✅ SOLVED Eagle button

[empyreal]

I found this small button yesterday in our front yard not far from the site of the 1864 Battle of Tupelo.

The back side is broken off, and I cannot discern the letter on the shield if any. It is 5/8" in diameter.

This is my first post to TreasureNet. Any help in identifying it would be greatly appreciated!

 

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[kuger]

Welcome!Thats what is called a "Chicken Neck Eagle",they date to the 1870's I do beleive...def. Post C.W.

 

[empyreal]

Thanks kuger. I know that Union forces were at our house in 1862 and 1864. The family history has been that they used it as a hospital during the Battle of Tupelo. Was hoping it was associated with that event. Not sure how it would get there at a later date.

 

[kuger]

Hard to say....once again,I must remind folks that life went on,after the C.W..A Military Man,could have either lived at your house or even visited

 

[DoranHashemi]

Yeah I agree with kuger. General service button. I found wanna those. Late 19th cent probably

 

[empyreal]

Okay, thanks. I thought about the possibility it could be from reconstruction times, but it was a farming family in a rural area, not really a place for an occupying force. And the button was found just a few feet outside the window of the room used as the hospital. Also there was action right around the house. Have found a fair number of minie balls, including in the woodwork! So y'all would say it's definitely not CW?

 

[kuger]

Okay, thanks. I thought about the possibility it could be from reconstruction times, but it was a farming family in a rural area, not really a place for an occupying force. And the button was found just a few feet outside the window of the room used as the hospital. Also there was action right around the house. Have found a fair number of minie balls, including in the woodwork! So y'all would say it's definitely not CW?

I am no expert but.......No,its not C.W. Period.Private Message a fellow here that goes by Cannonballguy....he will help ya

 

[empyreal]

Thanks kuger, I appreciate it.

 

[DoranHashemi]

Wish you had the back but looks like a post cw general service button

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

That is the distinctive "chicken-neck eagle" form of eagle-emblem on US Army "general service" buttons from 1875 to 1902. Beside the eagle's shape, another way to discern this version from the 1854-74 version is that the shield is "very high-raised" in comparison to the earlier version.

If there is a letter on your button's shield, it means it was an Officer's button. The "plain" shield version (seen in the photo posted by DoranHashemi) was for Enlisted-men's ranks (private, corporal, sergeant).

About how it came to be in your yard:
It "probably" came from the uniform of a son who was in the US army long after the civil war's end. For example, he could have been a US soldier in the Indian Wars era, or in the Spanish-American war (1898).

For your education:
The photo below shows the three versions of US Army "eagle buttons" for non-Officers from 1854 to the present day. Left-to-right, they are the 20th-Century-to-present version, the 1875-to-1902 version, and the 1854-to-1874 version.

That educational photo was originally supplied by my fellow What-Is-It forum ID-helper BigCypressHunter. (Thanks, BCH.)

 

[empyreal]

Great help, thank you! Though I must admit to being a little disappointed – never good to let your hopes or expectations get the best of you. I don't see the picture you referred to though. Do you mind reposting it? In any case, what a great forum. Happy to be here!

 

[kuger]

Great help, thank you! Though I must admit to being a little disappointed – never good to let your hopes or expectations get the best of you. I don't see the picture you referred to though. Do you mind reposting it? In any case, what a great forum. Happy to be here!

never be disapointed with a historical item like your button,it tells a story....one we may never be able to truly able to read,it gets the "wheels Turning",but also may persuade you to further research the occupants of your property?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

I hadn't gotten enough coffee into me when I made the post (was awake until nearly 5 AM last night)... and I forgot to upload the photo. Fortunately, a good friend here in the forum sent me a note about that. I've now editied the post to include the photo.

Please don't feel toooo disappointed that it isn't a civil war era button. It is still a Historical military button. Many diggers here have never found a pre-20th-Century military button.

Also, it's a good sign that there are probably other pre-20th-Century objects in your yard. Not many people here have that kind of at-home opportunity... so, please feel fortunate, not disappointed.

Edit: Kuger and I were typing our replies at the same time.

 

[empyreal]

Thanks! I've made a few other finds I've found in the past here in Mississippi. Just posted one. Might be the most interesting. And a lot older I think.