_USNM 60398-M (S-K 154). Figure 118._
[Illustration: FIGURE 118]
This plate is called "rifleman pattern" because it is silver-on-copper
and is the only known example of this type of insignia made for wear
by infantry, or possibly for Militia riflemen whose trimmings were,
incorrectly, silver.
There are several conjectures about this cut-out device made from a
die of the preceding series of shield plates. It may have been made
after 1834, when the open horn with cord and tassels was adopted by
the Regular infantry as a branch device. It is equally possible that
it was submitted to a Militia infantry organization by some maker as a
sample during the 1820's and when selected was silvered to conform
with other trimmings. In either case, it illustrates how a single die
could serve to make many different variations from a basic design.