The heart-shaped shield[12] is surrounded by a rolled edge made of copper which originally had a gold wash. Inscribed on the inside of the rolled edge are the names “New Mexico,” “Kansas,” “Wyoming,” “Montana,” “Dakota,” “Colorado,” “Indian Territory,” and “Texas.” A profile portrait of General Miles, in relief, is suspended from an eagle’s beak in the center, and below are the crossed weapons of the U.S. Army and the Indians surmounted by a peace pipe.
The background of the shield is silver with etched scenes depicting incidents of the career of General Miles in the states named. The scenes depicted are of a buffalo hunt, a covered wagon on the trail, wild horses with Indian tepees in the background, an Army council of war, General Miles receiving the surrender 92 of Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé Indians, and a peaceful agricultural scene.
The plaque is inscribed as follows:
Presented to General Nelson A. Miles, U.S. Army, by the officers of the fifth U.S. Infantry. As a token of personal esteem and their estimate of his distinguished services in which unequaled successes over savages in war were paralleled by humanity and justice towards the thousands of Indians whom he took captive and instructed in the Arts of Civilization.
The plaque, measuring 181⁄2 by 23 inches overall, is marked “Tiffany & Co., 6565. Makers 2, Sterling Silver, 926-1000 and Other Metals, M.”
General Miles was colonel of the 5th Infantry Regiment for so many years that a modification of his family crest was selected as the crest on the coat of arms of the regiment. The Miles family crest is an arm in armor grasping an anchor. Arrows for each Indian campaign in which the regiment took part are substituted for the anchor in the regimental crest.[13]
Figure 10.––Silver service presented to Mrs. Abraham Lincoln when she was First Lady. Gift of Mr. Lincoln Isham. In Division of Political History. (Acc. 216335.6-.13; Smithsonian photo 44851-B.)