BATTLEFIELD ACQUIRES SOLDIER DOG TAG

 

Private Samuel M. Weigel had already seen extensive combat by the time his veteran Union regiment reached the battlefield near Maryland's Monocacy River in July 1864.

Twenty-seven of his comrades in the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry had been killed at the Battle of the Wilderness near Fredericksburg, Va., that May, including five from his outfit, Company G.

Seven more from the regiment had been killed at the Battle of Cold Harbor outside Richmond in June.

He had no doubt seen the fate of friends who had fallen, with nothing to identify their bodies for return to their families. So on July 9, when he was seriously wounded at the Battle of Monocacy, near Frederick, Md., he was probably wearing a metal disk bearing his name, regiment and hometown.

This week, the National Park Service announced that the Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation has donated what appears to be the identification disk Weigel was probably wearing that day.

It is amazing that after 157 years, this ID disk is returning to the battlefield, Andrew Banasik, superintendent of Monocacy National Battlefield, said in a statement. This small piece of metal is a tangible reminder of the price paid by so many to save Washington.

Civil War ID badges that survive are rare, the Park Service said. There were no government-issued military dog tags during the war. And soldiers were terrified that if they were killed, in the chaos of battle their bodies would never be identified.

So a man might write his name on a piece of paper and pin it to his uniform before going into combat. He might stencil his name on his clothing. Or he might buy his own ID badge.

Jana Friesen McCabe, chief of resource education and visitor services at the battlefield, said that Weigel's disk was obtained for $1,700 from a reputable artifacts dealer on eBay and that the battlefield received it in October.

It is probably made of a copper alloy and was premade with one side blank, where the soldier's details could be stamped. That side bears Weigel's name, regiment, company and hometown, Bendersville, Pa.

The other side has a shield with a stars-and-stripes design and the phrase Against Rebellion 1861.

They were mass-manufactured in 1861, McCabe said. The ‘1861' isn't a reflection of when he purchased it. It's more the start of the war and the production of those disks.

Weigel's might have been purchased from one of the traveling vendors, or sutlers, who followed the armies. The vendor may have etched it for him, she said.

The battlefield has another ID badge that bears the name and details of another soldier from Company G — Sgt. Nicholas G. Wilson, who was also wounded in the battle. His badge is made of silver and in the shape of a shield.

To read the complete article, see:
Civil War battlefield museum gets rare Union soldier's ID tag (https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/12/17/civil-war-id-dog-tag/)

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