SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1812
USNM 604314 (S-K 470). Not illustrated.
This plate, struck from solid brass, has a slightly beveled edge and bent-wire fasteners. It is slightly convex. Since it is smaller than the two preceding plates, it could have been designed for the Militia.
SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, 1815(?)-1821
USNM 60399-M (S-K 155). Figure 66.
Figure 66
The two specimens of this plate in the national collections are undocumented. Similar in size and construction to the plain oval brass and silvered plates, it has the raised letters "U.S.," three-fourths inch high in the center. Definitely not later than 1832, it may well have been issued soon after the end of the War of 1812. It is considered a Regular Army item since the Militia did not use the designation "U.S." at this early period. In this latter connection it is interesting to note that an example of the 1812 Infantry cap plate, type II, with the letters "US" crudely stamped out, is known attached to a cap of distinct Militia origin.