NOTE: Items that appear as RED LINKS are topic pages that have yet to be created
The squadron’s plate
What we know:
The gamelle is a metal circular dish used by a full tent of enlisted men (the “squad” or escouade [list:Vocab/escouade] for cooking and serving their rations. It is documented to have been in use in the Revolution through WWI, and, much like the the gamelle was carried on, there were very few design changes.
Primary goal:
Was the gamelle in use during our time period? (1776-1783) If not, what was used prior to it’s introduction?
Secondary goals:
What form did it take? How was it procured, issued, cared for, assigned, and transported? Do we have evidence of it being used prior to departure from France? Of use by troops serving in the AWI?
Challenges:
Much like the hair-on-hide backpack the gamelle was carried on, there were very few design changes over the more than a century in service. Non-primary sources should be assumed to have been influenced by all successive versions up to the time of publication. Extant items without clear ownership lineage to define age cannot be assumed properly dated without further evidence, such as a unique model feature. See the great floppy fuzzy fluffy lookalike timeline dilemma.
Related topics:
This investigation has the potential to encounter other information of interest, such as shared equipment, rations and meals, life on campaign, and the perks of being an officer