Uniform of the Union Army letters US. Officers, NCOs and cavalry troopers were equipped with a sword belt with a rectangular buckle with eagle motif. Rank was displayed on epaulettes (dress occasions) or shoulder straps(field duties): no insignia for a second lieutenant, one gold bar for a first lieutenant, two gold bars for a captain, a gold oak leaf for a major, a silver oak leaf for a lieutenant colonel, a silver eagle for a colonel and one, two or three silver stars for a general, depending on his seniority. The color of the shoulder strap fields – with trims in gold braid – were
British Army officer rank insignia 1919, a new order was issued by the Horse Guards office—all Guards officers would wear special star badges. During World War I, some officers took to wearing tunics with the rank badges on the shoulder, as the cuff badges made them too conspicuous to snipers. This practice was frowned on outside the trenches but was given official sanction in 1917 as an optional alternative, being made permanent in 1920, when the cuff badges were abolished. British Army officer rank insignia Listed in the table below are the insignia—emblems of authority—of the British Army. Badges for field officers were first introduced