My First Heel Plate (Heart Motif)!!

[Erik in NJ]

Hi! I got out on Saturday for a day or hunting with one of my very good friends--NJLargeCent. He got permission to the grounds of a log cabin house that dates back to ca 1900--not ancient, but any day with nice weather and good company is a treat. The finds were a bit scarce on this property, though we both found a few things.

The best find of my day was something I have been wanting to find for a long time: My first heel plate--it has the three mounting holes and a heart motif. It's on the small side measuring 1-1/2" across its widest part. Ironically my friend Greylock found an identical heel plate the following day. Would love top know more about when these were in use. Mine is missing a chunk, which I don't think I did as there was no bare metal exposed on the edge. I believe it to predate the house, so it may have been done when the property was graded for the house. It was perhaps my deepest item that day!

Other items of note were the buckle with two posts and the escutcheon. There's the body of what appears to be a wristwatch, but I believe it is a toy as the metal is extremely thin. I found a nice looking button, but I believe it to be aluminum and relatively modern.

Also found by me was a large old clock about the diameter of a grapefruit and a Tootsietoy truck and a Lesney Police car (not pictured).

Also pictured are a bridle rosette from my prior hunt and half of a very nice petal (crotal) bell with the name "Parson's [& Smith]" cast into it.

Thanks James for a great day and great company!

 

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[Erik in NJ]

I've been reading up a bit on heel plates and it seems there's a lot of speculation regarding who wore these and why, but little to no references that provide any provenance. Does anyone know of any books or publications that discuss heel plates especially the "card suits" (heart, diamond, club, and spade) motifs? One would think if they were worn by cavalry units that this would be pretty well documented. The most salient feature of the typical plate is the diminutive size--I can't imagine cavalrymen wearing such small heels. Thanks for any additional information/references!

I remember reading here that the infamous "harness buckle shield with heart motif" was supposedly improperly id'ed in a book on Civil War Relics--from what I remember the author later stated he was incorrect in it attribution. What was the name of this book and are heel plates discussed there?

Any thanks for all of the kind comments on my finds!

 

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[CMDiamonddawg]

Nice dig Erik Not sure of any book on heal plates and those heart buckles in question . Originally those heart brass buckles were used as horse tack .The improvising Confederate Soldier saw another use for the buckle, that was as a bed roll buckle. They used this buckle and a leather strap to keep bed rolls tight and neat. I like your find , and the idea it was a calling card in the dirt if you were new in town booty tracker .

IMO , I doubt if the Cav soldier would wear these. The infantry used all types of brass heel protection plates , obviously maintaining your only issued boots was a necessity on the CW battle fronts .

HH dawg

 

[Mudslide]

There has been a lot of speculation about heel plates on Treasurenet. Here is an interesting discussion on heel and toe plates on a different site.
A good indicator for Civil War period site's Great finds, Erik!!!!!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Mudslide. Yes, I have read a lot of interesting posts on the plates though no one seems to be able to nail down a manufacturer. The was virtually no Civil War activity in my area so I doubt my heel plate is war related. The one thing that almost no one seem to address is that the heel plates (the ones with the card suits) are all very small (1-1/2" wide at its widest point). I can't imagine them being able to fully cover a man's heel.

Here's a quote from Keith Southern from another forum "If you were really fancy you would get a brass heel plate to cover the whole heel...They were usually reserved to the flamboyant Cavalry men though since the heel plates often had designs cut into them that left the mark's in the dirt ...designs like clover's, heart's, diamond's, etc..." Note he says "whole heel," though I can't believe it's possible for Cavalry men to have worn heels that small.

Regarding the "heart" motif--interestingly enough on one episode of Gunsmoke, a villian did have a heart shaped heel (carved that way?) on his boots and he was tracked down because of it--I'm not sure how historically accurate that was however. Regarding the "soiled dove" theory, I can imagine much of that activity either in the area where I dug it. It would have been a very rural area back in those days, but who knows? I will have to ask some local historians if any of that sort of activity was know in my area.

The size of the plates though seems very enigmatic. Is the size addressed in any threads/posts?

 

[Evolution]

Thanks Tom!

But you came home to barbequed pull pork!!


I do like the partial petal (crotal) bell--it's the largest one I have found (a size 4 or 5) and this is the first one with a name cast into it as far as I know. I have been reading up on the heel plate. It seems they are all quite small and there differing opinion about who used the. Seems there are all suits of a deck of cards (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) and some say they represented cavalry unit. Others attribute the heart plates to "ladies of the night" as there plates left a sort of calling card in the dirt. I believe they were civilian issue and they could have been used by cavalry units I guess, but the latter story seems very plausible. It's funny that they are all so small, as one would think that cavalry boot heels would be much bigger. I think the jury is still out on this one, but even missing a piece they sell for ca $50 which is amazing! Like I said, this is the first I have found in more than a dozen years of detecting so I was quite thrilled!

We'll have to talk soon about BBQ pork recipes!!

Best, Erik

Wow. I wondered if these had any value. I've seen a few posted over the years and was lucky enough to find one myself a few years back. Nice find!

 

[cntrydncr1]

nice bell and heel plate!

