Scarce Georgian Button Royal African Colonial Corps Officer 's Gilt Button, 1804 - 1821

Circa 17.5mm in diameter, open backed with fixed shank, slightly convex in shape. Backmarked Jennens & Co, London. Gilt bright and in very good condition. A scarce early button.

The Royal African Corps was a unit in the British Army officially established on 25 April 1804. Fraser’s Corps of Infantry, had been raised for the defense of the Island of Goree, Senegal in August 1800. The regiment was one of several penal battalions composed primarily of deserters and condemned men from the hulks, with some additional Black soldiers being attached to the unit.

The practice of legal escape from prison was readily available to British Army deserters. As in the case of culprits and criminals, incarcerated deserters could ordinarily change their prison sentences for service in West Africa and the West Indies.

Four companies of the Royal African Corps were disbanded in 1819 whilst in West Africa. The remaining companies were kept in service until 1821, when they were broken up at the Cape Colony.

B39.2

Code: 57554