Civil War Copper Plate???

[Matt1344]

Found this today detecting at a park in Huntington, WV.

I tore it up getting it out of the ground because I thought it was just a piece of scrap metal. When I saw it, I noticed it was copper and decided to keep it only for the purpose of scrapping it. I then folded it in three pieces and carried it back to the truck. aghhhh...

It wasn't until I got it home and washed some of the dirt off that I noticed it had something imprinted on it. Here is what it said:

H LONG N06
CO D I84 REGT PA VOL

After doing some research I believe the bottom line stands for Company D 184 Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer. H LONG is for Henry Long. See more info here: 184th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company D Muster Roll

Does anyone know what the "N06" stands for?
Was this definitely from the Civil War?
And, what was this copper plate used for? It was obviously hung on something (notice the two holes and copper wire - still attached)

This is pretty cool!

 

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[skeeterd]

That is a cool find! It's REALLY cool that you can narrow it down to a specific person. Can you find out if the 184th regiment was ever in West Virginia?

 

[DCMatt]

Since you found the guy on the muster roll, I think you can assume it is a Civil War piece. Very cool!

How big is it? I've seen stencils made for marking baggage and equipment but never a metal tag like this. Curious...

I tried to do some research on "NO6" but came up empty.

The area around Huntington saw lots and lots of troop movement but I did not find anything about the 184th PA being there. That said, it looks like the regiment saw heavy action and may have been sent there late in the war for R&R.

DCMatt

 

[Tnmountains]

Is it small enough to be like a dog tag? I know they feared being killed and with out a name . Very neat find.

 

[Matt1344]

Sorry guys I meant to put the size in the original post. It is actually quite large (at least compared to a dog tag). Exactly 7" x 2".

I'm going to have to go back to that area and see what else I can find! I can't find any additional info on it either; as far as what the 184th Regiment was doing there, what it is exactly, or what "N06" means.

 

[capt-zero]

I have absolutely no knowledge of CW relics, but I was wondering, is it possibly a casualty tag? Did Mr. Long survive the war?

 

[Matt1344]

I think he did (survive). On this site: 184th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company D Muster Roll it says he was "mustered out".

"Promoted to Corporal, May 1, 1865; mustered out with Company, July 14, 1865"

 

[Matt1344]

One thing that kills me is this thing was in great condition in the ground. All the damage you see on this is from me. It survived a Civil War but I almost annihilated it. Good lesson for everyone in this hobby: until you clean it and are sure it is scrap - treat it like it has some value!

 

[BuckleBoy]

I have a similar tag, but it does not have a military ID. The tag in this picture is 5" x 2" and is also stamped with a name, but in addition mine has an address. I had thought these were advertising plates of some sort. They obviously aren't stencils. But now I am even less certain of what purpose they served after seeing the one you dug. You should try and track down the property records and see if you can locate that soldier's name on a deed in your county. Simply go to the courthouse and look up the tract book and it should be in alphabetical order and indexed. Check for the post war years to see if he lived anywhere in the county. Might solve the question of how it got there, at least. Below is the photo of one I found a few years ago (bottom left).



Best Wishes,

Buck

 

[BuckleBoy]

Could these possibly have been hung on front gates to identify who lived there?

 

[Bramblefind]

That is very cool! I believe this Henry Long died in 1894 and is buried in Mapleton, PA-

Henry Long ( - 1894) - Find A Grave Memorial

He filed for a pension and so did his widow, Elizabeth. These records might have some interesting info in them if you can get a copy from the National Archives.

 

[Matt1344]

Maybe so Buckle. Nice thought.

Bramble, thanks for the info. This is getting interesting!

 

[Tnmountains]

He may have had a box with personal effects he kept and this was on the box. It may have traveled with the wagons that followed the armies. May never know what it was but you have learned who he was . A very nice relic sir.

 

[DCMatt]

name :	Henry Long
event:	Census
event date:	1880
event place:	Mapleton, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States
gender:	Male
age:	64
marital status :	Married
occupation :	Laborer
race or color (original) :
ethnicity (standardized) :	American
relationship to head :	Self
birthplace :	Pennsylvania, United States
birthdate :	1816
spouse's name :	Elizabeth Long
spouse's birthplace :	Pennsylvania, United States
father's name :
father's birthplace :
mother's name :
mother's birthplace :
page :	244
page character :	A
entry number :	3404
nara film number :	T9-1134
gs film number :	1255134
digital folder number:	004244361
image number:	00492
	Household	Gender	Age	Birthplace
self	Henry Long	M	64	Pennsylvania, United States
wife	Elizabeth Long	F	46	Pennsylvania, United States
son	James Long	M	25	Pennsylvania, United States
son	William Long	M	19	Pennsylvania, United States
son	John Long	M	18	Pennsylvania, United States
daughter	Jennie Long	F	16	Pennsylvania, United States
granddaughter	Catharine Long	F	5	Pennsylvania, United States

DCMatt

 

[DCMatt]

Holy smokes! This guy was in his 40's during the war! As a Civil War reenactor (and an old guy), my hat is off to this man.

DCMatt

 

[evo7011]

Matt, where exactly did you find this in Huntington? I ask because I know that back in the day, a portion or Ritter Park (before it was a park) was the city dump and even had an incenerator. Also, an area just a few blocks from Ritter Park was an area designated as a Hunting Club.

Most of the CW stuff happened in Guyandotte and at least one skirmish in the village of Barboursville. During the CW, I believe Huntington would have just been farmland with not many houses and Im not 100% if the railroad was even there yet.

 

[Matt1344]

Thank all of you, great information.

Evo...I did find this at Ritter Park. One theory I have for it being there is maybe this dirt came from somewhere else. It could have been fill dirt trucked in from another state or another part of Huntington (Guyandotte...maybe)...

 

[Matt1344]

He may have had a box with personal effects he kept and this was on the box. It may have traveled with the wagons that followed the armies. May never know what it was but you have learned who he was . A very nice relic sir.

Considering this doesn't appear to be all that common of a tag that a soldier would carry with him...you may very well be right on this. Could the whole box have fell off the wagon??....hmmmm Great theory.

 

[DCMatt]

Matt, where exactly did you find this in Huntington? I ask because I know that back in the day, a portion or Ritter Park (before it was a park) was the city dump and even had an incenerator. Also, an area just a few blocks from Ritter Park was an area designated as a Hunting Club.

Most of the CW stuff happened in Guyandotte and at least one skirmish in the village of Barboursville. During the CW, I believe Huntington would have just been farmland with not many houses and Im not 100% if the railroad was even there yet.

You are correct. The city of Huntington came after the war. There was railroad at Guyandotte:

From [h=3]Debates and Proceedings of the
First Constitutional Convention
of West Virginia[/h]December 10, 1861

Covington and Ohio Railroad, in 1852-3, there was an appropriation of
$1,000,000. One half of that was expended at the Ohio end, beginning at
Guyandotte

Guyandotte also was important during the war because of the steamer navigable river and the Federal garrison. Lots of troop movement there - especially late in the war when Henry Long was fighting.

DCMatt

 

[BuckleBoy]

DCMatt's chart in reply #14 shows "Huntingdon" in the list. If that is the case, then he lived there for a time.