North Carolina Oval Belt Plate
By Shannon Pritchard · Originally published March 2019 · p. 11
North Carolina Oval Belt Plate By Shannon Pritchard The North Carolina “NC” oval waist belt plate is one of the very rarest and most desirable of the Confederate state plates. Confederate state plates and buckles. The difference between plates and buckles being that the plate is one piece, and the buckle consists of two interlocking pieces. So rare are these NC state plates that I have wanted to purchase one for more than 30 years and this is the first opportunity that I have had of doing so. This example was purchased from the Earl, Roger, and Allan Catlett Collection. The Catletts lived on the Chancellorsville Battlefield and began hunting and collecting in the 1940s. They also purchased rare plates they had not found. Recently they began to deaccession their collection for estate planning purposes and I was fortunate enough to purchase this rare “NC” oval. Little is known of these rare plates, but we do know something about North Carolina’s actions leading up to the War. Prior to the War, North Carolina did not have an organized militia like many other states; instead they had independent companies such as the Charlotte Grays, the Buncombe Riflemen, etc. These groups tended to wear stock pattern plates and insignia if they had uniforms at all. The arms and accoutrements that North Carolina drew from the Federal government under the Militia Act of 1808 were identical to those of the United States. These various facts tell us that the NC oval was not a pre-1861 acquisition. In 1861, North Carolina’s Governor Ellis began a feverish effort to get arms and accoutrements for the coming storm. Prior to the state’s secession, Ellis sent an agent North to purchase arms and accoutrements. He only acquired
Schuyler, Hartley & Graham catalog page from 1860.
Face of NC oval belt plate. cavalry arms; 280 short Enfield rifles, 500 Colt Navy revolvers and 300 cavalry swords, plus powder, lead, and percussion caps. The rifles and swords came from the Northern firm Schuyler, Hartley & Graham. When purchasing swords in bulk, they always came with sword belts, since a sword without a belt was more problem than help. Invariably the “NC” ovals, when found on their original belts, are mounted on a buff Model 1851 type sword belt and there is no known matching cartridge box plate. There is no record to whom these 300 belts and swords were issued, but they were no doubt issued to independent companies as they enrolled into state service.
These early companies would become a part of the 1st North Carolina Cavalry. Photographic evidence exists to substantiate this supposition; there are images of members of the 1st North Carolina Cavalry wearing the rare NC sword belt plate. To my mind this leaves virtually no doubt that these “NC” oval plates came from Schuyler, Hartley & Graham in the spring of 1861. Also that there were, at most, only 300 ever produced, if that many, since all 300 from S, H & G were not necessarily this pattern. I only speculate that all 300 were not “NC” because of their extreme rarity. If 300 were issued, I would expect more to survive than are known.
Shannon Pritchard has authored numerous articles relating to the authentication, care and conservation of Confederate antiques, including several cover articles and is the author of the definitive work on Confederate collectibles, the widely acclaimed Collecting the Confederacy, Artifacts and Antiques from the War Between the States, and is co-author of Confederate Faces in Color.