U L A pin ????

[Chitlin]

Hello all,

I found this pin the other day here in Chucktown. Cleaned up pretty good. You can see the ULA on top, and the letters "con" on the left and there might be some writing on the right hand side, above the sword but I can't make it out.

On the back I'm pretty sure the top letters are PAT., then 3 more letters, I can't make out but I think the last is a "Y" with a period after it, then under that is 186(5) I'm pretty sure it's a 5. Don't know if that's a date or just a number.

Obviously a pin with the point part missing, but what.

Googling ULA got me a bunch of computer talk, so I have no clue.... any ideas?

Thanks in advance>

 

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[Bramblefind]

That is an awesome find! I think it might be for the Union League of America - check out this associated pin for sale- I like yours better!

http://www.civilwarbadges.com/cgi-bin/display_Items.asp?Cat=173&Sub=197&page=2

The Union League of America (or Loyal League) was the first African American Radical Republican organization in the southern United States. The League was created in the North during the American Civil War as a patriotic club to support the Union. It was officially established in May 1863 when a common constitution was adopted. By late 1863 the League claimed over 700,000 members in 4,554 councils across the nation. After the Civil War the League spread throughout the South mainly but not exclusively among the freedpeople. Paid organizers, including freedmen advocates and anti-Confederates from Unionist clubs, went south to promote the League, and loyalty to the federal government, in the ex-Confederate states. Many newly freed slaves, or freedmen, saw this as an opportunity to seek fair treatment and equal rights from the federal government and the state governments. By the summer of 1867 thousands of freedpeople had joined the league and it became a strong political force. Due to fear of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the league met secretly in member’s homes and at churches where they discussed issues of concern to them including homesteading land, public school rights for their children, and securing opportunity to testify in court. They were engaged politically by petitioning, striking, and organizing campaign rallies. Increasingly because of the Union League more African American political leaders emerged in both the North and South. The Union League also exercised social influence and addressed agricultural concerns. It campaigned to end plantation agriculture and promote land ownership among the ex-slaves. The success of the League angered terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan which increased its violence against the organization. The League was a major target of the Klan during the 1868 presidential election which was the first national contest in which African American men voted. By 1869 the League began to decline. It lost power as its membership declined. By 1872 only a few League councils survived. Although the national Union League experienced a short life, its importance and its legacy made history as it introduced thousands of freedpeople to American politics. ~

 

[Bramblefind]

This is looking closer to what is on your pin - very cool!

http://www3.rmsc.org/capsule/2000 1 308.htm

Union League of America Medal

The Union League of America was founded in Pekin, Illinois in 1862 for the promotion of patriotism and Union loyalty.

After the Civil War, during Reconstruction, Southern White Republicans used the Union League of America to obtain votes from African Americans. This created a White backlash and the formation of counter organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. By the early 1870s, Congress passed a number of acts to suppress Klan activities by using Federal troops. Although military intervention at first appeared successful, it didn't carry with it broad Northern support. Northerners simply believed that the Civil War had accomplished its objectives of freeing an enslaved population and slavery would never return. In 1873, the North was feeling complacent about the issues and a culture of suppression persisted and grew in the Southern states.

This ULA medal is one of 21 individual pieces contributed to the time capsule by Richard N. Warfield of Warfield & Co., a leading distributor and manufacturer of a wide variety of oil products.

The medal was pinned to a parchment envelope, which contained numerous examples of Warfield product directions, advertisements, labels, and handbills; a newspaper clipping; and a copy of the Ontario Messenger newspaper.

 

[Chitlin]

Very cool.... one of my best finds yet.

I went ahead and marked as solved... thank you very much Bramblefind.

Google search this morning and this thread is #4 on the list for Union League of America civil war pin.

Seems to be a few variations, National Union League and Union League of America... the ULA looks to be somewhat rare. Digging in wet trash with an old Tesoro silver just making all kind of racket and look at this..... just goes to show, ya never know until you go!

 

[Kenosha Kid]

Although started in 1862, there are still three clubs active...in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_League

It's marked as "solved"; the above is just "fyi" in case you wanted to research further about the "con" meaning, etc.