🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Found this Button need help identifying it .. Was found in Columbus Ms

Acagedrebel

Jr. Member
Dec 19, 2019
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Columbus ,Ms
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Garrett AT Max ,Bounty Hunter
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I know enough to know it's a Federal/Union Riflemans button. The experts will be along to tell you more, and give you a approximate date on it, they'll be able to date it by the back of the button. But from my limited research it looks to date from the 1850s to possibly into the Civil War, IF I'm reading everything right. So a pretty cool button if you ask me.

Your back is marked along the top (Dot) SCOVILL MF'G CO (Dot) and along the bottom WATERBURY.

Cleaner example of what the front of yours would look like.

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Cleaner example of what the back of yours would look like.

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Upvote 5
A quick personal note.......I was stationed at Columbus AFB Aug 92 to Dec 92, following a 4 year tour in Germany. My shortest assignment ever, no sooner did we get settled into Base Housing, I was reassigned to Tyndall AFB on a Humanitarian Re-Assignment (My mom was terminal, and my dad had retired at Tyndall).

The area around Columbus was cool, lots of history. Sort of reminded me of stepping back in history.
 

Upvote 1
Retired Sarge is correct... your find is a US Army "Regiment of Riflemen" uniform button. The specific version you found was made in the 1850s -- not during the civil war. The only Regiment of Foot Riflemen was abolished in 1848. The only other Riflemen unit in the US Army, the Reg't of Mounted Riflemen, was absorbed into the Cavalry in 1861.

It might interest you to know that more eagle-R buttons have been dug in Confederate sites than yankee civil war sites.
 

Upvote 6
Retired Sarge is correct... your find is a US Army "Regiment of Riflemen" uniform button. The specific version you found was made in the 1850s -- not during the civil war. The only Regiment of Foot Riflemen was abolished in 1848. The only other Riflemen unit in the US Army, the Reg't of Mounted Riflemen, was absorbed into the Cavalry in 1861.

It might interest you to know that more eagle-R buttons have been dug in Confederate sites than yankee civil war sites.

CBG, do they give a reason or hypothesis as why they are found more often at Confederate sites versus Union sites?

Opinion wise I'd say either because the South used what ever they could get their hands on or because most of the members of the Rifleman groups were Southern boys to begin with.
 

Upvote 0
A quick personal note.......I was stationed at Columbus AFB Aug 92 to Dec 92, following a 4 year tour in Germany. My shortest assignment ever, no sooner did we get settled into Base Housing, I was reassigned to Tyndall AFB on a Humanitarian Re-Assignment (My mom was terminal, and my dad had retired at Tyndall).

The area around Columbus was cool, lots of history. Sort of reminded me of stepping back in history.
It’s a small world they say .. Yes Columbus definitely has a lot of deep southern history it’s a great place to live and visit … Thanks for the reply your most helpful ..
 

Upvote 1
Retired Sarge is correct... your find is a US Army "Regiment of Riflemen" uniform button. The specific version you found was made in the 1850s -- not during the civil war. The only Regiment of Foot Riflemen was abolished in 1848. The only other Riflemen unit in the US Army, the Reg't of Mounted Riflemen, was absorbed into the Cavalry in 1861.

It might interest you to know that more eagle-R buttons have been dug in Confederate sites than yankee civil war sites.
Do you know of any online sites that you could recommend that I could get a lil more history about the Regiment of Rifleman
 

Upvote 0
Take a look at this:
https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstr...ississippi provided a regiment of,22-23, 1847).


When the Mexican War was officially declared in May, 1846, President James K. Polk called up. a large force of volunteer infantry and cavalry for twelve months' service. Mississippi provided a regiment of infantry, riflemen, under the command of Jefferson Davis, to the service of the United States and it was active June, 1846, to June, 1847, performing notably in the battles of Monterrey (September 21-23, 1846) and Buena Vista (February 22-23, 1847). The narrative portion of this thesis covers the formation and activi¬ ties of the Mississippi Rifles, as well as some back¬ ground on the organization of governmental machinery to wage war against Mexico.
 

Upvote 2

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