In 1817, after 42 years of confusion over enlisted men's attire, the War Department finally dared to enforce a uniform regulation for its rag-clad naval force, demanding that enlisted men wear 'blue jackets and trousers, red vest with yellow buttons and a black hat.' The War Department neglected to mention shoes, and a largely barefoot and blister-filled enlisted force patrolled the world's oceans until the grandfather of crackerjacks was name the official uniform in 1864. And after the button, what goes next? Just look back at what happened before the button to see what an instrumental affect it's had on U.S. Yes, Navy buttons have held the fleet together for nearly two centuries, while promoting jobs and the economy. and not to mention Aunt Ruth's button box that's already overflowing with these outdated closure devices. Think of what this could do to the American button industry, not to mention those associated with the button - button-holers, button artists, button tailors, etc. If the zipper lobby in Washington is successful, it will strip thousands of seamen and petty officers of one of the most priceless articles of Navy lore. Gad! Why all this brouhaha over a button? To a 'landlubber' this may appear trivial, but these 'salts' depend on this opaque fastener to display a uniform that today contains countless symbols of tradition and American naval history. That small, black, anchor-imprinted jewel which, along with 12 of its cousins, comprise the only means used to anchor the lower half of the world's most widely-recognized uniform, the 'crackerjacks.' This shortage can only mean on thing, according to rumor control - there is a move afoot to install zippers. Not just any button, mind you - the Navy button. These men in blue vocalize distress over the button shortage. This is a fearful removal of the one thing that supports these seamen and petty officers in their daily mission as members of the world's finest Navy.

These guardians of the seas feel threatened by a rumored change in Navy policy - a change that would strike them 'below the belt.' It's a change of enormous consequence to these members of a Navy associated with hundreds of years of tradition, symbolism and legend. It's not concern for their pay they voice, nor complaints of the demanding work load they endure. On the Button: The Crackerjacks' History Isn't Just a Sea StoryĬoncern has echoed throughout the male ranks of the fleet.

Navy button civil war