Ridgeway Civil War Research Center A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War
	Civil War Buttons
	by Harry Ridgeway

Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-000 New York button, Cornell University. New York school, Cornell University, Ithaca New York. School was founded 1865, opened 1868. Although all activities of this school post date the Civil War, some of the early buttons manufactured by Scovill utilized Civil War period backmarks, Scovill likely employed surplus stocks of backs left over from earlier production. Research Center: Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-000 . Reference: Albert SU068., Tice not listed. Details click: http://relicman.com/buttons/Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-000.html

Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-SU068-Scovill700 New York button, Cornell University. Backmark-Scovill700 New York school, Cornell University, Ithaca New York. School was founded 1865, opened 1868. Although all activities of this school post date the Civil War, some of the early buttons manufactured by Scovill utilized Civil War period backmarks, Scovill likely employed surplus stocks of backs left over from earlier production. Backmark: SCOVILL. / MFG. CO. dm no rings, made in small size only, these cuff or hat buttons were manufactured in the 1850s, rings or rmdc details used on the large size buttons were omitted as an abbreviation to fit the space, dots, spacing and punctuation may vary or be obliterated, Scovill apparently produced multiple copies of this die. Two part convex button, hat or sleeve size, 14mm to 16mm. Research Center: Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-SU068-Scovill700 . Reference: Albert SU068. Reference: Tice, Dating Buttons, page 65 et seq. Plate B-7, 8.

Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-SU068-Scovill831 New York button, Cornell University. Backmark-Scovill831 New York school, Cornell University, Ithaca New York. School was founded 1865, opened 1868. Although all activities of this school post date the Civil War, some of the early buttons manufactured by Scovill utilized Civil War period backmarks, Scovill likely employed surplus stocks of backs left over from earlier production. Backmark: SCOVILL MF'G CO. / (dot) WATERBURY. (dot) dm between rings of dots ca 1860s. The primary difference between the overcoat and coat version of this backmark seems to be spacing, both otherwise employ the same punctuation. This is a backmark commonly used by Scovill, no doubt they cut more than one die of this pattern. In addition, some buttons will appear to have a well or slight depression around the shank, others are flat. When the well is present, it can give the impression of a second inside ring. This is likely a variation caused during assembly. The depth and width of the dividing dots also seems to vary, the punctuation dots can seem to be commas or vice versa, this likely was caused by variations of the amount of wear on the die when it was used, debris, and pressure differences, but is not believed to be a difference in design. Two part convex button, coat size, 19mm to 21mm. Research Center: Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-SU068-Scovill831 . Reference: Albert SU068. Reference: Tice, Dating Buttons, page 65 et seq. Plate B-6, 19.

Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-SU068-WaterburyButtonCo314 New York button, Cornell University. Backmark-WaterburyButtonCo314 New York school, Cornell University, Ithaca New York. School was founded 1865, opened 1868. Although all activities of this school post date the Civil War, some of the early buttons manufactured by Scovill utilized Civil War period backmarks, Scovill likely employed surplus stocks of backs left over from earlier production. Backmark: WATERBURY BUTTON CO. / (dot) dm, letters without serifs, no rings, manufacture after the Civil War. Two part convex button, hat or sleeve size, 14mm to 16mm. Research Center: Button5717-NewYork-Cornell-SU068-WaterburyButtonCo314 . Reference: Albert SU068. Reference: Tice, Dating Buttons, page 82.

This is the "Ridgeway Civil War Research Center", a research tool for educational purposes only, and is provided at no cost to the reader. Some of the relics listed are retained in the author's collection, most reside in other collections and are not owned by the author. None of the items listed in this section are for sale, please refer to relicman.com sales listings for items offered for sale. This is a work in progress, I list items as I get to them, there are many patterns that are not listed yet, this list will be regularly updated as I get pictures and descriptions for more items. I will also correct mistakes, so if you see any please tell me. All items listed are believed to be authentic to the Civil War or as otherwise described. Any excavated relics have been recovered from private property with owners permission.This information is available for research purposes, pictures may be used by permission only.

Most information on this page is from:
Uniform Buttons of the United States 1776 - 1865, by Warren K.Tice.
Dating buttons; A Chronology of Button Types, Makers, Retailers & Their Backmarks, by Warren K. Tice.
Directory of American Military Goods Dealers & Makers, by Bruce S. Bazelon and William F. Guinn.
Record of American Uniform and Historical Buttons, Bicentennial Edition, by Alphaeus H. Albert.
Pictures are generally by the author, unless otherwise indicated.

Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War Buttons Research center, buttons, click: http://relicman.com/buttons/Button0000-Index.html. Research center, buttons, click: http://relicman.com/buttons/Button0000-Index.html.

Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War Button backmarks. Research center, button backmarks, click: http://relicman.com/buttons/Backmark-000.html. Research center, button backmarks, click: http://relicman.com/buttons/Backmark-000.html.

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