🥇 BANNER Civil war dog tag. Are you kidding me?!!!!!!

[Turbo21]

I decided to go digging at lunch time today and went to one of our local parks that was opened in 1914. We have pulled many silver coins and cool relics from this park but never in a million years did I think I would find a civil war dog tag!!!!

I had a good signal and was thinking half dollar

Duh the hole and out pops a big disc. I was thinking large cent as soon as



Being the curious person I am I started cleaning it in the field. Was confused when I see 1861 and a shield. I didn't know what it was so immediately started looking online



I first thought it was a civil war token but noticed some writing on the back. I then found it was a civil war dog tag. How the heck did that end up in this park!!!!

I am still in the cleaning stage but it's coming along nicely. It's in really good shape and just some peroxide made a lot of the original brass color show up

I still have ore cleaning to do but it just amazes me the history behind this.

Here is a pic of how it's coming along


The back still need some cleaning but the writing is all legible

The back says
Caleb r foster
COB
13 reg
Vol




I suck at research so a big thanks to kiros32

He found that Caleb r foster was in the 102 regiment Pennsylvania infantry company b
He was wounded at wilderness va
He mustered out with his company on June 28 1865
He died at 78 from pneumonia and he is buried in chartiers cemetary which is about 10 miles from here

I have started looking at values and looks like at auction it could go from $1750 to $2200. Wow

I am still shaking and this is definitely my best find ever its gonna be hard to top this one!!!

 

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[Valley Ranger]

What we've done in this situation is valuate the item, track down the family and tell them who we are and what we've got. We'd be honest and offer it to them at a discount before selling it at auction or whatever. We call that "sending it home" and we've had the pleasure of doing this a number of times.

Yes, for an item like this, I think that is a very reasonable and fair way to handle it.

 

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[bergie]

Terrific find, of course, and a few observations:
*It's most logical/likely that the soldier who owned it lost it during his lifetime; not a guarantee, but that should be assumed.
*It's possible he actually lived on or near this property where it was found and hopefully research could uncover if that's true.
*Doing some basic math, the park opened almost exactly 50 years after the end of the Civil War (1914), so if the park is somehow associated with the Civil War in theme/name, it's possible/likely he attended the dedication in 1914 and lost it the day the park opened (or around that timeframe).
*I don't judge anyone for keeping or giving away (to the family) or selling an item. Personally, I would bury it at his grave and not tell anyone - the jolt to me is in the find and not owning it.
*One thing about money - it's not going to change your life whether it's $1500 or 3K. It could make a difference very short term, but that's it
(if we start getting into higher figures, that changes, but not the case here).

 

[Kiros32]

Posting this with permission from Bob.

 

[Turbo21]

Posting this with permission from Bob.

Wow that is awesome bud. Can't believe you found it

 

[Xraywolf]

Posting this with permission from Bob.

Appears this passage from the book "The Wilderness: Nowhere to Run" has his age wrong.
In 1864 he would have been 20

"Seventeen year old private Caleb R. Foster [Company B] escaped serious injury when a ball cracked the top of his skull.
[back at the field hospital the surgeons quickly removed a couple of bone fragments from the outer layer of his crown and put him aside to recover]"

http://tinyurl.com/loa5vnt


Appears he mustered in service August 19, 1861- Literally 1 week after start of the war, and of course at this early stage service was entirely voluntary, and at this point would indeed have been 17, which may account for the error above.

102d Pennsylvnia Volunteers, Company B Muster Roll

And thus was a participant in numerous famous battles - Would be great if his specific service record could be found.


102nd PA Regiment Organization, Service & Battles

Organization

• Organized at Pittsburg August, 1861. Five Companies left State for Washington, D.C., August 21, 1861.
• Attached to Peck's Brigade, Couch's Division, Army of the Potomac, October, 1861, to March, 1862.
• 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to July, 1862.
• 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Corps. to September, 1862.
• 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to October, 1862.
• 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Army Corps, to January, 1864.
• Wheaton's Brigade, Dept. of West Virginia, to March, 1864.
• 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 6th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac and Army of the Shenandoah, to June, 1865.Service & Battles - 1862
• Duty in the Defences of Washington, D. C,, till March, 1862.
• Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10-15. Moved to the Peninsula March 28.
• Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4. Battle of Williamsburg May 5.
• Operations about Bottoms Bridge May 20-23.
• Battle of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, May 31-June 1. S
• even days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Malvern Hill July 1.
• At Harrison's Landing till August 16.
• Movement to Alexandria, thence to Centreville August 16-30.
• Cover Pope's retreat to Fairfax Court House August 30-September 1.
• Chantilly September 1 (Reserve).
• Maryland Campaign September 6-27.
• Battle of Antietam September 16-17.
• At Downsville, Md., September 23 to October 20.
• Movement to Stafford Court House October 20-November 18,
• And to Belle Plains December 5.
• Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. Service & Battles - 1863
• Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863.
• At Falmouth till April.
• Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6.
• Operations at Franklin's Crossing April 29-May 2.
• Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg, May 3.
• Salem Heights May 3-4. Banks' Ford May 4.
• Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 13-July 24.
• Battle of Gettysburg July 2-4.
• Pursuit of Lee July 5-24.
• Duty on line of the Rappahannock till October.
• Bristoe Campaign October 9-22.
• Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8.
• Rappahannock Station November 7.
• Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. Service & Battles - 1864
• Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12, 1864.
• Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7;
• Spottsylvania May 8-21.
• Assault on the Salient May 12.
• North Anna River May 23-26.
• On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28.
• Totopotomoy May 28-31.
• Cold Harbor June 1-12.
• Before Petersburg June 17-18.
• Jerusalem Plank Road June 22-23.
• Siege of Petersburg till July 9.
• Moved to Washington, D. C., July 9-11.
• Repulse of Early's attack on Washington July 11-12.
• Pursuit of Early to Snicker's Gap July 14-18,
• Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August to December.
• Charlestown August 21-22.
• Demonstration on Gilbert's Ford, Opequan Creek, September 13.
• Strasburg September 21.
• Battle of Opequan, Winchester, September 19.
• Fisher's Hill September 22.
• Battle of Cedar Creek October 19.
• Duty in the Shehandoah Valley till December.
• Ordered to Petersburg December 9-12. Service & Battles - 1865
• Siege of Petersburg December, 1864, to April, 1865.
• Fort Fisher, Petersburg, March 25, 1865.
• Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
• Assault on and fall of Petersburg April 2.
• Pursuit of Lee April 3-9.
• Appomattox Court House April 9.
• Surrender of Lee and his army.
• March to Danville April 23-27,
• And duty there till May 23.
• Moved to Richmond,
• Thence to Washington, D.C., May 23-June 3.
• Corps Review June 8.
• Mustered out June 28, 1865.

