_USNM 60249 (S-K 7). Figure 9._
[Illustration: FIGURE 9]
This is the third pattern of the infantry cap plate prescribed in the
1812 regulations. Like the preceding plate, of the second pattern, the
original plate from which this reproduction was made was excavated on
the site of Smith's Cantonment at Sackets Harbor, New York. Made of
tin-alloy, as is the original, and rectangular with clipped corners,
the piece is dominated by an unusually fierce looking eagle that first
appeared on one of the 1807 half-dollars struck at the Philadelphia
Mint. The eagle has an out-sized, curved upper beak and is grasping
lightning bolts in the right talon and an olive branch in the left.
Below is a panoply of flags and muskets with drum, saber, and
cartridge box. The corps designation "US INFAN{Y}." is above, and the
unit designation "16 REG{T}" is below. The "16" appears to have been
added with separate die strikes. The specimen is pierced with two
pairs of holes on each side for attachment.
This third pattern was also struck in brass and silvered for wear by
officers. Several fragments of such a plate were excavated at Sackets
Harbor; these, although of the third pattern, are the product of a die
different from that used in striking the piece described above.