MODEL 1851 SWORD BELT PLATE FROM HARPERS FERRY ON A GREAT DISPLAY CARD

$1,250.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 1202-196

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Call 717-334-0347,
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This sword belt plate, a very good example of an early pick-up, is mounted on a great old card typical of early relic displays labeled in brown ink, “Officers Belt Plate / battlefield of Harpers Ferry / West Virginia.” The plate has an untouched, aged patina to the brass, but with only slight darkening along the raised edges and a little bit at the inner corners and around the eagle’s shoulders. The detail is strong. The German silver wreath is in place. The plate is wired to the card and we have not tried to remove it, but the belt hook is likely there- the wire is at the upper corners of the belt loop and in the middle of the opposite end.

No specific point at Harpers Ferry is given and, of course, it was a strategic point with large military camps, and many troops passing through, as well as fighting taking place in nearby areas, and was itself besieged and taken by Confederate forces just before the Battle of Antietam. Since the card specifies “battlefield” it is possible the plate was found on the heights above the town where Union forces vainly tried to prevent Confederates from seizing critical positions overlooking the town in that campaign. The belt plate itself, though, is the later war plate with one-piece wreath and sun rays extending all around the central motif. It is also the standard issue plate for enlisted men armed with swords- cavalry, light artillery, and NCOs- though the nickel (“German silver”) wreath, which usually preserves its color, still leads to misidentification as an officer’s plate.

This is nice, untouched, Civil War regulation belt plate picked up at a significant location and likely put on the display card around 1890.  [sr] [PH:L]

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