CSA Rectangle Belt Plate

[Cornpone and Molasses]

America has no north, no south, no east, no west. The sun rises over the hills and sets over the mountains, the compass just points up and down, and we can laugh now at the absurd notion of there being a north and a south. We are one and undivided.

~ Private Sam Watkins
Company H, 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment

This Confederate belt plate is from an old collection and was excavated from the base of Winstead Hill in Franklin Tennessee.

 

[UCVRelics]

Nice looking plate and it has the tell tell signs an original should

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

Nice looking plate and it has the tell tell signs an original should

Thanks!

 

[mofederal]

A great looking piece. Are the scratches from a farming implement.

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

A great looking piece. Are the scratches from a farming implement.

It's possible but I don't know for sure. I do know it has not been cleaned. The green patina is very nice.

 

[JOHN42768]

Are all the hooks still in place on the rear? A photo would help narrow it down in the books

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

Are all the hooks still in place on the rear? A photo would help narrow it down in the books

Yup.

 

[UCVRelics]

It's an Atlanta style plate and has the stress bumps on the front which is a tell tell of an original

 

[JOHN42768]

This is purely a guess, but going with #103 from Mullinax expanded edition. 49 x 72 mm thin "Virginia Style" 1861-1865

 

[JOHN42768]

It's an Atlanta style plate and has the stress bumps on the front which is a tell tell of an original

I think in the Atlanta Style the "C" is very close to the border. The Virginia Style has a little more space to the border. Also has the bumps from bending the hooks. For what it's worth

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

This is purely a guess, but going with #103 from Mullinax expanded edition. 49 x 72 mm thin "Virginia Style" 1861-1865

I don't have the expanded edition book. Just the regular edition. Can you please possibly take a picture of that page for me.

 

[JOHN42768]

My scanner is not functioning, but it probably is in the standard edition with a different number. I have no idea why they didn't use the same numbers in both books. This is the verbiage in the book: " Plate 103, Waist Belt Plate, "Virginia Style" Rectangular CSA Ca.1861-1865. 49 x 72 mm, sand cast brass. These Virginia style plates feature letters C.S.A. smaller and more centered then the Atlanta style.THey are generally thinner cast of yellow brass and have raised bumps on the face where the belt hooks were bent over. The on pictured was recovered in Murfreesboro, Tn. Rarity 5 from collection of Harry Ridgeway." You did not post size so that is why I guessed. Compare the size and write up to your book and see what you think. I went with the Virginia style due to the spacing of letters to border. You will notice in tour book that the Atlanta style is very close to the border. You will see a lot of them with very close dimensions.

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

My scanner is not functioning, but it probably is in the standard edition with a different number. I have no idea why they didn't use the same numbers in both books. This is the verbiage in the book: " Plate 103, Waist Belt Plate, "Virginia Style" Rectangular CSA Ca.1861-1865. 49 x 72 mm, sand cast brass. These Virginia style plates feature letters C.S.A. smaller and more centered then the Atlanta style.THey are generally thinner cast of yellow brass and have raised bumps on the face where the belt hooks were bent over. The on pictured was recovered in Murfreesboro, Tn. Rarity 5 from collection of Harry Ridgeway." You did not post size so that is why I guessed. Compare the size and write up to your book and see what you think. I went with the Virginia style due to the spacing of letters to border. You will notice in tour book that the Atlanta style is very close to the border. You will see a lot of them with very close dimensions.

Thanks John,
I will look for that description in my book and let you know. I will also try and get the measurements on mine. I appreciate the input.

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

@JOHN42768
John, mine looks a lot like the one you described but the measurements are 47x71mm.
There is a very slight bend to it so that might explain the difference. It also looks like Plate 086 in the regular edition. Dimensions 47x71. Site Atlanta Ga. Issued in larger numbers of the Army of Tennessee. Rarity 5. Collection Bill Erquitt. But it's definitely one of these two. Please let me know what you think.
Thanks!

 

[JOHN42768]

As you state, there is some bend to factor in. So exact dimensions might be a problem. The extended edition only shows one plate that is 47 x 71 mm. That is #104 Virginia Style 1861-1865. Did you notice the spacing between the border and the letter that is different from the Atlanta Style which is almost touching the border? So in your book that is probably the #086 since the description you note is the same as #104 in my book. Again no idea why they renumbered items in the extended book. Your Welcome

 

[R. Porter]

Nice plate! I always wanted one but never got one. I used to visit battlefield sites around Richmond when I was 6 or 7 and constantly look down in case I might find a Minie ball, button, buckle or sword. When I got older I got a build-it-yourself metal detector but never got to go anywhere with it. About that time I think Union buckles were about $13.00 each, unless my memory is wrong, but I never bought one because I planned to find one.

As I was reading the quote you posted I started thinking about the fact that a lot of southerners came from the north to find opportunity in the south within 10 or 20 years of the war. Some of them established businesses that later supplied Southern armies. It seems they stayed loyal to their adoptive state. I bet you could start a new thread just on that.

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

As you state, there is some bend to factor in. So exact dimensions might be a problem. The extended edition only shows one plate that is 47 x 71 mm. That is #104 Virginia Style 1861-1865. Did you notice the spacing between the border and the letter that is different from the Atlanta Style which is almost touching the border? So in your book that is probably the #086 since the description you note is the same as #104 in my book. Again no idea why they renumbered items in the extended book. Your Welcome

John I'm leaning on it being the Virginia Style plate you first thought. It definitely looks like the letters, periods and spacing between the the letters and the border.

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

Nice plate! I always wanted one but never got one. I used to visit battlefield sites around Richmond when I was 6 or 7 and constantly look down in case I might find a Minie ball, button, buckle or sword. When I got older I got a build-it-yourself metal detector but never got to go anywhere with it. About that time I think Union buckles were about $13.00 each, unless my memory is wrong, but I never bought one because I planned to find one.
Thanks!

Wow $13 bucks. Now they are between $200-350 depending on condition and where they were recovered. Even more if ID'd.

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

As I was reading the quote you posted I started thinking about the fact that a lot of southerners came from the north to find opportunity in the south within 10 or 20 years of the war. Some of them established businesses that later supplied Southern armies. It seems they stayed loyal to their adoptive state. I bet you could start a new thread just on that.

Yes indeed. Wesley Culp comes to mind.