🥇 BANNER Civil War ID tag!!!

Marc in VA · Aug 21, 2016

Was digging out a hut yesterday and finding eagle buttons and 44 caliber pistol bullets and roundballs and of course the usual hundred nails. Nothing special. In fact I was getting discouraged since I wasn't finding any bottles. That discouragement changed really fast when my last good target of the day turned out to be my first readable ID tag. Front reads War Of 1861. Back reads Ira C. Evans. Co. C. 12th Reg. Concord. He mustered into the New Hampshire Infantry in Concord in 1862 as a private/musician and mustered out at the end of the war as Chief Musician. He fought in Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Williamsburg, Petersburg and Richmond. He died at Concord in 1902. The 12th New Hampshire was very decorated. They were known as the Mountaineers. They lost the 5th most soldiers of any unit during the war. So happy to have found and saved this piece of history.

relic lover · Aug 21, 2016

jeff of pa said:
yes the problem is how do you read minds before letting them know you have it.
they may insist it belongs to them, thinking it's worth a mint.
then trash it when they get disappointed that the value is historical.

yes, it would definitely depend on the family.

One way to find out would be to see if they have a family tree with him in it on Ancestry. My wife got me ancestry for our anniversary and I tore through it like a rabid honey badger looking for any Civil War connections. I was not disappointed I am descended from a true hero. But anyway you can tell from the amount of information that a person has dug up whether or not they are interested in that kind of History.

relic lover · Aug 21, 2016

Congratulations what an incredible discovery. Thank God it was readable that makes it so much better.

CRUSADER · Aug 22, 2016

jeff of pa said:
yes I made the assumption going by what the Majority would say to look Good Here

Sorry ! I try my Best to be Honest.

I'm not saying Your Not, I'm just saying I don't believe the Majority of those who Claim
they would, Really Would

Back at the turn of The century I returned several rings, & the ones returned to relatives , didn't even get a verbal thank you . the one I sent out,
I would have never even known they got it, if I hadn't requested Confirmation
from the post office. it even took them several days to sign for it.
My guess they hocked them.

The supposed Relatives answered ads in the Paper, where I listed rings & initials .
and if They called & said it was a relatives, I made arrangements to meet Or send.

one ring had 2 relatives call for. The first one Got it.
were they really Relatives ? I don't know.

Being extra Honest just seemed dumb after awhile.

would I do it all Over ?
Probably. was good P.R. ... But Maybe Not LOL

anyway Off Topic I guess
is a Great Banner Find ,
Not found every other Month

Yes, its not about claiming, it's about doing. Notice, I didn't ask the OP to 'do it'. That's his choice. Just stating what I would do, not might do. It may hurt a little (like giving any of my finds to the owners), but I would get far more satisfaction from returning it (or a least trying my best to, sometimes I've had to give up with no further leads) than I would from keeping it.

vince76 · Aug 22, 2016

Special find, congrts man.

ansehnlich1 · Aug 22, 2016

Being born and raised in Gettysburg, that right there is simply an awesome find. AWESOME!

fever87 · Aug 22, 2016

Awesome find Marc! You never cease to amaze me with your finds. Your diligence pays off yet again.

Steve in PA · Aug 22, 2016

Great find Marc! Congrats on the Banner.

Calabash Digger · Aug 22, 2016

very very nice! congrats

Marc in VA · Aug 22, 2016

Steve in PA said:
Great find Marc! Congrats on the Banner.

Hey Steve he might be a distant relative of yours! :occasion14:

jeff of pa · Aug 22, 2016

CRUSADER said:
Yes, its not about claiming, it's about doing. Notice, I didn't ask the OP to 'do it'. That's his choice. Just stating what I would do, not might do. It may hurt a little (like giving any of my finds to the owners), but I would get far more satisfaction from returning it (or a least trying my best to, sometimes I've had to give up with no further leads) than I would from keeping it.

returning to "owners" Yes ! there in lies the rub :laughing7:

OutdoorAdv · Aug 22, 2016

This is the sort of find that truly makes history come alive. :headbang:

Putting a face and a story with an artifact is the best of the best as far as I am concerned. Seeing Ira's photo allows me to imagine that ID tag hanging around a younger, 21 year old Ira, when he enlisted. I suppose depending on what camp you found that in, perhaps you can pinpoint the time of his service it was lost... Which would tell you which probable battles that tag was hanging around his neck for. That historically blows away any of my finds to date. Huge congratulations Marc. It doesn't get much better than this.

diggervet · Aug 22, 2016

fantastic find! I hope to be so fortunate someday!

Lord Verdigris · Aug 22, 2016

That is awesome. Congrats! [emoji106]

Tommy G · Aug 22, 2016

No doubt one of the best finds I've ever seen! Congrats on the find, and the banner! Well deserved.

Davers · Aug 22, 2016

CRUSADER said:
Agreed.

Jeff of PA, you have almost made an assumption.

Me I would do the opposite. Even if they couldn't care less, they would get a free return. Just the way I was brought up, sorry.

Everyone is different.

CRUSADER

Glad to see u have faith in People... Faith that I have lost on "most" people .

I suppose if the "family" researched & found out the ID tag was out there & asked Nicely for it .
I would give it to them , I would have to meet them of course.

I also wonder if the "Family" ever did a Family tree or used one of the Sites to find their family History.
& If they did would they might have found out a Article was done on their GG Granddad

in a historical Magazine.
Then wanted his Drum piece back?
IMO The net Knows everything about everyone & a link would have been made if the family cared enough to look back.

To many If's here.

Basically ...The family would have to contact me.

Stuff like this can end up it Court .

Davers · Aug 22, 2016

relic lover said:
One way to find out would be to see if they have a family tree with him in it on Ancestry. My wife got me ancestry for our anniversary and I tore through it like a rabid honey badger looking for any Civil War connections. I was not disappointed I am descended from a true hero. But anyway you can tell from the amount of information that a person has dug up whether or not they are interested in that kind of History.

This is what I meant in my post. :icon_thumleft:

Davers · Aug 22, 2016

Marc in VA.
Have so much to say about yr Historical Find , ill get logged off 3 times & would take hours to type.

Congratulations on a Relic Hunters Dream Find (One of Them) .. makes me wonder if the Hut you dug out was the one talked about in the Article posted by Jeff in PA..'Pounding in a Good Morning for all'.?

Seem's he lived a full Meaning Full Life after the War.
As you know so many Young Men's Family tree was cut off during the Civil War , May they Rest In Peace.

Do with your find , 'As you wish' His memory Will live on through you , now so many of us T-netters know his story cause of your find. I thank u for that.
&
May God Bless all those Lost to History ; who we will never know about.

P.S. As a member since 2003 , living in VA ,All those DIV's ..I bet you have a Wonderful Historic Collection.
Davers