The eagle-on-clouds design, which first appeared on coins on the 1795 silver dollar, was popular on insignia during the period 1812-1821. The heraldic significance of the clouds, if any, is unknown. Somewhat larger than most cockade devices, this eagle is struck in brass and silvered and has two simple wire fasteners soldered to the reverse. A very similar badge is shown by Rembrandt Peale in an oil portrait of Col. Joseph O. Bogart of the 3d Flying Artillery.[102] [Footnote 102: Reproduced in _Antiques_ (July 1947), vol. 52, no. 7, p. 16.] COCKADE EAGLE, C. 1814 _USNM 60379-M (S-K 135). Figure 101._ [Illustration: FIGURE 101] This eagle, of the general design first seen on the 1807 half-dollar, is very similar to the one on buttons ascribed to staff officers, 1814-1821.[103] The eagle, struck in brass, has wings upraised and the familiar hooked beak; it stands on a wreath of the colors. The wire fasteners on the reverse are of a somewhat unusual type and may not be contemporary. [Footnote 103: JOHNSON, specimen nos. 101-105.] ¶ Die work for cap, shoulder-belt, and waist-belt plates was expensive, and many Militia organizations found it expedient to purchase devices "ready made" from existing dies. By varying the trimming and adding borders of various designs, the same dies could be used to strike all three types of plates. Such badges are called "common" plates. The common plates that follow were very popular during the period 1812-1835 and, although relatively rare today, were made in considerable quantity and in many die variations for the Militia in every part of the country. They are known in brass, copper, and silver-on-copper. It is possible that specimens such as these may have been worn by some officers of the Regular Establishment between 1814 and 1821. CAP PLATE, 1814-1825(?) _USNM 60263-M (S-K 21). Figure 102._ [Illustration: FIGURE 102] This is a typical example of the common plates of the 1814-1835 period. The piece is struck in brass and has an edged and stippled border. The design is dominated by an eagle with wings outspread, head to left, arrows in right talon, olive branch in left talon, and with the national motto on a ribbon overhead. The whole is superimposed on a trophy of arms and colors with an arc of 13 6-pointed stars above. A plume socket, apparently original, is soldered to the reverse, as are two looped-wire fasteners. The fasteners are of a later period. CAP PLATE, 1814-1825(?) _USNM 60264-M (S-K 22). Figure 103._ [Illustration: FIGURE 103] Struck in copper and silvered, this piece is a die variant of the preceding plate. A floral border replaces the plain border, and the overhead arc has 5-pointed rather than 6-pointed stars. The floral border marks it as probably an officer's device. CAP PLATE, 1814-1825(?) _USNM 60313-M (S-K 69). Figure 104._ [Illustration: FIGURE 104]