102nd Regiment of the Pennsylvania Civil War Volunteers

 

[Turbo21]

Amazing that he got shot in the head. Lost pieces of his skull and continued on fighting. Wow just wow. That's a real man right there

 

[Ahab8]

That's an incredible piece. I love colonial items but my goodness that's a show stopper. Congrats on a piece that checks all the right boxes.

 

[Westfront]

cool find !

I found Several Caleb Fosters through out he U.S. including one who was a Slave.
but only one in pa.
Unfortunately, I Can't Translate

and no proof it is the same one.



I think I see Caleb Foster melder which would be "Caleb Foster Reports" .
and last 3 of the Paragraph "apparently not remembered"

But I can't for the Life of Me pick out enough words with all the Squiggly Letters .
It hurts my Brain.
The Scranton Wochenblatt,(week sheet ) edited and published by Friederich Wagner, was a weekly German language newspaper, published in Scranton, Pennsylvania, from January 1865 through August 1918. ... Wagner learned the printing trade from Robert Baur of Wilkes-Barre ..

Scranton Wochenblatt. volume (Scranton, Pa.), 05 May 1887.

View attachment 1430009

Scranton Wochenblatt. volume (Scranton, Pa.) 1865-1918, May 05, 1887, Page 2, Image 2 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

Still need a translation?
The mentioned Caleb isn't the one sought i think. Sad story here....

Her's the translation (not exactly. Sorry, the old dialect is somewhat difficult to translate):

"A black man named Caleb Foster whe lives close to the southern border of Harrison County in Tergas(?) fall into raving madness a couple days ago. He grabbed his three year old son by the legs and shattered his head at a tree und run to the creek with the body. His family wasn't able to stop him and retrieved help.
When they finally found Foster he mauled the body with his teeth. He was brought home and was well guarded. When he came around after three days and didn't see his son at his bed he asked very astonished after him. They hide the truth about the horrible what he obvious didn't remembered."

 

[Kiros32]

Still need a translation?
The mentioned Caleb isn't the one sought i think. Sad story here....

Her's the translation (not exactly. Sorry, the old dialect is somewhat difficult to translate):

"A black man named Caleb Foster whe lives close to the southern border of Harrison County in Tergas(?) fall into raving madness a couple days ago. He grabbed his three year old son by the legs and shattered his head at a tree und run to the creek with the body. His family wasn't able to stop him and retrieved help.
When they finally found Foster he mauled the body with his teeth. He was brought home and was well guarded. When he came around after three days and didn't see his son at his bed he asked very astonished after him. They hide the truth about the horrible what he obvious didn't remembered."

Definitely not the same person.

 

[Turbo21]

Definitely not the same person.

Lol. Agree

 

[hogge]

HUGE.....And Huge congrats on a well deserved Banner!

 

[MadTom]

Awesome!

 

[BearCreek]

Congrats! What a fantastic find with a great story to go with it! Banner all the way!

 

[Turbo21]

Congrats! What a fantastic find with a great story to go with it! Banner all the way!

Thanks so much. Still can't believe I found it

 

[sutphin]

CONGRATS..........................

 

[Calabash Digger]

thats a find of a lifetime!

 

[MackinawGirl]

WOW !!! That is an awesome once in a lifetime find. Congrats. Just Wow!

 

[Pathfinder100]

Congrats. Great find. My son loves anything about the civil war and would love this.

 

[Garrett424]

Fantastic find.
Congrats...

 

[laidback4sho]

Co. B (Company B)
13th Regiment
PA Volunteers

Not sure how it worked with moving/transferring between companies, but he likely enlisted with the 13th and was moved to the 102nd and mustered out with the 102nd.

Actually, when a unit would lose enough men, they would merge that unit with another unit that had lost lots of men. That's how someone could start the war in one unit and finish it in another.

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