PEWTER C.S.A. BELT PLATES

This belt plate is one of the rarest of the rectangular "CSA" plate variants. There seems to be two methods of manufacture, one by sand casting the other by using a metal mould. The moulds are not the same as used for any other the brass cast "CSA" variants. The plate is entirely cast in pewter, measuring 50 x 75 mm and weighing about two ounces. The pewter used is of a poor quality and is very brittle, as a result most specimens suffer from cracks or broken corners. The letters "CSA", due to the poor composition used have a shallow relief , the letters are uneven in their spacing and have large periods. Three crudely made wire hooks are soldered onto the rear for attaching to the belt.

Both Kerksis and Mullinax state that there is evidence to support that the Noble Bros. Foundry of Rome Georgia manufactured these plates. All of these plates to date have been found on Western Theatre sites in central Tennessee, Resaca, Georgia, Vicksburg and Kentucky and none have been found on sites occupied before the battle of Shiloh. No examples have been found in the East.

Front and rear view of a pewter C.S.A belt plate

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