Confederate Mississippi Infantry Coat Button, dug at Wilmington, NC

This is another nice piece being offered: it is a Confederate Mississippi Infantry coat button, 20.23mm. This example has a five-pointed star with an "I” in the middle surrounded by "MISSISSIPPI.” It was recovered at Wilmington, NC.

The Battle of Wilmington was fought February 11–22, 1865, during the final days of the Civil War. Most of the fighting was on the outskirts of the city between the opposing Union and Confederate Departments of North Carolina.

The Union victory in January in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher meant that Wilmington, 30 miles upriver, could no longer be used by the Confederacy as a port. It fell to Union troops after they overcame Confederate defenses along the Cape Fear River south of the city. Confederate General Braxton Bragg burned stores of tobacco and cotton, among other supplies and equipment, before leaving the city, to prevent the Union from seizing them.

These buttons were manufactured by Scovill for the Hyde & Goodrich company. This example has wear to the face but is legible. There are a few small pinholes on one side of the button near the edge. The shank is present but slightly bent. This rare Confederate button comes in the glass top display case pictured.