Early Georgian Gorget

Jim McDougall · 24th October 2013, 04:13 PM

Paul, these are exceptional examples of these intriquing vestiges of armour and distinctive elements of military regalia. I recall last year I think it was, and the really fascinating leather example of one of these gorgets you had (I hope you still do). These are as far as I know, items that are relatively rare in militaria and not a great deal of data overall on them.
It seems there was a guy writing a book on them a number of years ago but never heard if it was completed.

Jose, that is truly a well placed question as obviously these seem completely inadequate for any useful protection defensively, and clearly they had no practical application. Actually these are as noted, vestiges of armor from centuries ago which were retained as honorary emblems of rank, and worn as such by officers in many European armies. These remained in use as late as WWII in some military, particularly German.

In the case of the leather example I mentioned I believe we determined it may have been used by either Rogers Rangers or one of such auxiliary units during the Revolutionary War. It is also worthy of note that in many cases these were awarded to American Indian allied chiefs, where these were considered not only a sign of rank but a badge of honor. It is interesting that similarly worn crescent type items were worn by them actually much further back in thier history, another intriguing parallel it seems in use of symbolism in remarkably disconnected (in early times) cultures.

24th October 2013, 04:13 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	Paul, these are exceptional examples of these intriquing vestiges of armour and distinctive elements of military regalia. I recall last year I think it was, and the really fascinating leather example of one of these gorgets you had (I hope you still do). These are as far as I know, items that are relatively rare in militaria and not a great deal of data overall on them. It seems there was a guy writing a book on them a number of years ago but never heard if it was completed. Jose, that is truly a well placed question as obviously these seem completely inadequate for any useful protection defensively, and clearly they had no practical application. Actually these are as noted, vestiges of armor from centuries ago which were retained as honorary emblems of rank, and worn as such by officers in many European armies. These remained in use as late as WWII in some military, particularly German. In the case of the leather example I mentioned I believe we determined it may have been used by either Rogers Rangers or one of such auxiliary units during the Revolutionary War. It is also worthy of note that in many cases these were awarded to American Indian allied chiefs, where these were considered not only a sign of rank but a badge of honor. It is interesting that similarly worn crescent type items were worn by them actually much further back in thier history, another intriguing parallel it seems in use of symbolism in remarkably disconnected (in early times) cultures.