Unknown Infantry Hat Pin

[mike0922]

Hey all! I found this pin while detecting today near the SC/GA border at a known revolutionary war site. It seems an odd find, though, because this pin (as best I can tell), was not issued by the government until the late 1800's. The pin has a "G" on the left side, and an "A" on the right side, which appear to be missing some pieces in between. It might have possibly spelled out "GEORGIA". Does anyone have any further information on this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Possibly 3rd regiment, Company F

3rd Regiment, Company F, Wilkinson Rifles

The muskets are Civil War era, so it appears to be a post 1860 emblem.

 

[mike0922]

Thanks Charlie. I did look at that group in doing some research. The toughest part here is narrowing down the time frame. It seems apparent that the federal government changed to the crossed rifle insignia during the 1870's, but many states also began using the crossed rifles prior to this time frame as well. I haven't been able to find any of these insignias with "GEORGIA" or anything similar shown across the top like this one. There are tons of other examples out there, but most only show the regiment and company designations.

 

[QUICKSILVER (appletree)]

#1 https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/3rd_Regiment,_Georgia_Infantry_(Confederate) #2 Roster of the Confederate soldiers of Georgia, ... v.1. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library | HathiTrust Digital Library #3 3rd Georgia History

 

[ivan salis]

think national guard --as in Georgia national guard unit -OR - VOLLENTER INFANTRY UNIT

 

[DigIron2]

you found the whole thing!killer find.

 

[ivan salis]

well according to the records that I dug up --there was a confederate Georgia 3rd company F in the civil war from april 26th of 1861 (FORMED UP IN AUGUSTA ,GA) to the wars end ON april 9th, 1865 * (THEY WERE WITH LEE AT THE SURRENDER) according to the muster roll records at the university of Wisconsin page 485 * USGENWEB --they were known as the WILKERSON RIFLES --AFTER THE COUNTY THEY CAME FROM IN GEORGIA ---

THERE WAS ALSO A GEORIGA 3RD VOLLENTER INFANTRY * COMPANY F THAT SERVED DURING THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR * 1898 -1901 -- IT SERVED STATE SIDE DURING THE WAR BUT SAW SERVICE AS "OCCUPATION" TROOPS IN CUBA POST WAR .

THESE TO ME ARE YOUR BEST BETS.

 

[shawninNY]

Nice research/info Ivan!

 

[duggap]

https://www.google.com/search?q=US+...GF5COyASGv4KwAw&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=656

Check these out.

 

[ivan salis]

please note that for the most part ---WW1 / WW 2 era type infantry pins the "rifle" used was modeled after the 1903 springfeild bolt action rifle .* -- for the Spanish American war the "rifle used on the pins was the model 1873 "trapdoor" springfeild --a black powder cartridge rifle * -- civil war pins had "front loader" type muskets --the real issue here is are they confederate civil war --or --are they Spanish American war ?

 

[duggap]

I sure lean towards non confederate.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Sorry to have to disappoint you, but it is absolutely NOT a Confederate insignia. It dates from no earlier than 1895. That year is when the American Military first began attaching the regiment-number and/or company-letter directly onto the crossed-muskets insignia (and crossed-cannons, and crossed-swords insignia). To learn additional helpful info (with many photos) about time-dating them, go here:
Evolution of U.S. Army Infantry Insignia

Let me suggest that you "bookmark" that webpage for future use, because at the bottom of that webpage, there are links to the same author's time-dating information on US Artillery and Cavalry insignia.

As other posters here indicated, the "G" and "A" attached onto the musketbarrel's ends mean your insignia was not a US "Regular Army" insignia, but instead was for a Georgia unit of the US National Guard.

The "attachment form" on your insignia's back will tell you its time-period. Some had a screw-post, some had a cross-pin, and some had clutch-pins. They may be broken off of your insignia's back, but you should be able to spot where they were, and figure out which type of attachment they were. You'll see photos showing the attachment-types at the "Evolution Of US Army Infantry Insignia" webpage link.

 

[mike0922]

Thanks for the help everyone. I got a reply from the museum director with that particular regiment in Georgia. This was indeed national guard issue. Most likely from the Spanish-American war.

 

[mike0922]

Oh, and this was a collar pin, not an insignia for a hat.

 

[spudnutt]

its a collar insignia. Indian Wars era. 1880s-1890s. Could be for National Guard or US Army

 

[ivan salis]

so G A (Georgia) national guard -- say Georgia 3rd company F volunteer infantry * Spanish American war era (1898 to 1901)