[Illustration: FIGURE 171] The original buttons on the sides of this cap have the eagle with the letter "R" (used by both Regulars and Militia) on the shield. The brass plate proper, however, includes no device indicative of any particular branch of service; combining flags and a Federal shield surmounted by an eagle, it may well have been a stock pattern. CAP PLATE, C. 1850(?) _USNM 604551 (S-K 698). Figure 172._ [Illustration: FIGURE 172] The type and form of this eagle plate give no clue to its age, or to the identity of the unit that wore it other than the numeral "1" in the eagle's beak and the letter "E" in the shield. It is a type more apt to have been made about 1850 than later. The eagle is struck in brass, and the stippled inner portion of the shield, product of a separate strike, is soldered in place; thus, the plate proper must be considered a stock pattern. CAP PLATE, C. 1850(?) _USNM 604552-M (S-K 699). Figure 173._ [Illustration: FIGURE 173] A companion piece to the preceding plate, this specimen differs in that the letters "R G" and their stippled background are struck integrally with the plate proper--indicating that two dies were combined for a single strike--and in that the shield, ribbon, and numeral "1" have been silvered. CAP PLATE, 10TH REGIMENT, MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER MILITIA, C. 1850 _USNM 60358-M (S-K 114). Figure 174._ [Illustration: FIGURE 174] This plate is of a type form worn on Militia dress caps prior to the Civil War. There is little doubt that plates such as this continued in use for several decades after their initial appearance. This brass specimen, surmounted by elements of the Massachusetts seal, is struck as a stock pattern for Massachusetts troops with the center left blank. The numeral "10" is applied to a black-painted metal disk affixed with simple wire fasteners. CAP PLATE, GEORGIA, C. 1850 _USNM 604545-M (S-K 692). Figure 175._ [Illustration: FIGURE 175] This plate and the one following are of Militia types worn on caps in the 1850's and perhaps earlier. Such plates are known to have been in use with little or no change almost to the present day on military school dress shakos and dress caps worn by some National Guard units. The plate proper, which is of brass, is the well-known half-sunburst device so popular in the 1830's and 1840's. The Georgia state seal, also in brass, is applied with wire fasteners. The plate is dated later than a similar one of the Republican Blues (fig. 152) because of the "feel" of the piece and the fact that it cannot be ascribed to a particular unit whose existence can be dated. CAP PLATE, VIRGINIA, C. 1850 _USNM 604547-M (S-K 694). Figure 176._ [Illustration: FIGURE 176] This plate differs from the preceding one only in that it substitutes the coat of arms of Virginia for that of Georgia. The backgrounds, although very similar, are products of different dies. Shoulder-Belt and Waist-Belt Plates WAIST-BELT PLATE, 1ST MARINE ARTILLERY, 1813