In Kentucky, surplus military uniforms were sold in large numbers after the Civil War as part of a general downsizing of the Armory in Frankfort. I found a military button in a post-Civil War black neighborhood in Lexington that was not directly related to a soldier that I attributed to the availability of military uniforms on the secondhand market. 

URL for Kentucky's Frontier Highway, by Karl Raitz and Nancy O'Malley
http://kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=3070

Nancy O'Malley
Assistant Director
William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology
1020A Export Street
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40506
Ph. 859-257-1944
FAX: 859-323-1968
www.uky.edu/~omalley/




________________________________________
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Branstner, Mark C [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 9:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Military Button

Tim,

Here in Illinois, at least, the recovery of single Civi War-era military
buttons on farmsteads is pretty common -- to the point of nobody really
being surprised when it occurs.

More recently, here in central Illinois, we found half of a two-piece
Confederate brass belt buckle near a farmstead site ... That was
considered very unusual. Obviously, there would be any number of scenarios
to explain it, as we have a strong link to the Upland South in this part
of the state, particularly with Kentucky.

Generally though, if there is no direct link to a military veteran on a
given site, I can't imagine how you are going to tie down a good
explanation for such an occurrence.

Mark

___________________________________

Mark C. Branstner, RPA, AARP
Senior Historical Archaeologist

Illinois State Archaeological Survey
Prairie Research Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
209 Nuclear Physics Lab, MC-571
23 East Stadium Drive
Champaign, IL 61820

Phone: 217.244.0892
Fax: 217.244.7458
Cell: 217.549.6990
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On 9/6/13 8:12 AM, "Tim Bennett" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Does anyone have information on recovery of single (or small quantities)
>of military buttons at farmstead sites (especially in the Midwest US)?
>We recovered a mid 19th century officer's infantry button at the Warner
>site in Brighton, MI.  The back is stamped "Superior Quality".  The
>button was found below the existing clothesline and evidence suggests
>that a clothesline was located in the same area during earlier times.
>Over three hundred buttons have been recovered at Warner from the
>excavation of 4400 sq ft but only one attributed to military use.
>Extensive genealogical research suggests that none of the Warner's served
>in the military until WWI.  Other pioneer sites in MI have also yielded
>single military buttons (Cater in Midland Co, Waterous in Grand Blanc,
>Van Hoosen in Rochester).  The Edison house in Port Huron also yielded a
>quantity of military (around 21 I believe) but it was occupied by
>military personnel for a time.   I've found quite a bit of information on
>t
> he buttons from books by Warren Tice & Alphaeus Albert but what I am
>trying to figure out is why just a single military button is found at
>these sites, in some cases with no direct link between the occupants and
>military service.  Are they momentos, part of surplus clothing that was
>sold after the Civil War, clothing worn by itinerant laborers, etc?  Any
>ideas appreciated.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Tim Bennett
>Warner Site