Excavated circular brass cartridge box plate. Approx. 1 7/8 in. diameter. "71" clearly legible to recto, along with regimental motto "Quicquid aut facere aut pati" ["Whatever either is to be done or endured"] and Scottish national motto "Nemo me impune [lacessi]t" ["No one provokes me with impunity"]. 

The 71st Regiment of Foot, informally known as "Fraser's Highlanders," was composed of Scotsmen rallied by Lieutenant-General Simon Fraser in 1775. While the 71st saw significant action as far north as Canada, the regiment was heavily involved in the Southern Theater, with the troops defending during the Siege of Savannah, engaging at the Siege of Charleston, and participating in the Battles of Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, and Yorktown, among others. 

It was sometime during their campaigns in the South Carolina Lowcountry that this plate became separated from its box and owner. The metal applied to the reverse suggests that it may have been worn as jewelry post-excavation. 

This excavated piece is richly patinated with spots of verdigris. White metal discs and a partial clutch pin have been applied over the loop remnants. 

[American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America] [Britain, British History, United Kingdom, England, English History] [Scotland, Scottish History] [Relics, Militaria]