Marktk36thIL Posted July 10 Engraved belt buckle belonging to Capt. James J. Wilson of Co. C of the 36th Illinois Infantry. Mark K. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skypilot6670 Posted July 10 WOW ! That is a great looking belt buckle. The engraving is the best , who ever did it was a master engraver. And the history of the soldier is the best. He was enlisted and rose thru the ranks to First Sargent and ultimately was commissioned Captain and mustered as such. This would be a noteworthy accomplishment in any unit , but he did this in Sheridans division of the Fourth Corps. A very hard fighting unit , second to none. I can’t do “The 36th Illinois “ justice so I copied a page from , Col. Fox’s Fighting 300 , “ Regimental Losses in the Civil War “ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kfields Posted July 10 That's a beautiful belt plate! A nice but generic belt plate was turned into a much more interesting (and valuable) piece of history with the engraving. Your posting this thread reminds me of a practice I've followed for years: always check the item all over to see if it has been named, numbered or engraved. One never knows what surprises will be revealed. Kim A member of this fine site since December 16, 2006....Member # 60 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdk0911 Posted July 10 awesome buckle - super piece!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marktk36thIL Posted July 11 Thank you for the kind words everyone. The 36th is certainly a regiment I've taken a central focus towards. Certainly overlooked compared to the eastern units, but more than held their own at any point of the war once a magnifying glass is used to analyze the what, where, and when of every engagement they were in. I'm not exactly a belt buckle collector- Z I have only one, so maybe someone can point out if they ever seen mating numbers for the plate and the hook piece (or whatever it's called). Mark K. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M24 Chaffee Posted July 11 Excellent piece! Especially with that beautiful engraving and history! Frank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scottiques Posted July 11 Beautifully engraved buckle! Scott Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Rogers Posted July 11 In answer to the mating numbers on the buckle and hasp, yes, they are pretty common. On enlisted plates being made up and assembled in large batches the numbers get into the three digits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
