_USNM 60251-M (S-K 9). Figure 139._
[Illustration: FIGURE 139]
This brass, diamond-shaped plate was worn by the Washington Grays, a
light artillery outfit of Philadelphia. Within a raised oval are a
profile of Washington--with his shoulders draped in a toga, a
typically neoclassic touch--and, below, the unit designation "GRAYS"
in raised letters. A matching oval shoulder-belt plate struck from the
same die is known.[113]
[Footnote 113: See _U.S. Military Magazine_ (April 1839), pl. 5.]
Many Militia units named themselves after prominent military
personalities. There were Washington Guards, Washington Rifles,
Jackson Artillerists, and so forth.