Early Buttons from Civil War Camps

Tom Hughes

Sergeant Major
Joined
May 27, 2019
Location
Mississippi
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Many early U.S. military buttons are found in civil war camps. Probably worn by Confederate soldiers heading off to war with whatever they had.
Here's a few of my better ones.
These mainly date early to mid 19th century.
All from west central Mississippi sites.
If only they could talk!
 
Wow! Thanks for sharing these Tom. Can you show a close up of the one third from left? And tell me about it? I dont think Ive ever seen that one before.
EDIT TO ADD: I should have added - thats a GREAT image! Love the way you positioned the buttons for the picture!
 
Wow! Thanks for sharing these Tom. Can you show a close up of the one third from left? And tell me about it? I dont think Ive ever seen that one before.
EDIT TO ADD: I should have added - thats a GREAT image! Love the way you positioned the buttons for the picture!
@lelliott19 here's the button I believe you were asking about.
It's a circa. 1830 one piece U.S. Infantry button. As you can see, it has a block "I" style letter on the eagle's breastplate - which means it's an infantry button. What makes this button really exciting to me is the fact that it has been silver plated and after all these years it still retains most of its original silver coating. During the early 19th century, the process of silver plating brass buttons became very popular. Thanks for asking about the button!

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Thanks Tom. That one's amazing! But I was actually talking about this one. I dont think Ive ever seen one like that - with the edgy border thing? And the eagle with his wing behind a shield?
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@lelliott19 sorry I did the wrong button.....but I'm glad you liked the silver one.
The one you were asking about is this circa. 1815-1820 U.S. Infantry officer's button. It features 13 stars (7 above the eagle and 6 below) which, of course, stand for the 13 original colonies in our country's founding. One leg of the eagle is firmly planted on the flat surface feature. The other leg is gripping the shield of liberty with its talon.
It too is a solid cast one piece button. This one was heavily plated in gold and also retains a good bit of gold plating on its surface. This eagle design changed slightly from its predecessors. The eagle is more "distinguished" looking. The earlier eagles were called "chicken eagles" because of their cartoonish anemic appearance.

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....but I'm glad you liked the silver one.
I like the silver one very much.....just not quite as much as the "distinguished eagle." :D
That's a GORGEOUS button! I like all the little details - the border thing, the lines in the background, the thirteen stars, and the "distinguished" eagle. :D
What's the back look like?
 
I like the silver one very much.....just not quite as much as the "distinguished eagle." :D
That's a GORGEOUS button! I like all the little details - the border thing, the lines in the background, the thirteen stars, and the "distinguished" eagle. :D
What's the back look like?
@lelliott19 Here's the back to the button. It has an *Imperial/Standard* backmark.
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@lelliott19 sorry I did the wrong button.....but I'm glad you liked the silver one.
The one you were asking about is this circa. 1815-1820 U.S. Infantry officer's button. It features 13 stars (7 above the eagle and 6 below) which, of course, stand for the 13 original colonies in our country's founding. One leg of the eagle is firmly planted on the flat surface feature. The other leg is gripping the shield of liberty with its talon.
It too is a solid cast one piece button. This one was heavily plated in gold and also retains a good bit of gold plating on its surface. This eagle design changed slightly from its predecessors. The eagle is more "distinguished" looking. The earlier eagles were called "chicken eagles" because of their cartoonish anemic appearance.

View attachment 343234
Many Southerners certainly transferred buttons from their father's old uniform, militia uniform or even their own previous US service.

This is the kepi of William Patton, no relation to the famous Pattons, Lt. Patton was with the 4th VA Infantry Co H Rockbridge Grays and his kepi buttons are those cast in pewter for militia. His kepi appears to be a standard militia kepi with added braid for a Lt, we know this is an early war specimen, as poor William died, July 16, 1861.

Kepi 6 (2).jpg
Kepi 5 (2).jpg
 
Many Southerners certainly transferred buttons from their father's old uniform, militia uniform or even their own previous US service.

This is the kepi of William Patton, no relation to the famous Pattons, Lt. Patton was with the 4th VA Infantry Co H Rockbridge Greys and his kepi buttons are those cast in pewter for militia. His kepi appears to be a standard militia kepi with added braid for a Lt, we know this is an early war specimen, as poor William died, July 16, 1861.

View attachment 343291View attachment 343292
That's really nice! Thanks for sharing this.
 
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