_USNM 604342-M (S-K 498). Figure 230._
[Illustration: FIGURE 230]
Although the white-metal arm and sword on wreath device wired to this
large brass plate immediately identifies the origin of the specimen as
Massachusetts, the considerable heraldic license taken by this
insignia-maker is only too evident. When the Massachusetts State seal
was first adopted in 1780, the blazonry of the crest was given as
follows: "On a Wreath a dexter Arm cloathed and ruffled proper,
grasping a Broad Sword...."[139] The designer has placed the arm in
armor and replaced the "broad sword" with a scimiter-like, edged
weapon. The use of the crest of a state seal or coat of arms to
indicate the state was common usage, with the eagle-on-half-globe of
New York providing an excellent example. This plate would have been
appropriate for wear by any Massachusetts unit, and is thus considered
to have been a stock pattern.
[Footnote 139: ZIEBER, pp. 143-144.]