Excavated on the site of Smith's Cantonment at Sackets Harbor, New York, this plate is interesting in that it differs in both construction and method of attachment from similar plates of the same period in the national collections. Rather than being struck in thin brass with a backing and fasteners applied to the reverse, this specimen is cast in brass and the edges rather unevenly beveled, with two studs and a narrow tongue for attachment cast integrally with the plate and with hexagonal heads forced over the ends of the studs. This means of attachment, which indicates that the plate was intended to be utilitarian as well as merely ornamental, is similar to that on British plates of the period between the Revolution and the War of 1812. The plate could have been worn by either infantry or artillery, for both were issued brass plates during this period,[87] however, it is more probable that it was worn by the infantry, since the majority of the artillery in the Sackets Harbor area were stationed nearby at either Fort Pike or Fort Tomkins.
SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1812
USNM 604311 (S-K 467). Figure 65.
Figure 65
The plain, oval, slightly convex plate of brass has a raised edge. The face is lapped over a piece of sheet-iron backing. On the reverse is soldered an early form of bent-wire fasteners. British shoulder-belt plates of the Revolutionary period normally had fasteners cast as integral parts of the plate proper.
SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1812
USNM 604312 (S-K 468). Not illustrated.
This plate is identical to the one described immediately above except that it is struck in copper and the surface is silvered.