USNM 604963 (S-K 1107). Figure 194.
Figure 194
Another coat-skirt ornament with an even more distinctly Militia touch is this small palmetto tree of gold embroidery, with sequins, on black wool cloth. As the palmetto tree is the basic device of the South Carolina seal (see pp. [81] and [83]), this specimen must be attributed to the Militia of that state.
¶ Most Militia cartridge-box plates made in the decade after 1841 were oval, following the pattern of the Regulars. While a few of these varied from the prescribed sizes, most were almost identical in both size and shape to those of the Regular Establishment, but with strictly Militia ornamentation. The exact years in which these plates were produced cannot be determined, but it is reasonably sure that they were supplied to Militia for some years prior to the opening of the Civil War. Not included here are similar types known to have been made for units born of the war as the Pennsylvania Fire Zouaves, Pennsylvania Home Guard, Pennsylvania Reserve Brigade, and the Ohio Volunteer Militia. Cartridge-box and waist-belt plates often are identical except for the methods of attachment. The plates for cartridge boxes have two wire loops imbedded in the backing (see fig. [90]), while those for waist belts have one or two round, or sometimes arrowheaded, prongs on one side of the reverse, and with a narrow tongue on the opposite side bent parallel to the plane of the plate (see fig. [91]).
CARTRIDGE-BOX PLATE, C. 1841
USNM 60400-M (S-K 156). Figure 195.
