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.
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.
INFANTRY CAP PLATE, 1814-1821, DIE SAMPLE
USNM 60284-M (S-K 42). Figure 13.
Figure 13