If this isnt a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

[BioProfessor]

If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

I'm continuing to hunt the area by where Gen. Sherman prepared to invade Savannah to complete his "March to the Sea." So far I've found a modern "twist-loc" back, a fairly recent Police Button, a Revolutionary War (or Siege of Savannah) Crown Badge for an ammo pouch, and a musket ball for a Brown Bess. NOTHING civil war. It rained a good bit the last few days so I figured I'd hit it again. I dug this button from the front side of an embankment from a dug foxhole. It is a one-piece button about 13/16" across. It is smooth on the front and has "* BEST * QUALITY *" and the figure of an Eagle with a shield on its breast to complete the "circle" of writing.

Anybody have any idea as to who would have worn a button like this and when?

Thanks,

Daryl

 

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[deepskyal]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

Maybe the site has been restored to what they thought was original. I know that when earthen works are moved...so are the goodies.

Just like Point State Park in Pittsburgh...be dammed with preserving history, make it user friendly and fill in those darn trenches so more people can come to the art show or regatta. But don't you dare metal detect there and ruin the future finds of people.

That ground has been tossed and turned by more modern equipment that I doubt anything is still in one piece if it's in the ground.

Maybe your site has also gone through some restoration process so it "looks" original.

Just a thought,
Al

 

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[BioProfessor]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

OK, you made me drag out the "nobody knows I have this stuff." box. May have a hole it it but don't think it matters.

The almost unknown "0 Georgia Regiment" didn't exist long. Too many injuries. Not from the enemy but from target practice. Seems the sight of a bloody stump where the arm used to be attached made many soldiers switch to the 12th Regiment.

Daryl

 

[Don in SJ]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

Ah, getting back to the button, forgetting about those "rare" regiment items discussed, cough, cough, ah, I would think a button from the 1830 era could most likely still be worn by a soldier during the CW?
Here is a doctored photo of your shield/eagle, I have quite a few eagle type backmarks, but not sure if any like yours, so nice button.

Don in SJ

 

[BioProfessor]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

Hi Don,

Thanks for getting us back on track. Gotta have a little fun though. A good mix of great information and a little humor makes for good reading. At least we didn't get around to "discussing" the 22nd California Regiment. Now those are some funky buttons and they are "everywhere."

I appreciate the doctored/enhanced photo. The shielded Eagle seems to be the hard part of the button to find a match to. I have looked at a lot of button sites and can't find that particular mark. Hopefully somebody will come along and set us straight.

I did find that many soldiers from the South did wear their own clothes or old clothes. There were not enough uniforms to go around so they would supplement the uniform parts they could get with other "civilian" clothes. This could easily be a civilian button worn as part of an assembled uniform. Surprisingly, I am finding buttons with backstamp information pretty interesting finds.

A response to a reply further up the page about the area being disturbed and maybe "restored" to look authentic. I can understand where this could happen and be a desirable thing for some sites. This is not the case here. Some of the area has been plowed but the wooded area has not been disturbed. I think the trenches and fox holes were dug as part of a defensive perimeter set up around where General Sherman was staying. There were a few skirmishes as the Confederates were flanking Sherman but there were no real battles at the site. More of a camping place while they planned the final attack on Savannah. Most of the Confederate troops had retreated to Savannah and its protective forts.

Hey, I did make a good "eye" find worth keeping.

Thanks for all the help and humor. It's fun.

Daryl

 

[Monty]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

Daryl, I think the CW stuff is there, but I think it is much deeper than you are searching. I recently watched a short film of CW relic hunting and they were digging up bullets, etc at nearly two feet deep! You certainly have a machine capable of hunting at that depth if you set it up for max depth. I'd ignore most of the shallow targets and go after the deep stuff. I may be way off but just going by what I have seen and read on the various threads. Monty

 

[kdismuke1]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

I HAVE A BUTTON THAT IS THE SAME SIZE. 13/16 . DOES YOURS FEEL HEAVY. I CAN'T MAKE OUT ANYTHING ON IT. IT WAS FOUND IN THE ATLANTA AREA.
I TRIED TO CLEAN IT. BUT I STOPPED. HOPE YOU FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

KYLE MACON GA. I AM GOING TO A FEW SMALL TOWNS AROUND ATLANTA TO FIND PLACES TO HUNT. I WILL CK. ABOUT THE COIN IF I CAN FIND PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTREST IN COINS.

 

[BioProfessor]

Re: If this isn't a Civil War button, I may have to leave the site.

Yeah, it's pretty heavy. Heavier than the 2-piece buttons. Try oiling the button. Sometimes that will bring out some of the detail. Put in on heavy, let it sit a few minutes, and then wipe most of it off. If there is any detail there, you can see if in reflected light.

Good luck with sites around Atlanta. Let me know what you find. I am working on some more around here but I keep getting turned down for permission to hunt. I even took out a $1,000,000.00 personal liability policy because the land owner said he was worried about something happening. Now he won't return my emails. Happened 3 times in the last 3 weeks. Crap.

Daryl