I was just perusing Lord's Civil Wars Collector's Encyclopedia last night and
read some stuff about buttons.  You can probably expect them to show up in lots
of weird places were the soldier himself has never been!  A uniform button was
often given to one's sweetheart before the soldier left home for his unit.
Many women who came out in the general parade of sightseer's before the battle
in the early part of the war would ask soldiers for a button off of their
uniforms.  Women would even accost soldier's at train stations or taverns and
ask for one of their buttons.  Sometimes, sets of button would be made into ear
rings.  The book mentioned that one soldier left to join his unit with only one
button left on his coat before he even saw his first day away from his home
town.  These button mementos would often be kept for many years even after a
family moved several times.  The point is that just because you have a civil
war button, does not mean that an actual soldiers was ever at the site.  Dang,
things like this make historical archaeology fun!
Smoke Pfeiffer
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