American Military Insignia 1800-1851 Part 25

CARTRIDGE-BOX PLATE, C. 1841

_USNM 60401-M (S-K 157). Figure 196._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 196]

Slightly smaller than the preceding specimen, this bra.s.s plate bears the eagle design popular from 1821 to 1851. Fitted with looped-wire fasteners, it would have been a stock pattern for cartridge boxes.

CARTRIDGE-BOX PLATE, MAINE, C. 1850

_USNM 60354-M (S-K 606). Figure 197._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 197]

A frequently misidentified plate is this bra.s.s-struck, lead-filled oval with the raised letters "VMM" for Volunteer Maine Militia. It is also known in a smaller size. The reverse is fitted with the two looped-wire fasteners normal to such plates.

Other prewar oval plates bearing raised letters are known for the Alabama Volunteer Corps (AVC), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), State of New York (SNY), and New Hamps.h.i.+re State Militia (NHSM).

Many such plates recently have been reproduced for sale, and more probably will be made if a market is created. Thus, all plates of this general type should be cautiously considered.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, DIE SAMPLE, C. 1840

_USNM 60354-M (S-K 110). Figure 198._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 198]

One of the more unusual forms of the militant eagle used on ornaments is shown on this bra.s.s die sample for a waist-belt plate. The eagle, with fierce mien and wings outspread, stands high on a craggy ledge.

An example of an untold number of odd and unusual pieces of insignia, this specimen is unidentified as to unit or area of intended use. It may well have been designed for use as a stock pattern.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, RIFLEMEN, C. 1840

_USNM 604103-M (S-K 259). Figure 199._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 199]

A stock pattern, this plate is struck in bra.s.s with the open-horn device of riflemen, which has been previously discussed. Wire fasteners are on the reverse. Although the outer ring of the plate is missing, it was probably decorated with a wreath, a common form in the 1830's and 1840's.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, CHARLESTOWN ARTILLERY, C. 1840

_USNM 604385-M (S-K 532). Figure 200._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 200]

This 2-piece, bra.s.s-cast plate was worn by members of a Charlestown, Ma.s.sachusetts, unit. The date "1786," as on nearly all dated pieces of insignia, refers to the date of original organization of the unit.

The design of the plate is typical of early- to mid-Victorian taste.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, Ma.s.sACHUSETTS, C. 1840

_USNM 60497-M (S-K 253). Figure 201._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 201]

Bearing elements of the seal of the State of Ma.s.sachusetts, this plate likely was a stock pattern sold to many officers. In construction, it is a composite piece similar to the plate for officers of the Corps of Topographical Engineers (see fig. 87 and p. 45) with the device applied to the inner oval. Because of its unusually striking appearance, it would have been a most appropriate type for staff and field officers, and possibly general officers.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, NEW YORK, C. 1840

_USNM 604126-M (S-K 282). Figure 202._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 202]

This plate, struck in poor-quality, medium-weight bra.s.s, is of a stock pattern bearing the eagle-on-half-globe device and the motto "Excelsior" from the New York State seal superimposed on a panoply of arms and colors. This type of belt plate, with the device on the inner panel and a wreath between the inner and outer borders, is most characteristic of the 1840's. More than ten different plates are known that vary only as to the design of the inner panel; some contain New York State heraldic devices, and others contain variants of the usual eagle design of the period.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, PHILADELPHIA, C. 1840

_USNM 604390 (S-K 537). Figure 203._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 203]

The devices on this cast-bra.s.s plate comprise the arms of the City of Philadelphia, and its form and pattern, especially the floral design of the outer ring, place it in the 1840's. The piece is bench-made and carries on the reverse many marks of the file used in its final a.s.sembly. It must be considered a stock pattern.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, C. 1840

_USNM 604241-M (S-K 397). Figure 204._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 204]

Somewhat larger than many plates of the period, this bra.s.s specimen carries the South Carolina palmetto device. Such plates also were struck in copper and silver plated. It obviously was a stock pattern sold to several different units. The rectangular plate with the vine-patterned border was a stock pattern in itself, with many different devices being added in the center as ordered. This is one of the many pieces of insignia too often called Confederate but which ante-date the Civil War by almost two decades.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, C. 1840

_USNM 604388-M (S-K 535). Figure 205._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 205]

The eagle device on this silver-on-copper specimen closely resembles that on the cap plate of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (USNM 604964-M) and may possibly be the matching belt-plate worn by that organization. Such an eagle, however, would have been a stock pattern of the manufacturer, and sold to many different units. A very unusual aspect of this particular eagle are the three arrows held in the left talon: two of them point inward, the third outward.

WAIST-BELT PLATE, ARTILLERY, C. 1840

_USNM 604106-M (S-K 262). Figure 206._

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 206]