_USNM 60432-M (S-K 188). Figure 160._
[Illustration: FIGURE 160]
The 1840 button for the Ordnance Corps bears a flaming grenade over
crossed cannon, devices that date from 1832 and 1834 respectively.
Consequently, it seems likely that this combination emerged as a stock
pattern for Militia artillery early in the 1840's. This specimen,
struck from a single piece of brass, is a copy of the French artillery
device of the same period, and, while it is believed to be American,
it may be a foreign insignia. Confusion arises in the case of foreign
designs, for die sinkers often used as a model either an actual
imported badge or a scale drawing of one.