Silver Plated CW Button?

[Driftwoood]

I found this today and it is a first for me... understand I'm not in the War of Rebellion capital of the world here in upstate, NY. We don't get much of that kind of artifact here. So, my question is: is there any significance in the silver plating? The backmark is 'W.H. HORSTMANN & SONS . PHI. It looks like it might have been in a fire, as it was all black and crusty... I'm slowly cleaning it.

 

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[trapperart]

Congrats on a nice button

 

[vpnavy]

Nice find! Thanks for sharing...

 

[diggervet]

nice find! especially for upstate NY!

 

[against the wind]

When I visited Gettysburg, I was really educated on the number of units that were from NY State. Over the period from 1861 to 1865, over 360,000 men from New York State served in the Union Forces.
It is easy to understand that many uniforms came home with those men. I'm surprised that we don't find even more buttons.

 

[Driftwoood]

When I visited Gettysburg, I was really educated on the number of units that were from NY State. Over the period from 1861 to 1865, over 360,000 men from New York State served in the Union Forces.
It is easy to understand that many uniforms came home with those men. I'm surprised that we don't find even more buttons.

Yeah, I was reading a local book that documents all who served from my county and it was staggering how many men joined... whole families.... and many were in the same units coming from the same area and at the same time, so it is easy to see how, when one unit had some bad luck, a mother/wife was left with no one. I find an occasional button from the Civil War and one militia button from the War of 1812, but still waiting for a Revolutionary War button... those should be somewhat common here, as this area was quite active then.