War of 1812 Accoutrement or Art?

[ColtsPop]

From a site occupied by military forces from 1810-1817. Item appears to be brass, but may be pewter. Note pin on the back. No other markings.

 

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[ANTIQUARIAN]

I noticed that you've recently posted a few items from a 'War of 1812' site over the past few days and are getting few responses.
Unfortunately, the relics you're asking for help with have few identifying marks or indicators as to what their original function may have been.

Most of these items look to have fire damage and are relatively small fragments which makes identifying them even more of a challenge.
We're not ignoring your requests for assistance... it's just that when I look at these relics, all I can do is scratch my head.

Dave

 

[ColtsPop]

I appreciate your post and recognize the difficulty these artifacts present. There are only a few that did not get positive responses. Heavy patina isn’t helping. These items could be over 200 years old and not part of life as we understand it. It’s a challenge!

 

[smokeythecat]

Antiquarian is correct. I looked at a couple of your posts and couldn't tell much as the items are quite non descript. We find a lot of that type of materials in pre 1865 camps, and sometimes never know what the stuff is. Continue to post, however, sometimes our stuff gets figured out, sometimes not, but it's always nice to see what folks are finding. Right now, I'm finding my couch! Can't dig for another 2 weeks, doctors orders, although if it's colder tomorrow, I am break the rules a little (actually I already did!)

 

[DCMatt]

I agree with the others. It is very difficult to ID a small fragment of an item without detail or some frame of reference. (BTW, it is also VERY helpful to know the general location of the find.)

That said, I will speculate on this relic based on a couple of experiences I've had on hunts over the years.

Twice I can remember seeing obviously cut fragments of belt plates coming out of the ground in CW camps in Virginia.

After the plates were no longer useful for their intended purpose, soldiers had cut them into pieces. Who knows why... Perhaps to make a field repair on another piece of equipment... Perhaps out of sheer boredom...

Your piece might be (Might be) a corner of an 1812 era militia shoulder plate with the lug broken off the back.



I only guessing, but that was my first impression.