Typical Plate Damage, Always a Challenge

Shown below are three relatively "common" union accoutrement plates. All had damage and the owner wanted more presentable relics. As always, matching the solder backing to the existing is the greatest challenge. This isn't to say face matching isn't difficult but getting a believable solder look with the exact layering of grays, white and earth tones continues to be the big hurdle in completing the work to my satisfaction. These came out rather well but only after hours of rework.

Lead Rations

Digging out huts can be interesting to say the least. As buried objects come to light they may present as something familiar...then turn out to be the oddity or the unusual. It's a fun aspect of the recovery. Case in point, while excavating a hut, this object was uncovered in one corner. Upon first glance, it appears that I have just uncovered the oxidized solder-filled back of an eagle breast plate or perhaps the back end of an artillery shell and its lead sabot. It is almost identical in circumference for an eagle plate or an 8-10lb shell. But there are some flags that go up that make my mind detour and 2nd guess my initial wish-driven reaction.

Looking closely, a clearly visible rust ring suggests this is neither plate nor shell. If it were an eagle plate then there should be rusty remnants of the two attachment loops within and across the disc, not a full ring of rust encircling. A lead sabot would likewise show no rust ring.

Upon extraction and closer inspection it becomes evident that a soldier has melted lead in a tin ration can to a depth of about 1.5". What remains is the tin can wrap around an oxidized lead hockey puck. The soldier has used his knife in the center to create a depressed cone with blade spokes where the lead would last solidify. A very neat soldier-made relic in my opinion. Purpose unknown. The lead-filled tin would certainly have been a stable fixture on a shelf holding down writing paper in a drafty hut. Who knows.

State of New York Waist Belt Plate Restoration

State of New York waist belt plate

Solder fill simulated as heavily oxidized

Reconstructed & Restored

Barrel Bands and Inkwells

Digging Rock Huts in Early CW Camp

Drummer Buckle

Before

After