This particular effort, a discussion of narrow but important areas of martial belts of 1830's through the turn of he century, is intended only as a brief cataloguing of the waist and cartridge belts and the closely-related, commonly-encountered accoutrements often seen in displays and for sale at arms shows. It is not an exhaustive study of the area, but it should serve several functions for the 1. It will allow the collector to fairly well place an unknown belt in an era and to allow him to determine the correct related hardware; 2. It will assist the collector in determining if the article he is observing is complete, properly fitted with its full compliment of attachments - e.g. hangers, belt slides, keepers, swivels, and belt plates - and whether these attachments are of the same period as the belt; 3. It will give him and the author a base upon which to build a more complete catalogue in this important accoutrement area.
