Figure 218
The basic form of this brass plate—with one of the many variations of the seal of the State of New York[133] applied with wire fasteners—is a copy, with minor changes, of the bevelled plate prescribed for the Regular Establishment in 1839. Distinctly an officer's plate, it would have been appropriate for artillery or staff.
SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1840
USNM 604331-M (S-K 487). Figure 219.
Figure 219
This composite plate, struck in brass, has a bevelled, rectangular base almost identical to the base of the 1839 regulation plate (see fig. [86]). The design consists of a silvered center ornament comprising a trophy of flags, a sword, and a liberty pole surmounted by a wreath of laurel inclosing fasces and a Federal shield with 26 stars in its canton. This silver ornament is applied with four simple wire fasteners rather than soldered. Since the sun rays in the background radiate outward not from the center but from the edge of a circle about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, almost any desired center ornament could have been added to the basic strike, or the plate could be struck a second time to add a device integral to it. Thus the background portion of the specimen must be considered a stock pattern. A print of the National Guards of Philadelphia in U.S. Military Magazine for October 1841 shows an officer wearing a similar plate. If the stars are significant, the plate can be dated between 1837 and 1845.
SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1840
USNM 604471-M (S-K 618). Figure 220.