Pre-War Miltia Buttons

[Jeff_Hiseley]

I had a question concerning the "Militia" style eagle button with the I (or A or C or D) in the shield. Was this the 1851 U.S. Regulation button? Was this used on Pre-war militia uniforms? The reason I am asking is that I am copying an early war jacket from the Trans-MS, that was privately made. You can't see the buttons very well, but from what I've compared them to, the miltia eagle I button is what it appears to be, and I was was wondering if indeed that could be possible. Thanks, -Jeff Hiseley

[tmdreb]

Re: Pre-War Miltia Buttons

Which jacket? I've seen a bunch of the few remaining TM jackets, and maybe I can help out. I know it's late war, but those buttons are all over Red River Campaign sites.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Pre-War Miltia Buttons

Which side?

[ewtaylor]

Re: Pre-War Miltia Buttons

I had a question concerning the "Militia" style eagle button with the I (or A or C or D) in the shield. Was this the 1851 U.S. Regulation button? Was this used on Pre-war militia uniforms? The reason I am asking is that I am copying an early war jacket from the Trans-MS, that was privately made. You can't see the buttons very well, but from what I've compared them to, the miltia eagle I button is what it appears to be, and I was was wondering if indeed that could be possible. Thanks, -Jeff Hiseley

Jeff,
Yes, the 1821-1854 regulation button for enlisted men was the eagle button with branch of service in the shield. In 1854 the enlisted man's button was changed to the plain eagle button. Officer's used the eagle button with branch of service til 1902. Could it possibly be a state issue button?
ewtaylor
bluegrass rifles

[JimKindred]

Re: Pre-War Miltia Buttons

We can "suppose" all day long and never have the answer on the question of how this button came to be on this particular jacket. The I shield button started as a Regular Army button and why it is being called a militia button here I do not know, as it was not designed specifically as a militia button.

The fact is that style button was used by the US Army for many years prior to the war just as various cartridge box models were that found their way into Confederate service. I have seen the I shield button on many Confederate uniforms over the years, from early war to mid war to late war. This was the primary reason I had reproductions of this style made with the idea for use on Confederate uniforms rather than US. Relatively speaking, I consider it a very common button on CS clothing that unfortunately has been over looked by CS reenactors.

Let’s not forget that above style the main reason the button was used on these jackets was to keep the darn thing buttoned. As long as it did that job the original owner of the jacket was happy.

[Jeff_Hiseley]

Re: Pre-War Miltia Buttons

Robert Johnson- Confederate.
Phil Graf- It's in an ambrotype that surfaced in the Texarkana area in 1993 with a strong Trans-MS provenance.
Jim Kindred- That's just what I read that they were.

Thanks guys. -Jeff Hiseley

[Minieball577]

Re: Pre-War Miltia Buttons

We can "suppose" all day long and never have the answer on the question of how this button came to be on this particular jacket. The I shield button started as a Regular Army button and why it is being called a militia button here I do not know, as it was not designed specifically as a militia button.

The fact is that style button was used by the US Army for many years prior to the war just as various cartridge box models were that found their way into Confederate service. I have seen the I shield button on many Confederate uniforms over the years, from early war to mid war to late war. This was the primary reason I had reproductions of this style made with the idea for use on Confederate uniforms rather than US. Relatively speaking, I consider it a very common button on CS clothing that unfortunately has been over looked by CS reenactors.

Let’s not forget that above style the main reason the button was used on these jackets was to keep the darn thing buttoned. As long as it did that job the original owner of the jacket was happy.

I have read, and I am sorry but I forgot the source material, that many, many "Eagle with branch of service", particularly the "Eagle with I" infantry buttons were found in relic form excavated from cites within the boundaries of Richmond VA. The number was high enough that it gave me the impression that they may have been added to Richmond Depot clothing "as issued". I sure wish I knew where I read that.

This is one of the reasons I find it so irritating that many "reenactors" say this button was "an officer's button" when in fact it was apparently used fairly widely. Just because the 1861 US Regulations said it was an officer's button does not mean it was used exclusively as a union officer's button.
Now, refering to something that was US regulation as a "militia" button is odd. I sometimes think that anything that was a bit different than the percieved "norm" is labelled as a "militia" item.