_USNM 60409-M (S-K 165). Figure 272._
[Illustration: FIGURE 272]
The baldric is a highly ornamented wide sash normally worn by drum
majors and sometimes by band leaders. During at least part of the
Civil War, baldrics were worn by some aides-de-camp, and the 1902
uniform regulations specified them for Signal Corps officers. This
specimen and the one that follows are the earlier of several examples
in the national collections; they fall in the early 1850's. The
shield, suspended from a lion's mouth by small chains, carries an
eagle with a shield on its breast. The stars and edge of clouds,
above, are somewhat similar to those on the 1851 regulation
waist-belt plate. The whole is superimposed on a three-quarter
sunburst. Both the lion's head and the shield are fitted with simple
wire fasteners for attachment.