_USNM 62054-M (S-K 1807). Figure 10._
[Illustration: FIGURE 10]
This is an almost exact duplicate of the 1800 dragoon plate except
that it is struck in pewter, "white metal," the color used by the
infantry and dragoons. It is rectangular with clipped corners that are
pierced for attachment. No detailed description of the 1812 plate has
ever been found, but several identical specimens are known attached to
dragoon helmets made by a contractor named Henry Cressman. The name
"Cressman" is stamped on the lower side of the visor alongside the
initials of an inspector named George Flomerfelt, who is known to have
been employed by the Army as an inspector in Philadelphia during the
period. Henry Cressman is listed in the Philadelphia directories from
1807 through 1817 as a shoemaker. From 1825 to 1839 he is listed as a
military cap maker.
¶ On January 12, 1814, Irvine wrote to the Secretary of War as
follows: "I send herewith an infantry cap plate which, with your
permission, I will substitute for that now in use. The advantages of
the former over the latter are that it is lighter, neater, and will
not cost half [the] price. The present plate covers the greater part
of the front of the cap, is heavy in its appearance, and adds much to
the weight of the cap ...[57]" This proposal was approved on January
18.[58]
[Footnote 57: Letter in Records AGO.]
[Footnote 58: Letter from Secretary of War to Irvine (Records AGO).]
[Illustration: FIGURE 11.--Specimen in Campbell collection.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 12.--Specimen in Campbell collection.]
But here we enter an area of some confusion and controversy. Were
these new plates to carry the name of the corps and/or the number of
the regiment? Irvine's correspondence gives us no clue, but on the
following March 28 he wrote at least two of his deputy commissary
generals that he was forwarding 8,752 plates for distribution to 14
specifically named infantry regiments plus 851 "blank" plates.[59]
From the total of 8,752 forwarded for specific units, it would seem
that these were probably plates of the new design, but then the
variance in the number sent for individual regiments--from a low of
152 for the 5th Infantry to highs of 1,016 and 1,050 for the 19th and
25th, respectively--appears odd. Specimens of the 1812 pattern are
known both with and without the regimental number, while no examples
of the 1814 pattern have been found with unit designation. Two extant
examples of the 1814 pattern, representing two very similar but
distinct designs (figs. 11, 12), were excavated at Sackets Harbor, New
York, and Fort Atkinson, Nebraska, where Regular infantry served
during 1813-1816 and 1819-1821, respectively. Both plates are "blank,"
and there is no appropriate place on either for the addition of the
number of the unit, as in the case of the 1812 pattern.
[Footnote 59: Letters in Records AGO.]
Another example of the 1814 pattern is known; it is attached to a
bell-crowned cap of Militia origin, which indicates that the plate was
adopted by the Militia after being discarded by the Regular
Establishment. A plate of the same design, but struck in pewter and
cut in the diamond shape popular in the 1820's and 1830's, is also
known; it is obviously a Militia item.