3 cannon button

[undertaker]

I have a revolutionary war collectors edition book that shows this 3 cannon button. I went on line and saw where it was worn in the battle of 1812. Was this button ever issued and worn earlier in the late 1700's or at a later time than the war of 1812?

 

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[MarkDz]

I'm not an expert, but I believe buttons like these were used in both the Rev War and War of 1812 eras. They had the same general design but the earlier ones have less-detailed cannons. If I had to guess I'd say this was a 1812 variety. I can't say if they were used prior to the Rev War era, but I imagine shortly after 1812 flat buttons were replaced by more modern concave and two-piece buttons. For those reasons, I'd vote 1812 era on this one.

 

[hogge]

Royal Artillery 1790 -1820

 

[Builds.The.Fire]

These buttons date from 1790-1802. The Royal Artillery changed their buttons in 1812 to this design:


It's a crown, over a belt encircling the royal cipher, with some form of "Royal Regiment of Artillery" written on it. They kept these for awhile, some were kept on great coats until 1912, but as a coat button, this is what War of 1812 British Artillery buttons look like.

 

[Smithbrown]

Not Royal Artillery. It's the Office (or Board) of Ordnance, who supplied military stores and whom the Royal Artillery were under.

 

[Smithbrown]

Here's some background on the Ordnance Board , including a picture of the three cannon and three shot on a shield: Board of Ordnance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Builds.The.Fire]

Board of Ordnance was an administrative entity during the War of 1812 and Napoleonic period. Hence why they stopped marking cannonballs in 1800 with the Broad Arrow (the mark of the Board). The board didn't issue or own any of the weapons or armaments of the period, they just regulated it and designed things, but when it came to actually getting it into the hands of the troops, the regiments had to pay for uniforms and equipment themselves, and it was private contractors who handed the goods over to the regiment, with those goods remaining the property of that regiment.

 

[Smithbrown]

The Board of Ordnance employed their own workforce, officers, clerks, who had their own uniform, complete with Ordnance buttons.

 

[Smithbrown]

And although uniforms were supplied through the regiments, the weapons WERE issued from the Board of Ordnance and its stores.