Maine "Burnside" Eagle Plate - Rare Non-Excavated - Stamped "97"

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Item: Maine "Burnside" Eagle Plate - Rare Non-Excavated - Stamped "97"
Description: Raised eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch in its talons on a plain field.
Use: Eagle plates, also known as breast plates, shoulder belt plates, and cross belt plates, were displayed on the belt that held the soldier's cartridge box.  Eagle plates with two belt attachment loops were purely ornamental and proudly worn by Union soldiers with the belt slung over the shoulder and across the chest. See the additional images in this listing for an image showing its use.
Construction: Stamped thin sheet brass with solder fill, and iron attachment loops.
Condition: Excellent, excavated. Its brass face has a dull brass patina. The rim is in great shape and the rear has a complete complement of solder with both iron attachment loops present. The number "97" is stamped in the rear solder. There are no cracks, breaks, bends, or repairs.
Approximate size: 59 mm. 
Reference: Images of similar Maine "Burnside" eagle plates are found in the following Civil War relic reference books: 

  • "American Military Belt Plates" by Michael J. O'Donnell and J. Duncan Campbell, second edition, on page 283, as plate 448.
  • "Civil War Artifacts" by Howard Crouch, on page 189, item 4.
  • "Field Guide to Excavated Federal Plates" by Daniel J. Peters on page 17.
  • "Plates and Buckles of the American Military 1795-1874", by Sydney C. Kerksis on page 55.
  • "Excavated Artifacts from Battlefields and Campsites of The Civil War" by Stanley S. Phillips on page 7, item 6.

See above page in additional images.

Comments:  Maine "Burnside" eagle plates are the smallest size of eagle plates. While excavated examples of this size are very difficult to recover, non-excavated examples are rarely encountered. I am unsure of the significance of the number "97" stamped in the rear. The limited research I have done indicates the existence of the 97th United States Colored Infantry Regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War in the Department of the Gulf. However, I am unable to find any concrete connection between Maine troops and that regiment, perhaps you can with more in-depth research. The detail found on this example is excellent and finding another one of this quality may prove to be quite difficult. It is believed that the name "Burnside" was given to plates of this size by the early relic hunters during the 1950s who found quantities in the Wilderness where General Ambrose Burnside led his 9th Corps into an ambush in May of 1864. This eagle plate will be an excellent addition to any excavated Civil War plate or general relic collection.

In an article titled "Renaming the "Burnside" Plate", published in 1999 in North South Trader's Civil War magazine, Vol. XXVI, No. 6 Christmas Issue on page 49 by the late Mike O'Donnell, author of "American Military Belt Plates", O'Donnell suggests "...it's time to start calling these distinctive little eagle insignia plates "Maine" plates rather than "Burnsides"." This article is also found in the additional images.

Product Code:
PC1872
This brand is available for:
EAGLE PLATES , NEW ITEMS , GREAT GIFT IDEAS , FEDERAL RELICS , MARKED RELICS

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