US Pre Civil War, Rhode Island, Kentish Artillery Officers Dress Epaulettes, Cased & Named
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $850.00

Original period manufacture. This wonderful set of epaulettes reside in their original Schuyler Hartley & Graham storage box with a label on the lid and another on one end.The address shown for the firm is 13 Maiden Lane, New York, an address they occupied from 1854-1857. The epaulettes themselves are in very sound condition for their age, with no damage to the fringe and a nice old patina to the gilded upper portions.The undersides of the epaulettes are covered in a white silk with a large arrow hook at one end for mounting to the uniform. The gilded brass button on each epaulette displays an eagle sitting atop a cannon, with an anchor & shield emblem on its chest. The letters K.A. are placed above its head and the date 1797 below the cannons wheel.When first purchased I had no idea what this button represented, but through the wonders of the net found a button collectors website with a similar example (marked as sold for $425) this site identified the button as the Kentish Artillery. Further research on the set revealed that the Kentish Artillery was established at the suggestion of George Washington in the year 1797, called to service during the War of 1812, but disbanded after. Their charter was renewed in 1853, and they furnished three companies of troops during the Civil War. Doing just a bit more digging, this time in our own library, a reference to a "Kentish Guards", serving during the Civil War as the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry. Perhaps this is the same unit.  On the inside of the lid, written in very faded ink, is the following; "property of Thomas Roemingtin (sic), who died Oct 1859. Presented to Kentish Artillery of Apponaug by Mrs C.A.Hawkins. 1 Sword, 1 Belt, 2 Straps". This is very difficult to see with the naked eye but under a UV light it jumps right out. Just a nice old set with great reseach potential.