Identifying Gorget

[Jim McDougall]

Paul, I wanted to pick up with where we left off, and agree with the suggestion on the current thread regarding the Royal Armouries, that the National Army Museum would be a great source for information on this fascinating gorget. I would also suggest the Maine based 'Company of Military Historians' Rutland , MA 508-799-9229, who have maintained their journal on militaria and uniforms since 1949.

It seems there are two probabilities for this gorget; one as suggested that it may have been a field adjusted item with one of the British ranger units, who were actually inclined toward more functional attire and gear. The use of leather in the gorget, typically an officers badge of rank , would have been more in accord with the woodland attire adopted in these colonial circumstances.
What is puzzling is that the device is reversed? which seems contrary to use by an officer of the British military.

If the reversal, and the devices above the cypher (which I cant make out) was placed on this perhaps makeshift gorget by one of the American Indian 'gorget captains', then possibly that might explain.

In an article by John Hawkins, "Governor Macquarie and the Badges of Distinction" found online, the author notes the Indians fighting along with the British against the French in Canada, and were rewarded with silver gorgets made by colonial silversmiths. Some of the Indians were given local or field commissions in the British army and granted the title 'gorget captain'. Three Cherokee Indians visited London in 1762 displaying thier status as gorget captains and a portrait believed of the chief Oconostata shows this.
This portrait by W.Hodges is also mentioned in " The British Gorget in North America" by S.C.Wood (Waffen und Kostumkunde, 1984).

Your research indicates that the cypher on the gorget is of George III probably, and this device was used by the 1st Regiment of Foot. This unit was apparantly present at Montreal in 1760 so that might fit with this device, perhaps off uniform or accoutrement.

I found a Canadian silver gorget from War of 1812 period with silver Georgian crown and noted as probably for presentation to Indian chief.
Another, also silver, with British coat of arms and Order of the Garter device listed as Indian trade gorget c. 1760.

It would appear that gorgets were quite important items to be presented to allied Indian chiefs by the British, and I am led to wonder if this item may have been fashioned in accord with one of the mentioned field commissions of a tribal member and fashioned in imitation of the known trade examples of the time. This seems possible if of course in the field, and the trade items of silver made for these purposes were not available.

Hopefully this information might be useful in pursuing further with the NAM or Company of Military Historians, and they might have information to support either of these scenarios.

All the best,
Jim