Pewter buttons.

[Kirby the great]

How common were pewter buttons on Reb jackets in the west? I picked up a set of 6 from Carter and jasper at "Franklin".

 

[The Pennsylvania Line]

Overall I think pewter buttons were relatively uncommon among Confederate soldiers. With that said they were probably more common in the Western theatre of operations. You might find the following article of interest.

Chapter 17, Part II,
Buttons of the Trans-Mississippi
by Frederick R. Adolphus
09 September 2026

Chapter 17, Buttons of the DTM

Return to Chapter 16

adolphusconfederateuniforms.com

 

[rebracer]

Overall I think pewter buttons were relatively uncommon among Confederate soldiers. With that said they were probably more common in the Western theatre of operations. You might find the following article of interest.

Chapter 17, Part II,
Buttons of the Trans-Mississippi
by Frederick R. Adolphus
09 September 2026

Chapter 17, Buttons of the DTM

Return to Chapter 16

adolphusconfederateuniforms.com

Wow! I didnt know this had been released. Thanks!

 

[flpolk]

Overall I think pewter buttons were relatively uncommon among Confederate soldiers. With that said they were probably more common in the Western theatre of operations. You might find the following article of interest.

Chapter 17, Part II,
Buttons of the Trans-Mississippi
by Frederick R. Adolphus
09 September 2026

Chapter 17, Buttons of the DTM

Return to Chapter 16

adolphusconfederateuniforms.com

Look at his link.. well researched.

 

[RetiredCanuck]

One point in the link I found very interesting was the comments about pride in ownership of shiny brass buttons.
I'm guessing that's why cashiered officers have their buttons torn off their coat in the presence of their troops?

 

[johan_steele]

Years ago I met a fella who was a button collector of all things. His insights were intriguing.

Housewives were filled with what you had and could afford. Buttons are buttons but uniform buttons are another matter entirely. A soldier, US or CS, was expected to maintain that soldierly bearing. The whole ragged rebel has always been schtick instead of reality. Men have pride in themselves and unpatched clothing doesn't instill pride. There are ample photographs of PoW's captured and in PoW camps. They don't look ragged… ever. Barefoot with more holes than clothing just doesn't hold up to the research.

 

[rebracer]

What @johan_steele says here wins the prize and this should apply to both clothing as well as bodily cleanliness. There has always been individuals who dont take care of their possessions and themselves but dirty/filthy people in tattered clothes were always viewed with a sideways glance, probably even more so in the 19th century. A soldier on either side wanted to have clean clothes and a clean body if he could do it, while active fighting made this difficult, while in camp or on down time a man would have taken care of himself and his clothing/equipment (this includes his musket). We have to view all of this through the eyes of a man from the 1860s and how he would have presented himself in accordance with the culture at the time. This is why we see photos of men wearing cravats, it may not make sense to us or even look silly for a soldier, but to the men at the time this was part of presenting oneself well and trying to take pride in their appearance.

Clean but worn/well used equipment and clothing is more accurate than destroyed and mud soaked clothing and equipment. This would apply to corroded buttons as well.