This is my favorite. It doesn't look like much, but when you consider the conditions under which it was probably made, this small object takes on a whole new meaning.
I dug it from a Confederate camp many years ago. Though not supported by fact, its story is almost certain: Short of supplies and with no means of replacing even common everyday items, a Confederate soldier who lost one of the simple overcoat flower buttons that he and his comrades used in lieu of regulation state or government-issued CS buttons was forced to be resourceful. The soldier removed one of his remaining buttons and used it to make a mold. The only metal available to him was the lead in his bullets, so he melted a bullet or two and poured the molten metal into his mold. He was no artist, but the crude fastener, manufactured in the field, probably served its intended purpose. I suppose the soldier went on to fight the invaders from the northern states, ever devoted to his country and his state. I only wish I knew his name.
And that, my friend, is why this small, crude button is my favorite.
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