US civil war badge ? help kindly requested..

[arrestanddevelopment]

..can anyone kindly help with this badge ..Think its similiar to "Hardy" badge ,can anyone identify it ?? or positvely date it ??

thanks

Steve

[dmiller8]

I'll take a "stab" at it. It looks like the cap device worn on the Model 1858 Soldier's full dress hat, developed by William J. Hardee

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardee_hat ). The hat pictured in the article is an enlisted version with a solid brass plate. It is often seen in cabinet portraits of Civil War soldiers ( http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/soldier-with-hardee-hat.html ). When Hardee, who was originally from Georgia, joined the Confederate Army, that side also used the Hardee hat for dress uniform occasions. The solar rays behind the eagle are pierced and appear to be made of white metal, so this may have been a privately purchased enlisted cap device, perhaps for a non-commissioned officer in a militia unit. Commissioned officer's cap badges were to be embroidered in bullion thread. Can it be dated? A similar badge was seen on the M1851 shako and this style of cap device would be obsolete by 1872. It appears well-maintained, solely as a dress uniform item. BTW, there are two images, but the one on the left appears to be the correct picture; the eagle faces to its own right.

[Doc]

dmiller, I think the right photo is the back side..... Doc

[dmiller8]

dmiller, I think the right photo is the back side..... Doc

Like a hollow stamping? Yes....I can see how the stars and solar rays have the appearance of being the back of the device. It must have been sewn like a button to the headgear; I see no trace of the prongs that would have been used to fasten it to the felt of the hat.