 similar cap, carrying the label "Canfield and Bro., 

 Baltimore," is owned by Le.xington, Virginia, de- 

 scendants of a member of the Rockbridge [Virginia] 

 Dragoons. That unit is said to have worn such a cap 

 upon first entering Confederate service in 1861. 



In the national collections there is a dragoon cap 

 (USNM 604767, S-K 912) carrying a plate of this 

 design struck on a massive diamond-shaped piece 

 with concave sides. There are additional variations 

 in several private collections and at the Fort Ticon- 

 deroga Museum. The mounted horseman device was 

 also struck on heart-shaped martingale ornaments. 



'"8 See U.S. Military Magazine (February 1840), pi. 29. 



CAP PLATE, DRAGOONS, C. 1830 



USNM 60254-M (S-K 12). Figure BO. 



The horseman on this brass plate, designed with a 

 rather crude, childlike simplicity, is garbed quite 

 differently than the Regular dragoon on the 1812 

 I)ewter specimen. The plate is assigned to the general 

 1830 period to fit the era of the diamond-shaped 

 plates, but its use doubtless continued on into the 

 1 840's. By nature of its design it would have been a 

 mnnufacturer's stock pattern. 



CAP PLATE, ARTILLERYCn, C. 1830 



USNM 60301-MCS-K59). Figure 131. 



The eagle on this brass plate is similar to the ones 

 on the preceding shield plates, but the Federal shield 

 on which he stands is ornamented with three star 

 devices composed of smaller stars. An unusual fea- 

 ture of this plate is the addition of the flaming portion 

 of a grenade rising from the eagle's head, a device 

 not a part of any other known cap plate. This 



Figure 130 



67 



