MAIL CALL

In answer to the question about the waistbelt plate on page 36 of the July/August 2004 issue, that fellow is an officer of the cavalry troop of the 8th New York State Militia. An identified officer of Company "I" of the Eighth wearing the same belt plate (from my collection) is illustrated on page 478 of American Military Belt Plates by O'Donnell and Campbell.

Michael J. McAfee

Newburgh, New York

And Another Response

Reader Gordon Narrower of Dunnsville, Virginia sent a photograph of a belt plate in his collection very similar to the one in question. He has been told by some that it was possibly worn by the Rhode Island militia circa 1840-60.- ED

The Rocks Are Still There: Roosevelt Island 2004

Mr. Mike Fitzpatrick was indeed correct when he speculated that the image on page 19 of the May/ june 2004 issue of the Georgetown Aqueduct was taken from Roosevelt Island [named Mason's Island during the Civil War]. I enclose a 2004 image of the same place today. While the bridge is a different one and the structures on the opposite shore have changed significantly, the rocks have barely changed at all. I located the spot in 2002 while working on my The Civil War Then & Now: War In The East, due out in 2005.

Carry E. Adelman

Germantown, MD

Attached is a scan of a photo I took at Roosevelt Island. On page 19 of your May/ june 2004 issue, you show a photograph taken by Brady of a group of soldiers posing on the rocks. My image shows the rocks and the Georgetown skyline, but the view of the Key Bridge (site of the Aqueduct Bridge) is not shown. The angle at which I made the photograph is slightly off (compared to Brady's) and, even if I had been able to make the shot at the same angle, trees and heavy brush would have obscured the view. It appears in Brady's image that the area around the the rocks has been cleared. Not so today. The same area is quite overgrown, and it is connected to a well-kept hiking trail by a narrow path.

Ron Coddington

Arlington, VA