Shoulder belt (military)

[2] A cross belt is two connected straps worn across the body to distribute the weight of loads, carried at the hip, across the shoulders and trunk.

Officers almost never carried muskets or rifles, so they typically wore only one shoulder belt, such as for the pistol cartridge box or for a sabre scabbard.

[4] From the early 1800s light cavalry officers in the British Army adopted the practice of wearing single belts across the chest and back, holding a pouch on the right hip.

[5] The pouch was subsequently moved to the back and the leather belt was decorated with gold or silver braiding varying according to regimental practice.

[6] These ornamental pouch-belts continued to be worn as part of the officers' full dress of hussars, the Royal Engineers, and Rifles until 1939, and survive in the modern units descended from these regiments.

Napoleon grenadiers featuring fully laden shoulder belts
Reenactment of British infantry of 1815. Line infantry wear white cross belts with belt plates, with the officer on the right wearing a single shoulder belt to his left hip which carries his sabre's scabbard.