COA 54th volenteer Regiment Massachusetts F.F. Potter silver civil war

[Smilodon]

Wow, I thought I have seen everything until this popped out. We had a couple and found more buttons and civil war items, then at first we though it was Spanish silver until we were able to clean and put our glasses on. I wish it was me finding this item but I am so happy for my friend. I was happy to just be there when it was found.
As always any input you can add to this would be greatly appreciated. It is the size of a quarter and I wonder where and how it was attached.​

 

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[Joe-Dirt]

Wow!! Many members of the 54th are buried near my house, I’ll check to see if he’s there

 

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[lenmac65]

Spanish silver is high on my bucket list, but this item is even more exciting and interesting. Congrats on a truly special find.

 

[JBnNC]

Great find!!

 

[jewelerguy]

because of the history and reputation of the 54th that is likely a pretty valuable piece in the event you ever wish to sell it or insure it

 

[Goldiver]

Wow VERY cool find!

Steve

 

[Silvermonkey]

Holy Cow. That is a very special piece of history.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Wow ... what a truly amazing find - we salute you !

 

[TripletDad]

Isn't the Movie "Glory" with Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington based on the 54th Mass.?

 

[Relicific]

Awesome find

 

[Jose The Goon]

Here's a few links to check out. Seems your friend's find is a silver ID pin. Seeing that you hail from Charleston, & from info posted by
others here that Potter was wounded @ Fort Wagner, it makes sense the pin was found in your area. Whether he lost it and was the last person to touch it, or someone else found it & re-lost it, is anyone's guess. A great find nonetheless. There are many different varieties of Civil War era ID pins, but these links have similar ones:
https://captureoftime.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/cpl-john-yoders-9th-corps-badge-50th-pa-co-e/
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/superb-named-civil-war-9th-corps-1890436334
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/53691420531231743/
https://www.flyingtigerantiques.com/civil-war-us-army-9th-corps-badge-in-silver.html
https://www.cowanauctions.com/lot/silver-id-pin-edgar-h-sampson-1st-us-regular-cavalry-3899509

And yes "TripletDad", Oscar winner "Glory" was about the 54th. From what I remember, the producer of the movie saw the bronze sculpture
by Augustus St. Gaudens (designer of the famous $20 gold piece) on The Boston Common, researched the stories @ Harvard, & figured it would make a good movie. From what I understand, the movie was very factual and uniforms used were perfect replicas of the originals. Buttons,
insignias etc. were precise. Unfortunately, just a few weeks ago, some asswipes claiming to be protesting something, defaced that beautiful
bronze that is focused on when they roll the credits at the end of the movie. Sad state of affairs we now find ourselves in. It's great that a piece
of history from those times was salvaged by "Smilodon" & his friend. Cheers. J.T.G.

 

[Smilodon]

Wow, thanks for all the information and responses. I did watch Glory again, great movie. I also contacted received a response from the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Company A, here is their response.

Hi Stephen

"The Potter family has many members who participated in the civil war. We don't have much info
about the badge until we see it , but we have located one of his descendants who may be able to share
more info about it. "

Since then we have made the badge available to them and are awaiting their response. Lets hope that this piece can make it back into his family hands. I will keep you updated.
Sadly I did hear something about the riots and the monument dedicated to them. It is unfortunate that no historians are in the mob, its up to us to save history one piece at a time.

 

[Terry Soloman]

BANNER!!!

 

[Megalodon]

Wow, thanks for all the information and responses. I did watch Glory again, great movie. I also contacted received a response from the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Company A, here is their response.

Hi Stephen

"The Potter family has many members who participated in the civil war. We don't have much info
about the badge until we see it , but we have located one of his descendants who may be able to share
more info about it. "

Since then we have made the badge available to them and are awaiting their response. Lets hope that this piece can make it back into his family hands. I will keep you updated.
Sadly I did hear something about the riots and the monument dedicated to them. It is unfortunate that no historians are in the mob, its up to us to save history one piece at a time.

It is extraordinarily generous of you to arrange to get "this piece back into his family hands". I have no doubt that it is a valuable item and hope that they recognize it as such. Despite some softening up with artillery, the assaults on Ft. Wagner were essentially suicide missions for the 54th. I suspect the soldiers had some form of identification improvised and attached, such as pieces of paper with their names, to their uniform. This ID pin could have served to identify Potter had he fallen and possibly to notify his family. Thank you for sharing this with us.

And yes, the movie Glory was good with many accurate touches. The dispute about lower pay for black soldiers was based on historical events.

 

[cheffer]

That badge is unbelievable, a historic find for your friend. That would be up on the banner today!

 

[Smilodon]

Updated today from Massachusetts 54th Regiment Company A, here is the response:

Hi Stephen
Thank you for the picture of the medal. We located Franklin Potter as member of the 54th.
All members of the 54th were given a medal at discharge, although not many have been
located and no standard has been identified. Can you please give us some background
on where or how you located this item.


Thanks
Ray