Dear Ben Carter

Considering the date ranges of your deposits I suggest that you have a
closer look at your colourless flat glass fragments.  If they have one
surface polished smooth and very flat, perhaps with visible lines and the
other surface fire polished smooth, then they probably belonged to a
flat-sided decanter, cruet bottle, or even bottles for a medicine chest.
The outer surface was physically ground and polished so that the decanter
or medicine bottle  would fit snuggly into a compartmentalized case.  Both
square or rectangular decanters and cruets were also made to fit into
plated stands.  I suggest you use an ultraviolet light, both long- and
short-wave on the fragments.  If there is a strong flouescence either an
icy white or icy purple then they are not window glass.

This is a period when medicine chests and flat-sided decanters and cruets
were fashionable.  There are examples illustrated in Jones and Smith, Glass
of the British Military, 1755-1820, Parks Canada, 1985, pp. 31-32, 75-77,
87-90 .  It is available on the SHA site.

Olive Jones,