_USNM 66330-M (S-K 86). Figure 1._
[Illustration: FIGURE 1]
The first known distinctive metal branch insignia authorized for the
Army was this helmet plate. General Order, U.S. Army, dated March 30,
1800, prescribed for "Cavalry ... a helmet of leather crowned with
black horse hair and having a brass front, with a mounted dragoon in
the act of charging."[36] This oval plate, struck in thin brass with
lead-filled back, has a raised rim, within which is a mounted,
helmeted horseman in the act of charging; overhead is an eagle with a
wreath in its beak. A double-wire fastener soldered to the back is not
contemporary.
[Footnote 36: Records AGO.]