J Figure 104 



FiciuRE 105 I 



Figure 106 



is Strength." In the center of the shield is the eagle, 

 with wings widely outspread and with lightning bolts 

 in the right talon and an olive branch in the left 

 talon. The lightning bolt device, obvious sign of 

 belligerency, first appeared about 1800 and is not 

 seen in plates designed after 1821. The motto and 

 the date 1776 are far more typical of Militia than 

 Regular Army usage. 



I In 1821 the Rea;ular .\rmy discarded all its large 

 cap plates and adopted the bell-crown leather cap. 

 Militia organizations lost no time in adopting a 

 similar cap and, conversely, placing on it — and on 

 the tall beaver which followed in the 1830's — the 

 largest plates it could accommodate, using variations 

 of discarded Regular Army patterns as well as original 

 designs. 



From 1821 until well into the 1840".s large cap plates 

 were mass-produced by manufacturers in Boston, 

 New York, Philadelphia, and perhaps other cities of 

 the New England metal manufacturing area. The 

 few early platemakers. such as Crumpton and 

 .\rmitage of Philadelphia and Peasley of Boston, were 



55 



