Figure 271
This rolled-brass plate with a wire-applied silvered "A" and pile of cannon balls topped by the hand die-struck motto "ALWAYS READY" is unidentified beyond the fact that it was worn by a member of Company A of a Militia unit using a popular motto. Similar specimens in the national collections have center letters "B," "D," and "E." The plate was attached to the shoulder belt by means of two flat brass fasteners soldered to the reverse. The fasteners are almost as wide as the plate itself.
BALDRIC DEVICE, C. 1850
USNM 60409-M (S-K 165). Figure 272.
Figure 272
The baldric is a highly ornamented wide sash normally worn by drum majors and sometimes by band leaders. During at least part of the Civil War, baldrics were worn by some aides-de-camp, and the 1902 uniform regulations specified them for Signal Corps officers. This specimen and the one that follows are the earlier of several examples in the national collections; they fall in the early 1850's. The shield, suspended from a lion's mouth by small chains, carries an eagle with a shield on its breast. The stars and edge of clouds, above, are somewhat similar to those on the 1851 regulation waist-belt plate. The whole is superimposed on a three-quarter sunburst. Both the lion's head and the shield are fitted with simple wire fasteners for attachment.
BALDRIC DEVICE AND BALDRIC, C. 1850
USNM 66622-M. Figure 273.