_USNM 60453-M (S-K 209). Figure 184._
[Illustration: FIGURE 184]
While this plate could have been worn by an officer of the Regular
artillery in the period 1814-1821 when uniform regulations were vague
and seldom enforced, it is more probable that it was a Militia item of
about 1821-1835. The reason for this is that the eagle-on-cannon
device was adopted quickly by Militia units when it was discarded by
the Regulars in 1821, and the over-all design of the plate itself
follows the pattern adopted by the Regulars in 1821 (see fig. 68).
Several artillery organizations of the Massachusetts Militia wore the
discarded button pattern (eagle-on-cannon with the word "CORPS" below)
until the 1840's,[129] and this plate would have been an ideal match.
[Footnote 129: JOHNSON, vol. 1, pp. 161, 162.]
The whole is cast in brass, the inner ring rather crudely so. The
outer ring is embossed with zig-zag fretwork enclosing a circle of
5-pointed stars; the rectangular belt attachments have a floral
design.