Mass. vol. militia button

[flatbutton]

Went on a scouting mission today. It was a bust! So I am throwing this one at you! I found this some years ago under A brick pile. Any one found one like it?

 

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[CASPER-2]

 

[HutSiteDigger]

What does the back-mark say on the back?

 

[flatbutton]

The back is not as clean as the front,still has traces of silver plating. I can clearly see a ring of dots around the shank,the word gilt at the bottom and what appears to be the letters t r e at the top, maybe treble? The words at the top and bottom are seperated by stars

 

[terpfan]

Wow, that one is in great shape. I found a Mass. militia button with a slight variation a few years ago in Maryland, but have not yet photographed it. Mine is in rough shape with no gilt left. It also doesn't have the letter "A".

 

[flatbutton]

The site I found it at, according to our local C.W. guru, was where Gen. Burnside landed his artillery for the battle of New Bern. I'm guessing the " A " stands for artillery.

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Not quite sure about this button.. I have several Massachusetts cw buttons and see them alll the time, but i have not seen one with the "A"...

With that back-mark Treble Gilt, it is possible this dates to the CW period!! but could also date post war to Spanish American war time frame... If you get a chance, can you post it in the "What Is It" section here on TN

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

According to the book "Uniform Buttons Of The United States 1776-1865" (by Warren K. Tice), your Massachusetts Artillery button dates from after 1865. The book says a December 1865 Regulation from the Massachusetts State Militia ordered that the branch-of-service letter (in your case, A for Artillery) be added to the Militia's uniform buttons. It was not present on the buttons prior to that Regulation.

Therefore, I think it's most likely that your postwar-timeperiod Massachusetts button was lost by a yankee soldier during the Reconstruction/Occupation era in North Carolina.

Your button's front is shown in the Tice book on page 324, and is listed as button MS300A2 with backmark saying Treble Gilt. In the Albert button-book, it is MS-38, but the Treble Gilt backmark is not listed.

 

[JRich98150]

Very nice find and a very good looking button Civil War or not. Get back and try to find some more!
JRich

 

[flatbutton]

Thanks for all the help guys. Yeah,the relic gods will even throw me a bone once in awhile! Thats what keeps you going!

 

[CRUSADER]

Pretty one!