Busacca Gallery

US Indian Wars Pith Helmet Eagle 1st Artillery / U.S. Indian Wars Model 1881 Artillery Pith Helmet Insignia with the 1st Artillery. AMERICAN, Civil War & Indian Wars, Metal Insignia. US Indian wars army 1880's spike helmet eagle front plate. Measures 4 inches wide by 4 5/16 inches tall. Stamped nickel construction. Very good condition. 1881-1902 US Military Army Artillery Shako Helmet Hat Cap Eagle Badge Plate. "Brass Eagle and Plate,"Unbelievable workmanship went into making this metal eagle ornament. E Pluribus Umum - U.S. 1nd INFANTRY BRASS EAGLE & CROSSED-CANNONS. War Shield, 13 Stars and stripes. RARE, ORIGINAL, ANTIQUE, WARS PERIOD' - U.S. - BRASS EAGLE - DRESS HELMET PLATE INSIGNIA - with Lead-filled Attachment on reverse - Measuring 4 3/4" inches x 3 3/4" inches - Additional Photos Below. This is a history of one American military insignia. This is an excellent representative chronological one cross section of typical designs and variations of insignia worn by the uniformed or "volunteer" Militia, as opposed to the "common" or "standing" Militia. The plate has a raised border and surrounded by two cannon. with the unit designation. You can see the grasping claws of laurel and arrows, obviously those of an eagle (as sketched in by the artist) the design includes additional arms and accoutrements. One of the finest Plates you are going to see, comprising as it does a number of devices of excellent design and considerable detail standing in high relief. "yellow metal" composition. It had simple wire fasteners, applied to the reverse. This looks to be a general form and size of Militia cockade eagles that became distinct types in the 1830's and continued until about 1851. All such eagles were obviously stock patterns. Two months after the War of the Revolution officially ended with the signing of a peace treaty on September 3, 1783, General Washington directed the Army to turn in its arms and disband. Since the Continental Congress had made no provision for a permanent establishment, Washington retained in service one infantry regiment and a battalion of artillery to guard military stores and take over posts to be evacuated by the British. Early in June 1784 Congress ordered these units disbanded except for detachments to guard stores at Fort Pitt and West Point; then, in order to secure the frontier against Indian unrest, it immediately authorized a regiment to be raised from the militia of four of the States to comprise eight companies of infantry and two of artillery. This unit, called the First American Regiment, gradually turned into a regular organization. The failure of an expedition commanded by Col. Josiah Harmar of the First American Regiment against the Indians in 1790 awakened the Congress somewhat to the threat in the Northwest and resulted in the organization of another infantry regiment, which was designated the 2d Infantry Regiment; the First American Regiment was redesignated the "1st". Trouble with the Indians continued, and after another severe reverse Congress authorized the raising of three additional infantry regiments and, at the same time, empowered the President to organize the Army as he might see fit. Under this discretionary power, the Army was reorganized into the Legion of the United States. This was a field army in which the three combat branches—infantry, cavalry, and artillery—were combined. The Legion was in turn broken down into four sublegions, with each containing infantry, cavalry, artillery, and riflemen; thus, the sublegions were the fore-runners of the modern combined arms team. The 1st and 2d Infantries became the 1st and 2d Sublegions. Of the three additional infantry regiments authorized, only two were organized, these becoming the 3d and 4th Sublegions. Under the forceful leadership of Gen. Anthony Wayne the Legion reversed the record on the frontier and decisively defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The temporary peace which followed turned attention to the problem of protecting the Atlantic seaboard, and in 1794 Congress authorized a large increase in the artillery, assigned engineer officers, and designated the new organization the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. The Legion was continued until it was replaced in 1796 by the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th Infantry Regiments, which were constituted from the four sublegions, two troops of light dragoons, and the above-mentioned Corps. The threat of war with France in 1798 brought further expansions. In April of that year an "additional regiment" of artillerists and engineers was authorized, with the Corps created in 1794 becoming the 1st and the new unit being designated the 2d Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. In the following July, 12 more regiments of infantry and 6 troops of light dragoons—to be combined with the two troops in existence to form a regiment—were authorized; an additional 24 regiments of infantry, plus units of other arms, authorized the following winter made a total of 40 regiments of infantry. Actually, the greatest part of this force remained on paper. Only the 1st and 2d Infantries ever attained their required strength, and only 3,400 men were enlisted for the 5th through the 16th. There were no enlistments at all for the other regiments. Officers were assigned to the six troops of light dragoons, but no enlisted personnel were raised and no horses were bought. More quickly than it had arisen, the threat of a war with France abated. Early in 1800 action was suspended under the two acts creating the paper regiments, and the Army was reduced to the regular establishment of four regiments of infantry, two regiments of artillerists and engineers, and two troops of light dragoons. Two years later the antipathy of the new Jefferson administration to a standing army further reduced this establishment to two regiments of infantry and one of artillery. The Corps of Artillerists and Engineers was abolished; a Corps of Engineers was organized to be stationed at West Point and "constitute a military academy"; and the light dragoons were disbanded. The Jeffersonian theories regarding a strong militia and a small professional army were rudely shaken in 1807 by the Chesapeake-Leopard affair. With war seeming imminent, Congress added to the Regular Establishment, though cautiously "for a limited time," five regiments of infantry, one regiment of riflemen, one of light artillery, and one of light dragoons. The new regiments of infantry were numbered the 3d through (p. 5) the 7th. There was no further preparation for a fight with England until just before war was actually declared. In January 1812, 10 regiments of infantry, two of artillery, and one regiment of light dragoons were added; three months later a Corps of Artificers was organized; and in June provision was made for eight more infantry regiments, making a total of 25. In January 1813, following the discouragements of the early campaigns in the Northwest, Congress constituted 20 more infantry regiments, bringing the total to 45, the largest number in the Regular Establishment until the 20th century.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_officer_rank_insignia

