Can anyone help me ID this eagle button?

[grasshopper]

I haven't had luck finding an exact match. It's a two-piece button, I'm guessing artillery? There is no backmark, just the stars.

I was assuming civil war era, but like I said, could not find an exact match.

Thanks!

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Looks like you are correct on all counts. Nice find.

US Artillery Button | Union Drummer Boy

 

[callicles]

Nice find! I recently posted an ACW button on this forum, entitled "Should Be An Easy One," wherein TheCannonBallGuy describes buttons like the one you have as a lower-level officer's button because of the lettering.

 

[nhbenz]

Im not certain, but even lacking a specific name in the backmark it is a raised mark in a depressed channel (RMDC) which I think would be civil war or a bit earlier. As I said, I'm not certain -- I'm hoping that someone more knowledgable than me will answer as to wether this is always true?

 

[stillwater]

Regardless the specifics, that's a very nice eagle artillery button with great gilding left! Nice walking.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Actually, that particular version of eagle-A button is from a lot earlier than the civil war. It's peculiar version of spread-winged eagle, having a skinny neck, long skinny wings, and featherless skinny "shins" above the talons, is one of the 1830s/1840s versions of eagle-button eagle. In general, 1850s and civil war ones had a thicker neck and wings, and feathered fatter shins.

Callicles, I must clarify what I said about eagle-letter buttons being for low-level officers. Before the 1854 advent of the "un-lettered shield" eagle button, just for Enlisted-men's ranks (non-officers), all US Army ranks wore a lettered shield button, except for the Engineer Corps, which had its own distinctive emblem on its buttons.

Grasshopper, congratulations, it's cool to find a version of eagle-A button, especially a 2-piece one, which is not shown in the Albert button-book. ("Record Of American Uniform And Historical Buttons / With Supplement" by Alphaeus H. Albert.) Your button might be shown in the Tice button-book, but the time as I type this is 1:15AM EDST, so checking my Tice book will have to wait until the weekend.

 

[grasshopper]

Actually, that particular version of eagle-A button is from a lot earlier than the civil war. It's peculiar version of spread-winged eagle, having a skinny neck, long skinny wings, and featherless skinny "shins" above the talons, is one of the 1830s/1840s versions of eagle-button eagle. In general, 1850s and civil war ones had a thicker neck and wings, and feathered fatter shins.

Callicles, I must clarify what I said about eagle-letter buttons being for low-level officers. Before the 1854 advent of the "un-lettered shield" eagle button, just for Enlisted-men's ranks (non-officers), all US Army ranks wore a lettered shield button, except for the Engineer Corps, which had its own distinctive emblem on its buttons.

Grasshopper, congratulations, it's cool to find a version of eagle-A button, especially a 2-piece one, which is not shown in the Albert button-book. ("Record Of American Uniform And Historical Buttons / With Supplement" by Alphaeus H. Albert.) Your button might be shown in the Tice button-book, but the time as I type this is 1:15AM EDST, so checking my Tice book will have to wait until the weekend.

Thanks for the info!! I knew it looked a bit different than normal CW eagle buttons... I found it at a 1790s site about 300 feet from the foundation. It was right in front of the currently occupied house, circa 1980 .

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Sigh. I made a 1AM (very late night) thinking error in my previous post. I meant to say, prior to 1854 all US Army ranks wore eagle-letter buttons, EXCEPT for Colonels and Generals, who wore Staff Officer buttons after that type began being issued in the 1830s. NOT "all ranks" as my previous post mistakenly said.