Note 90 — Insignia of the Regular Army

¶ Although the 1821 regulations were very specific about the prohibition of nonregulation items of uniform and equipment, they were somewhat vague regarding specifications. General staff and engineer officers were to wear black belts with a "yellow plate," artillery "yellow oval plates ... with an eagle in the center," and infantry the same but "white" instead of yellow.[90] No oval plates meeting these vague descriptions are known, but the specimens described below may well have been those actually approved by the Ordnance Department, and thus, worn.