Need help I.D.ing todays button

[dcooper1]

Need help I.D.'ing todays button

Found this button today with some other "stuff", if this post works then I will post the rest of todays finds.? When I pulled this button out - at just about dark - all I could make out was the eagle in the middle and a lot of writing around the edge, I could have sworn it said Confederate States of America!!!
So.......I rushed to the closest restaurant that had a sink so I could delicately rinse the dirt away.? Still not sure how old it may be.? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

It is a 3 piece:
Front: "D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE"
Back:? ? "SCOVILL MF'G CO? ?* WATERBURY *"

 

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[PBK]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

It looks like one of the Scovill Mfg. Co. backmarks used in the 1860's and 70's.

 

[rabajohn]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

Nice find! I can see why your ticker went thunga-thunga!

 

[rvbvetter]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

Hey great find!! I know they made before, during and after the civil war. How long after, I don't really know. I'm sure somebody here will know. WTG!!! HH

 

[dcooper1]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

If I'm reading Tice's book correctly, the backmark *SCOVIL MF'G CO.* WATERBURY was produced around the 1860's. My question is, does anyone know how long the "D.C. Metropolitan Police" have been around and if they would have been active in the Civil War?

 

[Calico Jack]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

According to the DC police website, they were established in 1861 at the direction of Abe Lincoln in order to deal with the large number of persons that war brings to a capital. There is not really anything about what they did during that time, but apparently they worked 12 hr shifts / 7 days / no vacation. And weren't issued equipment at that point. They even had to acquire their own firearms. Unknown when they were issued or required to wear a uniform that button might have come from.

 

[dcooper1]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

Thanks Jack for the info, you must have been on their site the same time I was.

If anyone is interested, here is a blurb from their site.

The Early Years

In 1790, Maryland and Virginia ceded portions of their territory for the purpose of establishing the Federal City. For the next 10 years, the Federal City was policed by constables appointed by these two states. In 1802, when the original charter of Washington was approved, police authority was centralized and power was granted to the city itself to establish patrols, impose fines, and establish inspection and licensing procedures. Until the creation of the Metropolitan Police Department in 1861, the city had only an auxiliary watch with one captain and 15 policemen.

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln took personal interest in founding a regular police department for the District of Columbia. It was a time of constant danger in the Nation's Capital. With the beginning of the Civil War, an army was billeted in the city, government employees were increased by ten-fold, and hordes of unsavory elements descended upon the District's few square miles. President Lincoln personally dispatched an emissary from the newly created Board of Metropolitan Police Commissioners to New York City to become familiar with that system, which itself was based on the world-acclaimed Metropolitan London Police Department.

The ideas and knowledge gained from this study led to the creation of the Metropolitan Police Department on August 6, 1861. In September of that year, attorney William B. Webb was appointed the first Superintendent of the Police, with an authorized force of 10 sergeants and a number of patrolmen as needed, but not to exceed 150. Up to 10 precincts were authorized. The Superintendent of Police was paid $1,500 annually, with sergeants earning $600 and patrolmen $480.

The sergeants and most of the personnel for two precincts were sworn in that September. Officers had to be US citizens, able to read and write the English language, have been DC residents for two years, never convicted of a crime, between 25 and 45 years of age, and at least five feet, six inches tall. The men went to work right away in 12-hour shifts, seven days a week with no days off and no vacations. They were issued neither equipment nor badges, and they had to obtain their own handguns. The first arrest made by a Metropolitan Police officer was on a charge of intoxication.

 

[dcooper1]

Re: Need help I.D.'ing todays button

Thanks for the help, sure wish my button looked that good!!!!

I'm still anxious to see what, if any role they may have had during the war.