Name/Title
Commissary's Mate [Collar Insignia] (Set #1)Description
Collar insignia shaped as a crescent. Die-struck and made of copper.Context
The crescent moon insignia is a heraldic symbol that identified preserved foodstuffs, rations, and commissary property.
The Commissary's Mate is the primary assistant “responsible for the purchase and preparation of the food for the general mess, the care of the stores, and the judicious expenditure of mess funds...” He manages the Chief Commissary Steward (a chief petty officer in charge of the galley) and the Ship's Cooks (a naval rating established in 1838) to ensure rations the crew's daily rations by strictly accounting for standard 19th-century naval staples such as salt beef, pickled pork, hard biscuits (hardtack), flour, and peas.
This insignia is believed to have been manufactured of scrap copper pieces used to sheath the Texas Navy ships in the Algiers Shipyard, New Orleans, Louisiana.