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HISTORY - UNIFORM

1813 Pattern Leather Infantry Cap

He depicts them wearing the Type I cap, with separate front piece and white lines on the base of the cap, no visible cap plate, the fact that this depicts a Type I cap would indicate is a small version. Also of note, the illustration has the same diagonal cords, two front and one rear, also dropped on the left side. Since the caps made in the winter of 1814-1815 had cords hung in a "U", and the caps in 1815 have cords dropped on the left side, it would be easy to assume the cords were ordered dropped sometime in early 1815. It is of course not that simple. The fact remains the caps were made with the cord in one arrangement that was later changed, and the moment of that change is lost to us. Irvine was correct, these 1813 first issue caps were still in service in the middle of 1815, lasting more than two years.

There are a couple of post war illustrations showing the type II caps, one from 1816 and the other from 1819, both with diagonal cords, and both apparently without external flaps