Magee & George CS belt plate, an example

MOBDEnut

Corporal
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
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This dug example recovered at "Boneyard Road" (west of Corinth Mississippi). Matches the construction method of Magee&George of LA, which MO troops received sets of accouterments from while at Cove Creek AR in early 62. Also documented accounts "with CS on them". Note: no box plates were made by Magee&George only belt plates.


"Buckle depicts "CS" and is an oval belt plate broadly used in the Confederacy. This style is noted for simple letters, the "C" is rounded, the "S" is slightly crooked, thin border around the edge, with an inner border giving the appearance of twisted rope. Plate is stamped on thick sheet brass, scraps of brass were cut into hooks and soldered into place, the plate never was filled. Plate measures 55mm X 87mm. Dug buckle, bends small crack at five oclock, most of these thin plates are cracked, hooks intact."
http://www.relicman.com/plates/zLibraryPlate.840.CSA.Oval140CSRopeBorder.htm

"The firm of Magee & George of New Orleans produced a die stamped “CS” plate that is known as the “rope border” style because of the beaded inner ring around the perimeter. It was made of heavy gauge sheet brass, had no solder filling, and its hooks were of scraps cut from the base material. When New Orleans fell, this production source ended. Most issues of these went to Rebs in the western and Trans-Mississippi theaters, although a very few made their way east, as archaeological recoveries show. Before the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862, a member of the famous Missouri Brigade recalled receiving “cartridge boxes and belts with CS on them,” which records show were part of the Magee & George output." http://26nc.org/blog/?p=120

Blockade Runner is the only "known" source to repro this style buckle without the lead filling which is how they were issued. Can be found on this page. http://www.blockaderunner.com/Catalog/catpg23.htm

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Photo of invoice courtesy: http://www.missouribootandshoe.com
 
Shiloh and Corinth was a bonanza of early CS early war relics. State buttons, buckles etc. I remember when Stan found this plate. Several others of this oval flavor were found along with what we call the Breckenridge plates but the rope boarder or the crooked S as we called them were a lot fewer than the others. Here is one I found up on the railroad cut several years after Stan found this one.
http://www.ucvrelics.com/my-confederate-relics.html
 
@ucvrelics.com was it lead filled? What was the most common you found at Corinth, frame buckle, rope, breckenridge, fork ? I know you stated Rope boarder was rarer than the breckenridge plates, curious about the others.
 
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Does anyone have source documents that have Magee, Horter & George or Magee & George making the stamped CS rope boarder buckles/plates? I am attempting to find out the original source the "books/articles" are using.
 
This is the Blockade Runner reproduction. A nice reproduction with enough difference in the letters to tell them apart. If nothing else the "S" is more precise.
 

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