Figure 93
This circular plate, with raised rim, is dominated by an eagle of refined design that is very similar to the eagles appearing on the War of 1812 plates. The eagle has its wings drooped, head to the left, three arrows in the right talon, and an olive branch in the left talon. This specimen can be dated with the earliest cartridge-box plates because of its backing and the type of fasteners. Whereas the backs of the later models were lead-filled, this plate was struck in thin brass over tin and the edges of the obverse crimped to retain the backing. The fasteners are of the bent-wire type typical of the 1812-1832 period and are not the "2 eyes of iron wire" called for in the ordnance manual of 1850. None of the later examples of this design evidence any of the refinement of the original. At least eight variations are represented in the national collections.
CARTRIDGE-BOX-BELT PLATE, 1839, DIE SAMPLE
USNM 60339-M (S-K 95). Not illustrated.
This is a die sample, struck in copper, of the plate described above.
SWORD-BELT PLATE, 1851
USNM 38017. Figures 94, 95.
Figure 94