Page 49 - January1948

NATIONAL BUTTON BULLETIN 47

Years passed by and other. correspondents expressed their opinions. Two
doctors whiled away many hours in correspondence and conjecture, regard-
lng the purpose for which these buttons were created. From Dr. G. G.
Faught of Philadelphia to Dr. Theodore F. Wolfe (in 1901) we note the
followlng:-
". I still think however that lhere is a possibility of this button having
been military. X'irst, because in each inslance rvhere I have traced thi
orlgin of the button it has had a military connection.
"Second, lf there had been 'hurrah' enough in G. W.'s politlcal carnt)aign to
evolve a button of this liind, it would lrhve been of sr;fncient note-to-have
been chronicled by some of his biographers.
"Third, had lt been political in nature, its usage would have been so wide-
spread -and common as to have determined the existence at thls present
time of numeroua specimens und.er conditions that woulal altogethir dls-
assoclate it from any question of military origin.
"Fourth, had lt been political it E'ould undoubtedly have had such potency
as to have impressed itself upon the history of that time, and wei woulil
expect to flnd mention of it in s'riting such as Goldwin Smith's pontteal
Hlstory oI the Unlted Stetes, as against such a theory we find Smith writ-
ing-as follows became president by acilamation. At the enal
of his term of four ycars
-'-washington he with unfeignetl reluctance consented to re-
election. For eight year.s he wzrs in power. far more of a I(inE than the
Crowned King oi England; lte not only reigned but goYerned.- He even
kept something lil<e royal state, he rcrde in a coach and four, and at the
opening.of Congress in a coach and six. His birthday u'as kel)t like that
of a Knlght.'
"-W'hat more natural then, since the Constitution made him Commander-ln-
Chief of the Army than for that Army to cry.'Long Live The president,'as
the former mllitary had cried 'Long Live The l(ing."'
Dr. Faught continues in another letter dated May 1901, still discussiDg
the "Washington" buttons:-
". In evidence that it was a military emblenr and not a politic:rt alevice
we have the following circuntstantial ir-iderrce.
First, Mr. Barber of the Interior gave testirnony that the button in his
possession was found'over sixty years ng.o, in the ground of my grand-
father's ol.l homesteaal at Cambridge, Vermont.' I{e s.as a soldier rnost of
the time from Lexington to Yofl<town. 1'he button found on the hontestead
farm of an old Rcvolution{ry Sokller is nruch more likely to'be a military
emblem than a political device.
"Second, Mr. Bennett's testinlony that the button in his possession was
found on a farm within five miles of Fort Ticondeloga and seven miles from
Crown Point; both points ot which are of militarf interest.
"Third, the fact that my o\\'n button was iound in the debris of an old farnr
house near Valley tr'orge denotes military asDect.
"In every instance thus far where the finding of one of these buttons is
deflnitely Iocated, there is the immediate association of the pfes{,nce of the
Continental Army. In Mr. Barl)er's case, the relation is so clearly estab-
lished as to not admit oi the slightest doubt for the button was found on
the homestend farrn of a soldier of the Revolution.
"A few rveeks ago I published in the SIIN (N. Y.) a dralving of m1. button
and a staternen'c that it rras nsed on the uniform of Wtsliington.s Ilody-
Guard, and as ]'et the Statement has been Lrncontradicted."
Tlre Evening Bulletln of Philadelphia for "6/8/01" gives this additional
account under the slgnature of G. N. Cl.
". For the further inforrnation of your col.resDondent G. G. f|. (Dr.
Fa-u8;ht) and also for the benefit of ]'our other 1'eaders interested in the ouer'-
ies about the 'Washington Campaign Button,' I send you a full ancl iDore
satisfactory statement which vill throw additional light on the cluestion and
prove conclusively that it ts not one of W'ashington's so-called Body Guard
buttons, but really lYhat I stated it to be in my first communication, a
.Campalgn button.' It was not, ho\vever, used for ttre same purpose as are
our present campaign buttons, but was distributed and s'orn in commelno-
ration of our tirst President. f have seen a great many similar buttons, in
honor of Jackson, Ta1'lor, Clay, and others, includinB the up-to-date celluloid
affairs of our last Presidentlal campaign.
"The term 'Washington Guard' applied-to Washington's escort and guard by
your correspondent'G. G. F.'should be according to the historian Losslng,