 

[Mudslide]

Just remember, Erik, that soldiers came back home eventually from battle states, wearing their boots!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Just remember, Erik, that soldiers came back home eventually from battle states, wearing their boots!

Good point MudSlide! The only thing I'm having trouble with is the size of the plate and why? I saw one post where someone stated that "boot heels were smaller in those days" without any supporting evidence. I'm not a Civil War guy, but didn't lots of actual boots survive and make it into collections? I'm about 250 or so and would imagine that a small heel like that would not only look quite feminine, but also tend to sink pretty far into the dirt when walking, no?

 

[Mudslide]

A person who has been detecting a long time has said that they all were small, and were not intended to protect the heel, but to leave a distinctive mark. Is he right? Who knows? They are cool, though.

 

[Evolution]

Good point MudSlide! The only thing I'm having trouble with is the size of the plate and why? I saw one post where someone stated that "boot heels were smaller in those days" without any supporting evidence. I'm not a Civil War guy, but didn't lots of actual boots survive and make it into collections? I'm about 250 or so and would imagine that a small heel like that would not only look quite feminine, but also tend to sink pretty far into the dirt when walking, no?

Imagine running through a wet muddy grass field in those with somebody shooting at you.

 

[Digger Dusty]

Very cool pics! Great find!

 

[Erik in NJ]

A person who has been detecting a long time has said that they all were small, and were not intended to protect the heel, but to leave a distinctive mark. Is he right? Who knows? They are cool, though.

That bodes well for the prostitute theory, but why would a company want to leave a calling card as to their movements with such an ostentatious footprint? In the volumes of Civil War records are there no records of these being worn by companies/regiments/divisions etc.? This is getting pretty interesting, think I'm going to start collecting all of the references that I can find on this. There are a couple non-reference books on Amazon that do mention them being military, but again no provenance.

 

[Mudslide]

I am looking forward to reading your findings! Keep us informed, please. Fascinating topic!

 

[Erik in NJ]

I found the following two interesting posts:

"During the CW the Confederate Cavalry used the heel plate design to communicate with other troops or between smaller groups of horse soldiers. Once the soldiers unmounted their horses near water the heel plates would leave an imprint in the mud. When other soldiers later came to same area they could tell whether friend or foe. The cavalry plate is smaller than other CW heel plates due fact it had a signal function rather than protection of the heel (cavalry boots wouldn't see as much wear compared a foot soldier and no need for added weight). The plates were not military issued and various designs/metals were used. Heart was the most common, but also clover and star were used."

Which is contradicted with some actual evidence by CannonballGuy:

This same type of heel-plate has several variations, with the cut-out being shaped like emblems from playing-cards, such as club, or heart, or diamond, and other popular symbols. This specific type dates from the last 1/3rd of the 1800s. There is still considerable debate about whether or not they go back as far as the civil war. In my 30-something years in the civil war relic digging "field," I've yet to hear of one being dug from deep in the bottom of a battle-trench. Some have been dug at campsites. But we now havew solid evidence that these particular heel-plates were absolutely not worn by soldiers. Ladies (or at least, women) visited those camps. Remember the "camp-followers," and especially, "Hooker's Battalion." Regardless of the debate about time-period, consider this photo. It shows a Ladies' tall lace-up shoe/boot, which was dug out of an 1870s dump. It is absolutely not something that would be worn by a man ...at least, not back then, anyway. ;-) Note that it has the typical narrow heel of Ladies shoes and boots ...unlike the wide heel on typical men's shoes.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Nice heel plate!

Best Wishes,

Buck

 

[pepperj]

Here's a heel plate that I recovered from a homestead that dated from 1870's in Ontario, shows very little wear on the plate.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Here's a heel plate that I recovered from a homestead that dated from 1870's in Ontario, shows very little wear on the plate.

That one looks like it's never even been used! Nice one. Someone else posted a partial one (I think) like that one with the pattern (for friction?). Is there anything on the other side? And what is the width at its widest point? Thanks.

 

[relicmeister]

Very nice Eric. Love the crotal bell.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Erik in NJ wrote:
> I think the jury is still out on this one, but even missing a piece they sell for ca $50 which is amazing!

I'm glad you found my older post with the factual information about them, and the photo of a dump-dug ladies' shoe from the 1870s. (Note that the plate does cover the entire heel.)

The reason they sell for as much as $50 is that many relic collectors have been (incorrectly) told they are a civil war Military relic. We now have conclusive proof that that is false, but the myth dies hard... especially when serious money is involved.

Let me compliment you for realizing "on your own" that the tiny heels these plates went on are NOT AT ALL suitable for Military footwear.

Also, the idea that they are a "code" for friendly troops is very unlikely, because the enemy would also recognize the heelprints if they were Military footgear.

The Ladies-of-the-Evening theory is drawn from the fact that in general women were not allowed in Military camps. The few exceptions were an occasional short-term visit by an officer's wife, and nurses. The latter would be wearing "practical" shoes in those conditions, not the tall tiny-heeled dressup shoes as seen in the photo of the 1870s dump specimen.

 

[Petrie502]

Diggin the heel plate Eric