I know it's not ACW but I thought I should ask here. Does anybody have information about the 1821 US Army chevrons. I can't find much info online, so I thought I'd ask here.
From the 1821 Army uniform regulations:
Chevrons.
"837. Chevrons will designate rank as follows:—captains, one on each arm, above the elbow; and subalterns,
one on each arm, below the elbow. They will be of gold or silver lace, half an inch wide, conforming in colour to
the buttons of their regiments or corps. The angle of the chevron to point upwards.
838. Adjutants will be designated by an arc of gold or silver fringe, (according to the colour of their trimmings,) connecting the extreme points formed by the two diverging lines of the chevron.
839. Sergeant-majors, quartermaster-sergeants and principal musicians will wear a chevron of worsted braid on each arm above the elbow, with an arc of fringe, corresponding with that of the adjutant;—sergeants, a chevron on each arm above the elbow; and corporals one on each arm below the elbow. These badges of rank will correspond in colour and material to the braid with which
the collars of their coats are trimmed."
So in the modern illustration below by H. Charles Macbarron, the chap at left is an Artillery Captain (gold lace chevron above elbow); and the chap at right is an infantry corporal (worsted tape chevron in branch color below elbow). If the infantryman were a sergeant, the chevron would be above the elbow.
Regarding the wings:
Wings.
835. The wings of company officers of artillery and rifle will be of gold bullion. Those of company officers of
infantry, of silver bullion.
836. The wings of the enlisted men of the artillery will be of yellow worsted ; those of the enlisted men of infantry, of white worsted ; and those of the enlisted men of rifle companies, of black worsted.
Generals and field officers wore the customary epaulettes with fringes.
Bringing the