Insignia is the plural of singular insigne: emblem, symbol, ensign, badge of honor) : a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction. An insignia is usually the emblem of a specific or general authority.



The structure of United States military ranks had its roots in British military traditions, adopting the same or similar ranks and titles. At the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1776, uniforms, let alone insignia, were barely affordable and recognition of ranks in the field was problematic. To solve this, General George Washington wrote:

"As the Continental Army has unfortunately no uniforms, and consequently many inconveniences must arise from not being able to distinguish the commissioned officers from the privates, it is desired that some badge of distinction be immediately provided; for instance that the field officers may have red or pink colored cockades in their hats, the captains yellow or buff, and the subalterns green."

In 1780, regulations prescribed silver stars for general officers, worn on epaulettes. From 1821 to 1832, the Army used chevrons to identify officer grades, a practice that is still observed at West Point for cadet officers.





In 1832, epaulettes were specified for all officers, and colonels began wearing the familiar eagle insignia. The epauletters worn by the infantry were silver, while all other branches had gold epaulettes. In order that the rank insignia would be clearly discernible, they were of the opposite color; that is, the infantry colonels had an eagle of gold because it was placed on a silver epaulette and all other colonels had silver eagles on gold epaulettes. No insignia existed yet for lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, and lieutenants—the length and size of the fringe showing the difference of grade.



Zeus was said to have taken the form of an eagle in order to abduct Ganymede, and there are numerous artistic depictions of the Eagle Zeus bearing Ganymede aloft, from Classical times up to the present.



The Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt used it as their seal.

Napoleon I used the Roman Golden Eagle as the symbol of his new French empire.

Persian Empire: the symbol of Persian Army was an Eagle.

The Romans used it on the standards of their armies.



The Great Seal of the United States has a bald eagle.





The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself (which is kept by the United States Secretary of State), and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The Great Seal was first used publicly in 1782.





The design on the obverse (or front) of the seal is the coat of arms of the United States. The shield, though sometimes drawn incorrectly, has two main differences from the American flag. First, it has no stars on the blue chief (though other arms based on it do: the chief of the arms of the United States Senate may show 13 or 50.





The supporter of the shield is a bald eagle with its wings outstretched (or "displayed," in heraldic terms). From the eagle's perspective, it holds a bundle of 13 arrows in its left talon, (referring to the 13 original states), and an olive branch in its right talon, together symbolizing that the United States has "a strong desire for peace, but will always be ready for war.



Although not specified by law, the olive branch is usually depicted with 13 leaves and 13 olives, again representing the 13 original states. The eagle has its head turned towards the olive branch, said to symbolize a preference for peace.[2] In its beak, the eagle clutches a scroll with the motto E pluribus unum ("Out of Many, One"). Over its head there appears a "glory" with 13 mullets (stars) on a blue field. In the current (and several previous) dies of the great seal, the 13 stars above the eagle are arranged in rows of 1-4-3-4-1, forming a six-pointed star.