Tom Hughes
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- May 27, 2019
- Location
- Mississippi
Last year, I was lucky enough to find an extremely rare Texas militia artillery button and I wanted to share it with viewers on this forum. More specifically, this button is classified as a CSA280 in Tice's button book.
This CSA280 classification puts the button in an identified group of buttons with the same button maker - T.E. Miller of Houston, TX.
The firm of T.E. Miller produced solid cast Cavalry and a limited number of Artillery buttons in 1862 for the Texas Militia as they were pressed into service in the Confederacy.
This was a find of a lifetime!
This is my first post so I'm not sure how many of you search camp or battlefield sites for artifacts. It's a delicate hobby indeed. Federal and state properties are strictly off limits and approaching private land owners wanting to "dig" on their land can be a diplomatic endeavor at best.
I was searching for places to use a metal detector and pulled up to a nicely kept plantation home along one of Louisiana's many bayous. I knew Confederate troops had been in the area. Everything was against me when I knocked on the screen door of the landowner's home.
Strike 1: It was a Sunday afternoon
Strike 2: I was tearing him away from the ballgame he was watching on the TV.
Strike 3: It had just finished raining and the poor ground conditions wouldn't favor his beautifully manicured lawn.
But I had travelled from central Mississippi and I figured I would go full in.
To my surprise, he was very cordial and knew exactly what I was talking about when discussing my desire to find "minie ball" bullets around his home.
Maybe he just felt pity on me.
He went back inside and after a few moments returned with a handful of bullets and some miscellaneous brass that I immediately identified as civil war period relics. He gave me permission to hunt and wished me luck because he didn't think I would find much. He found his relics in his garden but didn't think there was much left to find.
After searching for an hour in mud that could be best described as the "quicksand" type, I was ready to pack it in and go home with little to show for my efforts. Suddenly, my detector sounded off a good target and I figured I was good for one more hole before heading home. Out popped this button.
I've attached a picture of the button moments after it was dug and the cleaned up button.
Solid cast one piece brass, this button was more than likely lost by an artilleryman serving in Walker's Texas Division based on it's location and it's positive i.d. as a Texas button. They were the only Texas unit in the area in 1863. There were 3 artillery batteries attached to Walker's Texans. They certainly had a storied history!
Many thanks to William Leigh for his help in identifying my find. And thanks for letting me share this find with you.
Please feel free to give me any additional insight you may have on this button or it's origin with Walker's Texas Division.
This CSA280 classification puts the button in an identified group of buttons with the same button maker - T.E. Miller of Houston, TX.
The firm of T.E. Miller produced solid cast Cavalry and a limited number of Artillery buttons in 1862 for the Texas Militia as they were pressed into service in the Confederacy.
This was a find of a lifetime!
This is my first post so I'm not sure how many of you search camp or battlefield sites for artifacts. It's a delicate hobby indeed. Federal and state properties are strictly off limits and approaching private land owners wanting to "dig" on their land can be a diplomatic endeavor at best.
I was searching for places to use a metal detector and pulled up to a nicely kept plantation home along one of Louisiana's many bayous. I knew Confederate troops had been in the area. Everything was against me when I knocked on the screen door of the landowner's home.
Strike 1: It was a Sunday afternoon
Strike 2: I was tearing him away from the ballgame he was watching on the TV.
Strike 3: It had just finished raining and the poor ground conditions wouldn't favor his beautifully manicured lawn.
But I had travelled from central Mississippi and I figured I would go full in.
To my surprise, he was very cordial and knew exactly what I was talking about when discussing my desire to find "minie ball" bullets around his home.
Maybe he just felt pity on me.
He went back inside and after a few moments returned with a handful of bullets and some miscellaneous brass that I immediately identified as civil war period relics. He gave me permission to hunt and wished me luck because he didn't think I would find much. He found his relics in his garden but didn't think there was much left to find.
After searching for an hour in mud that could be best described as the "quicksand" type, I was ready to pack it in and go home with little to show for my efforts. Suddenly, my detector sounded off a good target and I figured I was good for one more hole before heading home. Out popped this button.
I've attached a picture of the button moments after it was dug and the cleaned up button.
Solid cast one piece brass, this button was more than likely lost by an artilleryman serving in Walker's Texas Division based on it's location and it's positive i.d. as a Texas button. They were the only Texas unit in the area in 1863. There were 3 artillery batteries attached to Walker's Texans. They certainly had a storied history!
Many thanks to William Leigh for his help in identifying my find. And thanks for letting me share this find with you.
Please feel free to give me any additional insight you may have on this button or it's origin with Walker's Texas Division.