Breast Plate ID

[Ed Gallop]

I have tried in vain to discover a breast plate meaning. It is an Eagle, head facing to its left, with 3 arrows in its right talon and an olive branch in its left. I learned the meaning of the arrows and olive branch but they are in oposite talons and a different eagle position than most all I've seen. The only picture I found is at the below link but there is no reference. I was a civil war reinactor in the late 80s and early 90s and acquired the item on a cartridge box strap. No information was available except it was a Union emblem. Maybe someone here knows?
http://www.cowanauctions.com/public/...1&AuctionName=

[Western Blue Belly]

Not sure what your asking here. The plate in the link looks like any other...Do you mean that you own one that is a reverse image to the one in your link?

[jurgitemvaletem]

Ken,

I think the fellow is but a lost soul who is looking for a bit of guidance on a subject which we would think of as part of life. I think what he is asking is why the soldiers have them and why are the eagles different from todays modern american symbol of freedom.

To answer your question, they were worn simply to dress the soldier up and make him more presentable as a key part of America. The eagle has long been known as the sybol for American beliefs ( if I recall correctly, it was Ben Franklin who started this) and although it has changed somewhat in appearance over the years, it still represents the same thing you are used to seeing on todays quater dollar pieces.

[Western Blue Belly]

I think the fellow is but a lost soul who is looking for a bit of guidance on a subject which we would think of as part of life. I think what he is asking is why the soldiers have them and why are the eagles different from todays modern american symbol of freedom.

Ahh, that does make more sense.

[Rob Weaver]

It's a great artistic touch how the details of the eagle fit the round frame, isn't it? The slope of the neck and shoulders of the wings to accomodate the space. 19th century Americans weren't terribly infuenced by symetry (sp?); notice that the talons aren't mirror-images of each other, but, again, are molded to fit the space. Do we know who designed the Federal eagle as he appears on the cross-belt plate, or is it more an item of American folk-art?

[Ken]

When I first read the post I got the impression this person was questioning the direction the eagle was facing in reference to the arrows and olive branches. My understanding has always been that in times of war, the eagle always faces in the direction of the arrows. In times of peace the eagle faces the olive branches. This may not have been the case for these Civil War breast plates.

[ngairish]

The eagle has long been known as the sybol for American beliefs ( if I recall correctly, it was Ben Franklin who started this) and although it has changed somewhat in appearance over the years, it still represents the same thing you are used to seeing on todays quater dollar pieces.

Actually I believe Ben Franklin was pushing for the turkey as the national bird (no joke, he really did). Although he may have changed his mind later, I'll have to look into this, it's been so long since I've seen the story on the national bird I'll have to do a refresher on it. Could you imagine an ugly old turkey being our national bird. What was he thinking?

[Ephraim_Zook]

From a US Seal website. There are some contradictions in here -- primarily because the breast plate eagle faces the left, and the arrows and branch are held in the claws opposite those we are accustomed to seeing. Be that as it may, the breast plate eagle still faces the olive branch.

"Has the Eagle always faced the olive branch?

Yes, since the first die was cast, the eagle has always faced right and has held the olive branch in its right talon.

Presidential flags, seals (and coats of arms) showed the eagle facing left, towards the arrows, until 1945 when President Truman changed a number of items in the presidential flag and seal [Executive Order 9646].One of the changes was to have the eagle face right, towards the olive branch "This new flag faces the eagle toward the staff," Truman explained, "which is looking to the front all the time when you are on the march, and also has him looking at the olive branch for peace, instead of the arrows for war ...” President Truman meant the shift in the eagle's gaze to be seen as symbolic of a nation both on the march and dedicated to peace. It has remained that way ever since.

Contrary to a popular myth, the eagle in the Presidential seal does not flip his gaze during times of war. Although when Truman and Churchill were looking at the new symbol on a train car, Churchill remarked that he thought the eagle's head should be on a swivel. That may be the origin of the myth. In any case, it is incorrect. The arrows and olive branches are always held in the same claws."

[Ed Gallop]

Sorry if I was ambiguous. The one I have is exactly like the one pictured. I know the meaning of the arrows (forgot what the three meant though). I also know the significance of the olive branch, but not in the left talon (usually in right). I couldn't find one in civil war era with the olive branch in it's left tenon with the eagle facing it. This is the only one I saw with the eagle not in a full spread wing position. Like Rob Weaver, I thought this was very interesting. I too heard that if the eagle is facing the olive branch it is a time of peace. This plate is exactly like one found at Gettysburg. I was wondering if it was more than a dress-up ornament. Thought it may have specifically used by a certain Union outfit, such as Zouave, or whatever.

Although I've been interested in the civil war since a civil war course in college (old man now) I'm just not as knowledgeable as some here. I've traveled to trace my great grandfather's unit from NC in 1861 all the way to 5 Forks as well as visited most major battlefields. I may be a lost soul but I did not intend to sound ignorant. Ed.

[Rob Weaver]

It's a standard beltplate, went on every Federal infantryman's cartridgebox crossbelt. Sometimes you see them in museums with the lovely image distorted by the ragged path of a minie ball. Ew.
How the Federal eagle is portrayed in 18th and 19th century American folkart is really an interesting sub-genre of folkart study. There was very little standardization of how the American eagle was portrayed, and a great deal of imagination and creative use of space. You see the eagle with wings spread or couched, facing left and right, hovering defensively over panoply of war, falgs, sunbursts, domestic scenes and bales of cotton. Sometimes he holds a scroll in his mouth : "E Pluribus Unum," "Liberty Forever," "Our Rights and Our Libertys," etc. Remember this was a time long before copyright, so the artist had no intellectual control over the image, or parts of the image. Given information technology at the time, "File sharing" of images was a lot harder. Americans were also patriotic to a level which we today would probably consider rabid, irrational, or at the very least jingoistic, if the word had existed at the time. They were convinced that the American republican form of government was the best in the world, that Europeans as fascinating as they may be, are moral inferiors and that the mission of the Americans is to dominate North America. They parsed the Declaration of Independence like Holy Writ, and believed deeply in the virtue of patriotism. This leads to use of patriotic symbols in all kinds of places we today would consider mildly odd: advertisements, personal belongings, even decorations of private homes.