Figure 171
The original buttons on the sides of this cap have the eagle with the letter "R" (used by both Regulars and Militia) on the shield. The brass plate proper, however, includes no device indicative of any particular branch of service; combining flags and a Federal shield surmounted by an eagle, it may well have been a stock pattern.
CAP PLATE, C. 1850(?)
USNM 604551 (S-K 698). Figure 172.
Figure 172
The type and form of this eagle plate give no clue to its age, or to the identity of the unit that wore it other than the numeral "1" in the eagle's beak and the letter "E" in the shield. It is a type more apt to have been made about 1850 than later. The eagle is struck in brass, and the stippled inner portion of the shield, product of a separate strike, is soldered in place; thus, the plate proper must be considered a stock pattern.
CAP PLATE, C. 1850(?)
USNM 604552-M (S-K 699). Figure 173.