1800 cartridge belt plate

[stan67]

Hi guys would anybody have any info on this please   it bears the name LOYAL STIRLING VOLUNTEERS

[The Doc]

Nice find.

Circa 1801. Cast brass oval shoulder belt plate with plated finish and raised designs. Central three towered castle upon rocks and with an arboreal background. A furled scroll around the top edge “Loyal Stirling Volunteers”; at the base a Union spray.

There was one in a Bosleys sale in 2007, estimated at £300-400, but I don't know what it sold for. I guesss it was probably in better condition than yours, but clearly not a common item.

Bodies of armed men from Stirlingshire were traditionally recruited to fight for the Crown in times of emergency but the formation of a proper militia in Scotland had not been sought, partly because of doubts about Scottish loyalty. In 1794, however, a royal warrant established lieutenancies which encouraged the development of Volunteer forces. Lieutenancies were county based and led by a lord lieutenant who was appointed by the monarch and who, in turn, appointed deputies. They were to provide for the protection of their counties in the event of invasion, threat or civil uprising and they had the authority to direct all local Volunteer forces. In Stirling the first lord lieutenant was the Duke of Montrose (1755-1836).The threat from the French in 1797 led to the passing of the Militia Act (37 Geo. III, c.103), which empowered lieutenants to raise militia forces. Militiamen were to be selected by ballot, annual training was to be provided, and in times of crisis Corps were to be embodied. The counties of Fife, Stirling, Clackmannan and Kinross were united for the purpose of forming a militia, known as the 5th or Fifeshire Regiment of North British Militia. In 1803 Dumbarton was substituted for Fife to form the Stirling, Dumbarton, Clackmannan, and Kinross Militia (later the 90th Regiment of British Militia) with initially 800 men. Aliment was paid to the dependants of a serving militiaman by the parish or burgh authorities but those chosen by ballot (?principals?) often raised subscriptions to employ substitutes to serve in their places. In 1808 only five of the 222 men in the Stirling militia were principals but Stirling did come close to filling its quota, unlike many other areas which found recruitment difficult as the number of those willing to serve as substitutes was limited. Subsequent Militia Acts did not improve matters greatly.

The threat of invasion by Napoleon had the effect of swelling the numbers of Volunteers. In Stirling in 1800 the Corps of Loyal Stirling Volunteers was embodied. However interest in the Volunteers declined and the passing of the Local Militia Act 1808 ended all pay for Volunteers and the existence of most units, although Volunteers were allowed to join the militia. At the same time, and particularly after 1815 and the end of the Napoleonic wars, the recruitment of militia and the role of the lieutenancy declined. Stirling militia was disbanded in 1816 and between then and 1855 was only called out for training 4 times. The Militia (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict., c.106) revived the militia, giving it a permanent peacetime existence, but the use of volunteers rather than recruits reduced the responsibilities of the lieutenancies still further. Their powers continued to weaken and their role gradually became largely ceremonial. The 1854 act did not reduce enthusiasm for the original Volunteers and after the war scare of 1859 interest was increased, especially as Volunteer units were generally more democratic and flexible than local militia.

From 1855 Stirling militia was known as the Highland Borderers Light Infantry and then, from 1881, as the 3rd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. It served overseas during the Boer War. In 1908 the militia became a Special Reserve Battalion. During the First World War it acted as a training and reinforcement unit at home. UK militia continued to serve in this capacity up to the Second World War and were only officially disbanded in the 1950s although they had, in reality, ceased to exist by then. The Stirling Volunteers formed volunteer battalions in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and were disbanded with the creation of the Territorial Army in 1908.

[stan67]

WOW thanks very much Doc excellent info    I found this quite close to Stirling Castle