Button, Button, Who's Got the Button

We just finished the Winter issue of the Astrolabe. The whole issue will feature information about the Ft. George archaeological survey we have just completed. One of the articles will be about buttons found on Ft. George.

This week we have been researching the regimental buttons. These are the pewter buttons worn on the "redcoat" of the British army during the 1790s. Each regiment had their own buttons.

One particular button we found, actually four buttons we found, is marked in the center with R.I.

We spent four days searching on the internet to find a similar button that would indicate what regiment this button belonged to. We thought it might be the Royal Irish, the 18th of Foot, who were stationed in Jamaica from 1807-1817. After searching through hundreds of websites, Tiffany finally found this button which was for sale by a private collector.

Finally, this was the proof we were looking for. The R.I. on this button with the 18 is just like our R.I> and the only other button we have seen with these letters. The button we have must be from the 18th of Foot, Royal Irish Regiment. They must have been on garrison duty at Ft. St. George while they were stationed in Jamaica. But that requires a little more research.