Corps badges are challenging for the collector and cloth corps badges can be especially treacherous. Here are two real ones you can sleep at night owning. Both are red stars of the First Division, 20^th Corps. One has a velvet ground and jaceron wire border sewn on a dark blue backing. This shows hand sewing of the border, but is professionally made. The red shows some wear from field use, and has a small metallic “3” mounted at center indicating membership in the 3d Brigade. The other is in mint condition, uses a wool felt cloth with bullion embroidered border on an open web backing. The latter is exactly the same as the corps badges on the tops of two identified officer’s caps from this unit, one illustrated in Langellier and Loane. These were formerly in the John Henry Kurtz collection and originally belonged to Horace Boughton of the 143^rd New York.

The badges come with two Scoville eagle-I infantry officer’s buttons and a wonderful, old ink family note reading in part, "These buttons and ensig- / nia are from the uniform / of Uncle Horace Boughton, who / was a brevet Major-General of / the staff of Gen. Winfield Scott / in the Civil War . . ." The note goes on to reference the “Boughton book,” likely a genealogy, and some small unrelated buttons that were in a box. We have not confirmed any service on Scott’s staff and his brevet was to brigadier rather than major-general, but such mistakes are typical of family histories. Boughton was born at Rush, Monroe County, NY in 1833, studied law in Rochester, and helped recruit a company at the outbreak of the war, enrolling at age 27 at Rochester on 4/25/61 and receiving a commission as 1^st Lieutenant of Co. D of the 13^th NY, giving him rank from 5/1/61. He was promoted Captain of Co. E and commissioned with rank from 1/9/62. He was discharged for promotion on 10/20/62 at Washington. During his time with the regiment they fought at First Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run, and in the Antietam campaign.

His promotion was to Lieutenant Colonel of the 143^rd NY, dating 10/20/62 with rank from the same date. He was promoted again and commissioned Colonel of the 143^rd on 5/9/63 with rank from 4/29/63, and later commissioned Brevet Brigadier General to date 3/13/65 “for gallant and meritorious services during the war” and was discharged 7/20/65. After the war he worked for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, where he died in 1891 and was buried at Arlington. The regiment’s first service was at Washington and in the Department of Virginia, seeing action at Suffolk. They joined the 11^th Corps 7/14/63 and went west as part of that organization, along with the 12^th Corps, in Fall 1863, seeing action at Wauhatchie and Chattanooga. The 11^th and 12^th Corps were consolidated as the 20^th Corps, retaining the 12^th Corps star badge as their new insignia, in Spring 1864, and the regiment was part of the 3^rd Brigade of the First Division from April 1864 to the end of June 1865, when it was part of the 22^nd Corps until muster out on July 20.

This gives a nice time frame for the badges that covers the regiment’s participation in the Atlanta Campaign, with fighting and losses at Resaca, Dallas, Ackworth, and Kennesaw, Sherman’s March to the Sea, the taking of Savannah, and the Campaign of the Carolinas, with service at Robertsville, Lawtonville, Averasboro, Bentonville, Goldsboro, Aiken’s Creek, and the Bennett House. The regiment lost 5 officers and 38 men killed or mortally wounded and another 136 wounded who recovered to some degree. Only 6 officers and men are listed as missing during its service.

We illustrate two photos of Boughton. One shows him in his brevet brigadier’s uniform. In the other he appears as Colonel seated in the front row, third from right, among officers of the 143^rd.  He has pushed his hat up a bit, showing no insignia, but the officer next to him wears a star badge on the side of his hat, the correct position for an officer, and Boughton may well be wearing one also, likely the one here showing use. The officer next to him also wears a small “143,” which appears on two officer’s kepis known to us, both identified to officers of the regiment and both bearing 20^th Corps badges identical to the one here with the embroidered bullion border. We show one of these caps, pictured in Loane and Langellier’s book on military headgear, a book you need to have if you like Civil War headgear. We note in the outdoor image the prominent inclusion of the division flag in the background, a real indication of unit pride.  [sr] [ph:L]

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