_USNM 604310-M (S-K 466). Figure 179._
[Illustration: FIGURE 179]
A second example of a Militia officer's plate is this engraved brass
specimen with the design placed along the longer axis of the oval.
Since there probably were many "Volunteer Rifle Companies," it is
impossible to determine precisely which one wore this plate. The
initials of the officer may be read either "I. B." or "J. B.," for
many of the early-19th-century engravers used the forms of the letters
"I" and "J" interchangeably. The two small hooks on the reverse
indicate that the plate was for a shoulder belt rather than for a
waist belt, and that it was ornamental rather than functional.