Eagle Button from Rogers House site on Emmitsburg Rd., Gettysburg (SOLD,BH)

This is another great piece being offered, it is a Civil War Union Eagle coat button. On the reverse the shank is missing (why it was lost), and there is a faint backmark, but I cannot make it out. It was recovered between 1935 – 1959 by local Gettysburg resident John Cullison at the Rogers House site in Gettysburg. (I discuss John Cullison in my book “Battle of Gettysburg – The Relics, Artifacts & Souvenirs”).

The Rogers farm was just south of Gettysburg on the west side of Emmitsburg Road. The one-story log farmhouse was torn down in the 1880’s. It was replaced by a two-story frame building, which has since been removed (see pictures).

Peter Rogers, born in 1802, is said to have stayed in his house during the battle. His wife, Susan, born in 1797, took refuge east of the Round Tops. Susan’s 23-year-old granddaughter, Josephine Miller, stayed behind with Peter. She baked bread for the men and cared for the many wounded in the cellar. Like other farms on Emmitsburg Road, the house was struck by several shells, and dead soldiers covered the ground.

This button went from John Cullison’s collection to the Gettysburg Rosensteel collection (see pictures). The Rosensteel Collection is arguably the most famous collection of Gettysburg relics that has ever existed. John Rosensteel opened his Round Top Museum of Gettysburg artifacts in 1888. The collection, which grew in size as a variety of local collections, such as Cullison’s, was acquired and became the nucleus of the Electric Map Museum collection and ultimately the Gettysburg National Park Museum and Visitor Center collection.

A 1964 advertisement for the Gettysburg National Museum (Electric Map Museum) notes that the John Cullison collection was part of the museum holdings. This Gettysburg artifact not only has wonderful provenance, but it was also found at one of the most famous locations on the battlefield.

I had this button in my private collection for a while now, acquiring it when it first became deacessed from the NPS Museum. It is guarantee 100% as to its authenticity and provenance. Very few relics come from the Rogers House site. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.