Hi Paul,
My curiousity still profoundly piqued by this fascinating and unusual gorget, I have discovered that perhaps my note that these were not used in warfare may have not been entirely correct. Further reading revealed that the gorget was apparantly used by officers in infantry units and other as a signal that the officer was on duty. Apparantly cavalry and rifle regiments officers did not favor these vestigial elements of armor as they were annoying for men who needed often to move quickly in situations. This would suggest that perhaps these were worn during combat by officers of infantry.
My original line of thinking was that these various 'ranger' type units officers might have adopted the 'frontier' effect in using leather in place of the typical silver or gold metal gorgets of regular army regiments. While selecting distinctly different colors and types of clothing, they also added leatherwear as worn by Indian warriors as well as frontiersmen.
I have found information concerning some of the Indian allies during these 18th century campaigns in "A British Regimental Gorget in Minnesota", H.R. Holand, Minnesota Historical Society journal, 1928, pp.285-86. Apparantly British units sometimes bestowed medals, ornaments and awards to prominant Indian chiefs to gain good will and loyalty. One of the highest honors was to be appointed a 'gorget captain' and the award of a gorget.
Perhaps this unusual gorget made in the woodlands favored material of leather and decorated with elements of military insignia might have been fashioned for such presentation to one of these Indian chiefs by the officers of one of these units.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to research this great item!
Best regards,
Jim
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