[Footnote 133: ZIEBER, p. 166.] SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1840 _USNM 604331-M (S-K 487). Figure 219._ [Illustration: FIGURE 219] This composite plate, struck in brass, has a bevelled, rectangular base almost identical to the base of the 1839 regulation plate (see fig. 86). The design consists of a silvered center ornament comprising a trophy of flags, a sword, and a liberty pole surmounted by a wreath of laurel inclosing fasces and a Federal shield with 26 stars in its canton. This silver ornament is applied with four simple wire fasteners rather than soldered. Since the sun rays in the background radiate outward not from the center but from the edge of a circle about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, almost any desired center ornament could have been added to the basic strike, or the plate could be struck a second time to add a device integral to it. Thus the background portion of the specimen must be considered a stock pattern. A print of the National Guards of Philadelphia in _U.S. Military Magazine_ for October 1841 shows an officer wearing a similar plate. If the stars are significant, the plate can be dated between 1837 and 1845. SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1840 _USNM 604471-M (S-K 618). Figure 220._ [Illustration: FIGURE 220] In this plate, the center ornament used in the preceding specimen has been struck directly in a rectangular, bevelled background. However, the background of this plate has a stippled surface rather than a sunburst. An interesting feature is that there are four slots punched through the plate for the attachment of an additional device over the wreath and shield. This is another of the many examples of how a unit might have an insignia distinctive to itself at little extra cost. This plate is obviously of a stock pattern. The national collections also contain a die sample of this particular plate. SHOULDER-BELT PLATE, C. 1840 _USNM 604472-M (S-K 619). Figure 221._ [Illustration: FIGURE 221] Another example of the rectangular, bevelled-edged, shoulder-belt plate for officers is this brass-cast copy of the 1839 Regular Army pattern with the wire-fastened letters "S V G" substituted for "U. S." The specimen bears a touchmark "W. Pinchin Philad" on the reverse (see p. 33). The unit for which this plate was made is unidentified. SHOULDER-BELT(?) PLATE, C. 1840 _USNM 604394-M (S-K 541). Figure 222._ [Illustration: FIGURE 222] The silver letters "S F" applied with wire fasteners to the small brass plate are most appropriate for the State Fencibles of Philadelphia, and it is believed to have possibly been worn by that unit in the 1840's. A print in the _U.S. Military Magazine_[134] portraying this unit shows an officer wearing a plate of an entirely different design, but since a plate in this simple form would most probably have been worn by enlisted personnel, and the soldier in the print is to be seen only from the rear, such identification as to unit may be correct. [Footnote 134: March 1839, pl. 2.]