I have been very fortunate in finding some elusive Confederate Military Uniform buttons since I started detecting in NC, and this one is no exception to rarity dug with the amazing GPX 5000, around 13 plus inches deep in heavy red clay! Forget about all the shiny gilt that dressed this button at one time, sadly it's long gone now. It has succumbed to the elements. Hard to see from the photos, but it is indeed listed as 13mm {Albert's SU 272} The design Features a "Don't mess with me" Hornets nest Cool with "NC" on sides on a lined field, and "MILITARY INSTITUTE" around the edge. Some Cadets manned an artillery piece in the Civil War's FIRST land battle at Big Bethel, Virginia in June 1861.
The North Carolina Military Institute was organized in the 1850s by a group of Charlotte businessmen led by Dr. Charles J. Fox. The cornerstone of the first building was laid in 1858. The building and educational programs it housed were patterned after those of the United States Military Academy at West Point.