_USNM 60357-M (S-K 113). Figure 232._
[Illustration: FIGURE 232]
This brass, lead-backed badge bears no devices that would assist in
identifying it as to unit, and its general composition would have made
it appealing to more than one Militia organization. It is considered a
stock pattern. The stars-on-belt motif, forming the border of the
oval, is very unusual, as are the 14 arrows in the eagle's left talon
and the star beneath its beak. The center eagle device is applied with
simple wire fasteners.
¶ Following the War with Mexico, many State Militia, especially those
in the south, began using their state coats of arms as the principal
devices on their waist-belt plates. The plates for officers followed
the earlier pattern for Regulars, a round device clasped within an
outer ring. Plates of enlisted personnel more often were rectangular,
but there were many exceptions. The following series includes examples
of both types.