[Emland]

Hello,

I am working on a creative writing piece and am hoping someone here is knowledgeable about the Regency period, particularly with British Officer regalia.

I am interested in using a part of a British Infantry Officer's uniform known as a gorget in a critical part of the story. I have 2 questions:

Would this device denote which regiment the bearer served?
Would this device have been engraved for a particular individual on the reverse?

Many thanks!

Emily

[Arctodos Simos]

The best article, doing a quick search, I could find on gorgets was this:-
Gorget - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps
Bye for now

[Matt3046]

I think it was a stiff leather collar, that was painted white, and was generally only worn by enlisted men.
It was said to have been unbearable, and downright painful, as it would eventually cut into ones neck.
My info comes from later period, 1700-1810 or so. It was said to be the first thing that was always "lost" in the field. I think it was purely for looks and as a way of asserting authority, over the soldiers. It's main use was to make them keep their heads up. And at attention. At this time the soldiers often had to braid their hair and have it powdered.

[Emland]

Thanks! I was hoping to find out how an officer would have gone about acquiring one. Would there have been a particular silversmith, etc. that he would have gone to when getting his uniform in order.

[Arctodos Simos]

From any info. I've come across on military regalia (swords etc) is that an officer would either get it made by a craftsman or trader associated with or sanctioned by the regiment, or if they were particularly wealthy they would get it mabe by their own craftsman (either someone the family always went to or in the employ of the family).
Bye for now.

[Matt3046]

This co actually sells several different ones
Product Index - The Discriminating General

These are links to several reenactor groups they are really the ones that keep this stuff alive. The thing is that most "actual" historians (college professors so forth) tend to shy away from the military stuff these days. They try to focus more on cultural history. But these amateurs can tell you allot of stuff. If you contact some of the, I am sure you can get help (they love to display their knowledge)
Useful Links
Other Reenacting and Historical Websites.
Useful Links - Military Re-enactment Sites
The Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards(1815
Articles and Research

[Arctodos Simos]

The leather neckpiece worn by enlisted men was called a "stock".
Unlike the original use of a gorget it was not there for protection.
The main reason that the enlisted men wore these, as far as I can determine, was to extend the neck and keep the chin up so as they would look good on parade.
Although the two items may have many similarities, the purpose behind them was very different.

[Matt3046]

Thanks, I was not even close.

[Matt3046]

Any luck?

[Emland]

Not so far. Since it is a piece I want to use in a creative writing project I am going to use the creative side rather than research side to make it work.

If anyone finds this thread and can point me in the right direction, I am still interested!

[Arctodos Simos]

Hi Me again
Looking through various sources (both in non-fiction and historical fiction) the only parts of the British forces in the Regency/Napoleonic period still wearing remnants of medieval armour (gorget, cuirass etc.) were certain of the mounted troops, specifically Lancers.
As the article I mentioned before the gorgets< as part of the uniform, had become mostly stylized, being a thin band suspended by a chain or chains.
Even though it seems to have been mostly phased out of the British uniforms, they were still more common in other countries uniforms (German, Spanish etc.).
I haven't seen any close up pictures of these gorgets, so I cannot be definitive on what decoration they had.
Hope this is helpful
Bye for now