Block I button with stars.

[Jimmayo]

I have a theory about these buttons and need to know if anyone has seen an original uniform with them attached. They have three stars on the I and 10 around the face. They are struck very light and are almost worn off on the dug examples making them somewhat hard to see and count. There are also not commonly found. While reading Mike O'Donnell's book Gettysburg Battlefield Relics & Souvenirs I noticed that there was one such button attributed to a dead CS colonel's uniform. It raises the possibility in my mind that these buttons may have been intended for use by field officers.

[Dbackfed]

Re: Block I button with stars.

The Lazy Jacks mess had an article about Confederate buttons. I believe they were issued in late '64/early '65. Not sure if there are any coats with the buttons sewn on, but it seemed like it was just another button type to be issued to troops with no special intention for them.

[Dbackfed]

Re: Block I button with stars.

http://members.multimania.co.uk/lazyjacks/button.htm

[Jimmayo]

Re: Block I button with stars.

Lazy Jack has some great articles but as new information becomes available some information gets outdated. The dead Colonels coat with the block I with stars was dug up when the body was being moved at Gettysburg (1863). The fact that these buttons have been found in 64/65 locations and no where else lead to the conjecture that they were an 1864/65 issue. Now we have evidence of them being used at Gettysburg as early as mid 1863. Since the CS government had staff officer buttons it just seems worthy of a little research that they may have also designed a button for the line officers. Hence the original post. If you have factual information on the issue of these buttons as being just another generic block letter button please post it.

[Dbackfed]

Re: Block I button with stars.

Very interesting to hear that. Was it a two piece construction or solid cast?

[FloridaConscript]

Re: Block I button with stars.

Jim,
were buttons produced by the CS gov't or were they a contract item? Could it be a possibility that they were part of a small contract which is why they are somewhat rare?

[Jimmayo]

Re: Block I button with stars.

Jim,
were buttons produced by the CS gov't or were they a contract item? Could it be a possibility that they were part of a small contract which is why they are somewhat rare?

Hard to tell. Since one was found on a Colonels coat, it may have been the result of a contract let by a tailor in Richmond who made officers clothing. They have many features identical to the common block I with tin back. The I is the same style, the button is the same size and it has a tin back. The one feature that seems to be common to all the block I with stars that I have seen is the poor crimping of the face to the back. That may suggest they were all made by the same manufacture. It seems to have an 8 sided crimp and not a consistent crimp around the perimeter. If you look closely at the picture the poor crimp can be seen. Scuttlebutt on these buttons among relic hunters has always attributed them to EM Lewis of Richmond but there is no evidence that I am aware of to support this.

Tice conjectures that plain block I buttons were struck with a worn block I die with stars die. I don’t think so since the star I is more of a mid to late war found button and early war block I buttons exhibit no evidence of stars on the face.