While looking at a collection of police and fire badges a few weeks ago, one caught my eye. It was a small silver shield that I instantly recognized not as a badge for police or fire, but a Civil War personal identification badge!
During the Civil War there was no such thing as the “dog tag” we think of today to identify a soldier if he was badly wounded or killed. A simple stamped or cast medallion was sold by sutlers and marked with a name, company, and unit that could be worn around the neck or carried in a pocket. Some soldiers opted for something a little nicer made in silver in a variety of shapes and engraved with the necessary information. They had a pinned back to secure to a uniform and served as both identification and a stylish insignia. I have seen them in a large variety of forms based upon how much the soldier wanted to spend. Some officers of higher rank had extremely high-quality badges and there are extant examples that were made by Tiffany & Company.
Back to the one that caught my eye. It was engraved with a line around the border with “W.H.R/Co. I./9th Regt./N.H.V.” I knew the 9th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiment had a history of being at some of the major engagements of the Civil War. A visit to the regimental history and National Archives records filled in the rest.
William H. Rand was from Keene, New Hampshire and 22 years old when he enlisted on August 5, 1862 as a private in Company I of the 9th N.H.V. Soon after, his regiment left for Washington, DC. but they were not to be there long. Confederate General Robert E. Lee had marched north and a battle was imminent. Rand participated in the Battle of South Mountain, Maryland on September 14, as well as Antietam September 16-17. He also participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia that December. The 9th ended up at Vicksburg, Mississippi for the campaigns in 1863, and Rand was promoted to Sergeant on January 1, 1864. He was back in Virginia and participated in the horrific battles at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. After the Confederate army broke out of Petersburg, he followed the army west and was detached to guard Confederate General Richard S. Ewell’s army after their surrender on April 6, 1865 at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek. Soon after General Lee surrendered and the war for Rand was close to being over. His unit participated in the Grand Review of the Armies on May 23 and he was mustered out of service on June 10, 1865 and returned home.
A lot of information from such a small badge but that is what makes them so interesting. This little piece of engraved silver helps tell one mans story of the Civil War.
