✅ SOLVED Is this a civil war button ?

[mical66]

Digging in a Yard where house was built 1820s , at around 6 inches deep, when I dug It up and seen the eagle my heart skipped a beat, then it looks like a I on the eagles chest which I would think means Infantry . but when I looked at the back it is a 2 piece button and I am not sure if they had them that long ago. any help would be great .

 

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[duggap]

If I remember right most of the buttons with the initial in the shield was made before the civilwar, although we find a lot of them on civilwar camp sites. Also those were usually wore by NCOs or lower ranking officers.

 

[mical66]

so they did make 2 piece buttons pre civil war ?
that is what is throwing me .

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Brass 2-piece US Military buttons started showing up in the early-1830s.

Your particular version of eagle-I button has a letter with "knobby" serifs -- which means it dates from sometime between very late in the civil war through 1874. Being from that time-period means it was specified for the uniform of Infantry officers only, not NCOs or Enlisted-men.