If I'm right most if not all Arkansas state seal buttons were pre-war and of high quality, not like the war time contracted buttons. The state seal was changed in 1864 and all buttons with this seal change are considered post war. When found about 1980 this button still had alot of the gold gilt present. When it came out of the ground the face and back of the button came apart. The finder of the button spent about two hundred dollars having it professionally restored. At this cost in 1980 this tells you how rare this button was and is today. Like you said this was a major route during the war. I feel it was lost near the ferry early in the war by some Arkansas troops passing through the area (probably by a milita officer turned confederate officer) before the August 3, 1862 fight.