Civil War Period Button Need help to find it's origins

[smokeythecat]

This is a cadet sized 20 mm button. It has the Scovill's backmark which was used in the 1850's. Conventional wisdom, and the books list it is Episcopal College. The motto in the scroll is "Festina Lente", which in Latin is "Make Haste Slowly".

The crossbar of the sword, if you look carefully is the horizontal part of a Maltese cross.

Now, there were numerous Episcopal colleges in the US in 1861. Somone posted a dug one here on Tnet over a decade ago, I have seen at least one more non dug example for sale within the last year. This one is the button Harry Ridgeway had on his website until I grabbed it.

Has anyone seen this button in real life, dug one, etc? And has anyone looked to see which school it was associated with.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[creskol]

Can you show the backmark please.

 

[smokeythecat]

You mean after I put the camera away to get a better editing program? Will try uploading the program first...so I can get a better pic.

 

[smokeythecat]

I'll buy the program, right now it has a watermark on it.

 

[smokeythecat]

Any ideas?

 

[creskol]

According to the book I use, the backmark is 1860 and later.

Adding a little more: In checking my notes, somewhere along the line that button was attributed to the Elm City Military Institute of Connecticut.

 

[creskol]

post removed by me

 

[smokeythecat]

I can't find much of anything on that school. Button is 1850's vintage.

 

[nhbenz]

There’s a dug one in this old thread; http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/96519-need-help-buttons-again.html

 

[creskol]

post removed by me

 

[smokeythecat]

Conventional wisdom has it id’dto the Episcopal College on the same property as the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, virginia.

 

[creskol]

Conventional wisdom has it id’dto the Episcopal College on the same property as the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Zvirginia.

Okay

 

[smokeythecat]

Creskol, thanks for the reply. I'll look into it. Do you have a reference for the school?

Nhbenz, I did see that one plus there are least two die varieties.

 

[smokeythecat]

This is a cadet sized 20 mm button. It has the Scovill's backmark which was used in the 1850's to 1860's. Conventional wisdom, and the books list it is Episcopal College. The motto in the scroll is "Festina Lente", which in Latin is "Make Haste Slowly". Harry Ridgeway, Tice and Alberts list it as the same. BUT, I have found no firm evidence for this or any other school.

The crossbar of the sword, if you look carefully is the horizontal part of a Maltese cross.

Now, there were numerous Episcopal colleges in the US in 1861. Someone posted a dug one here on Tnet over a decade ago, I have seen at least one more non dug example for sale within the last year. This one is the button Harry Ridgeway had on his website until I grabbed it.

Has anyone seen this button in real life, dug one, etc? And has anyone looked to see which school it was associated with. Just a name is not sufficient. I am aware one was found in Michigan and is posted here from years ago. There are two die varieties of them on non dug buttons. I own one of them.

Creskol thank you for your help but there is nothing to tie the school to the button that I could find. Now the Michigan found button may be tied to an Episcopal school that was near Racine. It was tight with the University of the South, another Episcopal school which provided numerous soldiers for the Confederacy.

Now one school well known for its buttons is the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. Their college was on the same property. I will be calling their historian very soon and go visit that school.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[creskol]

This is a cadet sized 20 mm button. It has the Scovill's backmark which was used in the 1850's to 1860's. Conventional wisdom, and the books list it is Episcopal College. The motto in the scroll is "Festina Lente", which in Latin is "Make Haste Slowly". Harry Ridgeway, Tice and Alberts list it as the same. BUT, I have found no firm evidence for this or any other school.

The crossbar of the sword, if you look carefully is the horizontal part of a Maltese cross.

Now, there were numerous Episcopal colleges in the US in 1861. Someone posted a dug one here on Tnet over a decade ago, I have seen at least one more non dug example for sale within the last year. This one is the button Harry Ridgeway had on his website until I grabbed it.

Has anyone seen this button in real life, dug one, etc? And has anyone looked to see which school it was associated with. Just a name is not sufficient. I am aware one was found in Michigan and is posted here from years ago. There are two die varieties of them on non dug buttons. I own one of them.

Creskol thank you for your help but there is nothing to tie the school to the button that I could find. Now the Michigan found button may be tied to an Episcopal school that was near Racine. It was tight with the University of the South, another Episcopal school which provided numerous soldiers for the Confederacy.

Now one school well known for its buttons is the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. Their college was on the same property. I will be calling their historian very soon and go visit that school.

Any help is appreciated.

There is nothing that definitively ties that button to anything.. Just listed as EC in Albert's book.

 

[smokeythecat]

Thanks Creskol. I appreciate your input. I am working on provenance for several different buttons I have, and I found one to an obscure school in Tennessee, but am just getting started on this one. I even talked to William Leigh who is on top of his game for CW buttons, and he wasn't sure.

I used to do professional research, so it may take awhile, or I may never be able to get a firmer ID. And research does take awhile.

Here was the original listing from Harry Ridgeway's site. This is the button I now have. Who knows, with more electronic resources than when Albert wrote his book, I may get lucky.

 

[creskol]

I don't know where the Episcopal College attribute came from ... Be hard to assign a positive ID on an unidentified school with an unknown location.

 

[smokeythecat]

You got that right! Apparently the Scovills records are gone. I'd have to match the motto, design or such to some school's records or a county history.

 

[creskol]

You got that right! Apparently the Scovills records are gone. I'd have to match the motto, design or such to some school's records or a county history.

Not sure that motto is unique to a school:

 

[smokeythecat]

You are correct that motto was extensively used. This is going to be quite a quest!