Federal Cavalry Officer’s Button deals - Fairfax Station, Virginia

A Federal cavalry officer's button with the “C” in the shield excavated from one of the many Federal 1862-63 winter camps in Stafford, Virginia located across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg. Only officer's buttons had the branch of service in the shield, enlisted buttons have a plain shield. The Federal “Army of the Potomac” under both Generals Burnside and Hooker camped there during the winter of 1862 - 63. It was from these camps that the army crossed the river in December during the Battle of Fredericksburg under Genera Burnside.

Terry Heilman was a long time relic hunter here in Stafford County, Virginia. Terry hunted many of the sites here in Stafford County and the Confederate 1862 Occoquan Defense Line in Prince William County. Like my father and I he cataloged all of his finds in groups or a lot of them with individual tags as to where it was recovered. He excavated ration cans, horse shoes and a lot of the tools that the soldiers would have used. A lot of the artifacts would have long since rusted away except for his care.

It comes as shown in a 4” x 5” riker style case. The button is a coat size measuring 3/4” the tag written by Terry. It has the site number and in some cases the back mark information.

The back marks (manufactures name) are very important in dating buttons. There are numerous reference books as to the dating of excavated buttons. Almost all Civil War buttons are what are called “two piece”, a front and a back. They were die stamped and put together as needed to fill orders. After the War, there wasn't a demand for most of the State Seal buttons, north or south. The backs were used up making other non military buttons. As the veteran groups started up years later there was again a demand for them. By then the back marks had changed. To give an example; deals a Texas Militia button with a Civil War back mark brings thousands of dollars. A Texas with the same face but “late” back mark is in the 20.00 range.

All of the artifacts are guaranteed to be original as stated. A hand signed and dated “Certificate of Authenticity” will be issued by Collectors Frame with a photograph and description of the items purchased. Please see our "About Collectors Frame”, below the reviews on the front page, for more information on the framing and artifacts.
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