Note 452 — 1843.

The idea for this ornament was taken from the martial custom among the Romans of presenting a mural coronet of gold or silver to the undaunted soldier who should first scale the walls of a city and enter the place. Bailey in his Dictionary of 1727 says, “It was given to the meanest soldier as well as the greatest commander.” As the assault of fortresses in sieges is the chief business of the sappers, the round tower with its mural crown on the sergeant’s appointments, is an appropriate symbol for the corps.