An unusual grouping featuring a Confederate Naval button accompanied by a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) button and a note of provenance. All together in a 5 x 3 15/16 in. frame, the items include: 

1. Confederate States Navy 2-piece brass button. Albert 53, 54, 56. Diam. 23 mm. 

2. Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) monogram 2-piece brass button. Albert VN 3. Diam. 24 mm. 

3. Printed document signed by Mrs. Saunders. Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Virginia, n.d. 1 page.

In full: "This is to Certify that the C. S. N., Buttons which you were given to Mrs. Geo Minnis by Lieutenant Garnley C. S. Navy, and given to me by Mrs. Geo. Minnis. 

While Confederate naval records are scarce, an early dealer's listing to the verso avers that Lieutenant Granby served aboard the ironclad warship, CSS Virginia. Originally a Federal steam frigate sailing as the USS Merrimack, she was deliberately sunk and burned by the Union as it withdrew from Gosport Navy Yard in Virginia following the state's secession. 

Confederate naval engineers salvaged and reconstructed the hull of the USS Merrimack and fortified its top with thick iron armor backed by 24 inches of wood. Renamed the CSS Virginia, she played a significant role in the Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 8 March 1862. There, the vessel battled the USS Monitor — the first combat between ironclad warships. The engagement was a long and intense battle with no decisive winner. Eventually, to prevent capture, the CSS Virginia was deliberately sunk off Craney Island on 11 May 1862. 

"Washington's Headquarters" refers to a building in Richmond also known as the "Old Stone House," which is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in the city. A reporter in 1896 noted a local legend that George Washington used it as a headquarters in the Revolutionary War, though Washington was never in Richmond during the Revolution. A report in the Richmond Dispatch indicates that there was some sort of private museum operating there at the time: "I found an occupant in charge of a collection of bric-a-brac and curios."

The collection presents a tantalizing opportunity to Confederate naval researchers and collectors. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Relics, Militaria, Accouterment, Equipment, Uniforms] [Broadsides, Ephemera, Printing, Posters, Handbills, Documents, Newspapers] [Navy, Naval History, Brown Water Navy, David Glasgow Farragut, David Dixon Porter, Battle of Mobile Bay, Battle of New Orleans, Blockade, Confederate Blockade]