Images(5)

Epaulettes

Date1783

OriginAmerica

MediumGold, Wool, Silk, Pasteboard

DimensionsOverall Length: 8 3/4 inches Fringe Length: 3 inches Strap Length: 6.5 inches Strap Width: 1 7/8 inches

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2018-153,1&2

DescriptionA pair of gold epaulettes worn by brevet Major General Jedediah Huntington. The epaulettes are made from a woven gilt lace with a raised border and center stripe. A buttonhole goes through the gold lace to attach the epaulette to the shoulder of the coat. Two eight pointed stars are sewn to the gold lace. The stars are worked in bullion and sequins over a heavy paste board or paper. Two layers of gilt fringe are attached to one end of the strap. The first layer is a fine bullion twisted fringe, while the exterior layer is made from a heavier and thicker gilt fringe. An embroidered crescent shape of sequins and bullion cover and reinforce the attachment point for the fringe. The underside of the epaulettes are backed in a very fine buff colored broadcloth. A fine blue broadcloth strap with a buttonhole at the end allows for the epaulettes to be attached to the coat. The heavy gilt fringes rest on a buff colored silk pillow stuffed with wool.
Label TextJedediah Huntington was born on August 4th, 1743, in Norwich, Connecticut. He was the oldest son of Jabez and Elizabeth Huntington. He attended Harvard College and Yale earning degrees in 1766 and 1770. In May 1766, he married Faith Trumbull, the daughter of Connecticut's Governor Johnathan Trumbull.

Throughout the 1760s, Huntington played an active role with the Sons of Liberty in Norwich. In 1769, he received an appointment as an ensign in the militia, then promoted to Lieutenant in 1771, Captain in 1774, and in 1775 promoted to Colonel.

On April 19th, 1775 after the Battles at Lexington and Concord, express riders told Huntington of the news and he marched his soldiers on the next day to support the growing army around Boston. His troops would later be assigned to take Dorchester Heights, which helped to secure the evacuation of Boston.

He commanded the 17th Continental Regiment at the devastating Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, suffering heavily causalities at Brooklyn Heights. On May 12, 1777, Huntington was promoted to Brigadier General. On December 19, 1777, Huntington moved his Brigade into winter quarters with the Continental Army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Huntington did not stay the entire winter in Pennsylvania, as he was asked to join a commission to investigate the loss of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton in New York. He also served later as member of the court martial that tried Charles Lee for his misconduct at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Huntington later served on the trail of British Major John Andre. For the rest of the war, the Connecticut Brigade under Huntington's command stayed positioned around New York City. In May 1783, he was part of a committee of four (Capt. Samuel Shaw, Maj. Gen. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, and Major General Henry Knox) that drafted the plan for the organization of the Society of the Cincinnati. On June 24, 1783, he was promoted to Brevet Major General by George Washington and soon was discharged leaving the military for the rest of his life.

After the war, Jedediah Huntington returned to Norwich where he resumed the family merchant business. He served as state treasurer and was appointed as a delegate to the Connecticut State Constitutional Convention. In 1789, President Washington appointed him customs collector for the port of New London. Huntington died on September 25, 1818.

These epaulettes adhere to the June 18, 1780 General Order specifying "The Major Generals to wear a blue coat with Buff facings and lining—yellow buttons—white or buff under cloaths two Epaulets, with two stars upon each and a black and White Feather in the Hat." It may be that these epaulettes date to Huntington's earlier 1777 Brigadier General Commission, with the stars added later for the promotion and to comply with the General Order.

ProvenanceBy family descent to the consignor.