Figure 74.—Specimen in Valley Forge Chapel Museum, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
This buckle is similar to the one (shown in fig. [73]) that belonged to Capt. Charles O. Collins, but it is different in that the letters "U.S." are enclosed not by a laurel wreath but by a sprig of laurel on the right side and a sprig of palm on the left. The 1841 uniform regulations specified such a belt plate for officers of the Corps of Engineers, but with a "turreted castle, raised in silver" rather than the letters "U.S." This places the probable date of manufacture of this specimen in the 1840's.
COAT-SKIRT ORNAMENT, GENERAL STAFF, 1832
USNM 8040. Figure 75.
Figure 75
This skirt ornament, on buff cloth, is from a coat worn by Capt. Thomas Swords when he was assistant quartermaster general in 1838. The design consists of three 6-pointed stars of gold bullion cord: a line star of twisted cord superimposed upon a larger star of closely stitched cord that in turn is superimposed upon a still larger star of sunburst type.