Show find british army buttons revolutionary camps around new york are still yielding up relics of conflict new york many british army buttons of the war ot of independence which are on exhibition in our museums were dug up in sections in and near new york where the british had their encampments encamp ments these hale mementos ot of the various corps of the he british army are remark remarkably remar kalila abla for nr the variety of types which they display and for their perfection of workmanship alp for 40 years william L chiver of the field exploration committee of the new york historical society lias has been bringing them to light and collecting them the british late eighteenth century military butt buttons says mr lit calvet calver in the quarterly bulletin of the society are distinguishable by the numeral they bear or by the initial letters etters i of the corps as described below nu mercal titles were bestowed be on the regiments of the british army in 1751 previous to that time they had bad been named for their colonels and it was decreed in VOUT that the number of ench bertch regiment be placed upon the buttons of its uniforms at the time when the first numbered button was issued september 21 1707 1767 jt it was stated that the number be of each regiment was to be placed on the buttons of the uniforms of the off officers leers and men of the british army the royal warrant of december 19 as it pertained to the cavalry reads a as s follows the number of each regiment to be on the buttons of f the uniforms of the officers and men except the regiments of dragoon guards the initial letter of the title of those corps to be on the buttons for the infantry the warrant directs the number of each regiment to be on the buttons of the officers and men copied the french we cannot say positively that the uniform buttons of the british soldiery were first numbered in 1768 there aro are evidences that numerical designations were placed upon the buttons of some regiments earlier eailler than the date mentioned above we may presume that in this detail the british followed closely after the french who prescribed numbered buttons for the troops of the line december 11 17 1702 62 we must confess that we find no specimens whatever of numbered or inscribed bed buttons of practically every regiment of the british army present on these chores during the war there can be no doubt that the british regulations as they pertained to the buttons were strictly observed and the practice was promptly adopted by the americans at the beginning of hostilities tili till ties the results of the order were far reaching the numbered buttons identified alive or adelad the officers or men who wore them rendered desertion or any dereliction of duty more difficult and to a considerable degree made i esprit du corps the units of the army came hither then marked for identification and the buttons which we find today represent the first inscribed types worn by old regiments from the camps and barrack sites or haply from scenes of conflict or from an occasional grave we gather the little metallic discs whose numerals constitute a roll of tile british regiments reg imenes in america some few regiments as will be seen been had their numbers expressed upon their buttons on a plain surface or field some buttons had a plain field with a cord or milled border while others again bear profuse decorations fashioning of the buttons the officers buttons have as a rule thin rep ousse silver or irila faces and bone backs the space between the face and the corie cone like hack back was filled with nith a 0 paste or cern cement erit but before the button was wag assembled a stout cord or bit of gut was passed through tour four holes in the back and knotted on tile lie inside of the button and by means of I 1 ibe be loops thus thu a forcad the buttons were ere sev sewn n to the uniforms tile the privates buttons were universally of white metal or pewter and had bad as a 0 rule iron wire shanks which were cost cast into a boss on the backs of the buttons in addition to the buttons referred to as of officer or private we have to inure figure a type distinct from either of these the variety in question Is very rare in fact no two of a regiment have been recovered they beve white metal convex faces and tinned iron backs with iron wire shanks the ape specimens celmens so far recovered are of the seventeenth thirty third thirty sev ser anth and fifty seventh regiments it Is surmised that these were worn wom by some particular officer of the regiment who had a special button of his own regardless of what was worn by the other off officers leers or the men it was the guess of the late S SI milne that these hollow buttons were worn by the qua quartermaster sergeants of the regiments the very remarkable thing about the collection herein figured Is that it was garnered almost entirely from sites within the limits of greater new kew york and that to this day such sites have escaped the hand of lim improvement pro and remain in an almost primitive condition furthermore it has been the button hunters good fortune that invariably the sites have been a no mans land where the explorers p borers could work undisturbed by owner or overseer |