Civil War Union Soldier ID Badge

[USCGD]

John C. Salsich was born in 1838 in Western New York. In 1861, at 23 years of age, John traveled to Rochester, NY and enlisted in the Union army. He was assigned to Company K, 13th regiment of the New York State Volunteers.
Rising to the rank of sergeant, John served until May of 1863, and then settled in South Bristol, NY.
He died in 1926 and is buried in Rose Ridge Cemetary, Naples, NY.

The American Civil War may well have been the first major conflict in which soldiers felt the need to wear some sort of a personal identification badge in the event that they were killed or wounded in battle. A great apprehension among soldiers was “the nameless grave,” the fear that loved ones might not recover their remains or learn what had become of them. John would have paid to have a jeweler hand etch this beautiful tag.
I found John's identification tag today while metal detecting a corn field. I will never know how it ended up in the middle of a field hours away from where John lived, but I am thrilled that I recovered it and got to learn about this American hero.

 

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[The Rebel]

You're quite welcome!

As l've been doing genealogy on and off for decades, it's a great site.

Wow!!!! Thank you for this!!!! I was really wanting to see his grave and considered driving the two hours there. Didn't know that website existed.

 

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[lenmac65]

That is truly an interesting and very special find. I can’t recall seeing one of those before. That would look great up on the BANNER. Congrats!

 

[robertk]

Great save! That's truly a one-of-a-kind find. Definitely banner worthy.

 

[ironhorse]

That's definitely one of the coolest things to come around here in a while.
Every once in a while something special comes along..today's that day!
A personal item that connects to a place and time and the story you find let's you add another paragraph...great find!

 

[Digger RJ]

John C. Salsich was born in 1838 in Western New York. In 1861, at 23 years of age, John traveled to Rochester, NY and enlisted in the Union army. He was assigned to Company K, 13th regiment of the New York State Volunteers.
Rising to the rank of sergeant, John served until May of 1863, and then settled in South Bristol, NY.
He died in 1926 and is buried in Rose Ridge Cemetary, Naples, NY.

The American Civil War may well have been the first major conflict in which soldiers felt the need to wear some sort of a personal identification badge in the event that they were killed or wounded in battle. A great apprehension among soldiers was “the nameless grave,” the fear that loved ones might not recover their remains or learn what had become of them. John would have paid to have a jeweler hand etch this beautiful tag.
I found John's identification tag today while metal detecting a corn field. I will never know how it ended up in the middle of a field hours away from where John lived, but I am thrilled that I recovered it and got to learn about this American hero.

Awesome!!! Congrats!!!! Banner Find!!!

 

[GaRebel1861]

I had to come back for another look at that awesome piece of history. Super killer find!!

 

[oldmxrat]

Fantastic save and writeup, Congrats!
That's gonna look great on the BANNER!

 

[Steve in PA]

Truly an amazing find!!
With it being silver all the details are present, as opposed to the brass ones which are sometimes to corroded to read everything.
Your discovery has brought this man back to life in a way.

 

[Aureus]

Banner find for sure. Big congratulations!

 

[USCGD]

A question for anyone following this post. I would like to straighten the tag, as it is quite warped. I don't want to risk damaging it. Any suggestions?

 

[CreekSide]

John C. Salsich was born in 1838 in Western New York. In 1861, at 23 years of age, John traveled to Rochester, NY and enlisted in the Union army. He was assigned to Company K, 13th regiment of the New York State Volunteers.
Rising to the rank of sergeant, John served until May of 1863, and then settled in South Bristol, NY.
He died in 1926 and is buried in Rose Ridge Cemetary, Naples, NY.

The American Civil War may well have been the first major conflict in which soldiers felt the need to wear some sort of a personal identification badge in the event that they were killed or wounded in battle. A great apprehension among soldiers was “the nameless grave,” the fear that loved ones might not recover their remains or learn what had become of them. John would have paid to have a jeweler hand etch this beautiful tag.
I found John's identification tag today while metal detecting a corn field. I will never know how it ended up in the middle of a field hours away from where John lived, but I am thrilled that I recovered it and got to learn about this American hero.

Now that’s something you don’t see everyday, congrats

 

[AU Seeker]

A question for anyone following this post. I would like to straighten the tag, as it is quite warped. I don't want to risk damaging it. Any suggestions?

I would place it between 2 pieces of 2 X 4s wooden blocks and using a couple of clamps slowly squeeze the 2 X 4s together.

I would do a little at a time and remove and inspect, rinse and repeat until it get as good as it will get.

BUT wait for other suggestions and pick the one you feel works for you.

 

[Gene Mean]

A question for anyone following this post. I would like to straighten the tag, as it is quite warped. I don't want to risk damaging it. Any suggestions?

I would take it to a jeweler/pro. I think it's too historical to take a chance damaging it.

 

[pepperj]

A question for anyone following this post. I would like to straighten the tag, as it is quite warped. I don't want to risk damaging it. Any suggestions?

Congratulations on the amazing recovery.
Certainly banner worthy for sure.
Not often can a person add Providence to the recovery.

I'd certainly take a bit of time to fully research the different methods of straightening silver.
The small tear on the left needs to be inspected closer. Just to make sure that there's o cracks.
Some good jewelers will anneal the silver before straightening.

Here's a video about getting a hammered silver straight.

 

[oldmxrat]

A question for anyone following this post. I would like to straighten the tag, as it is quite warped. I don't want to risk damaging it. Any suggestions?

I have successfully straightened out many silver items like rings and other jewelry, plus silver thimbles that were smashed flat. The key is to anneal it before you try to straighten it.
If you don't have experience you will definitely want to take it to a jeweler or silversmith.

 

[tahomatom]

John C. Salsich was born in 1838 in Western New York. In 1861, at 23 years of age, John traveled to Rochester, NY and enlisted in the Union army. He was assigned to Company K, 13th regiment of the New York State Volunteers.
Rising to the rank of sergeant, John served until May of 1863, and then settled in South Bristol, NY.
He died in 1926 and is buried in Rose Ridge Cemetary, Naples, NY.

The American Civil War may well have been the first major conflict in which soldiers felt the need to wear some sort of a personal identification badge in the event that they were killed or wounded in battle. A great apprehension among soldiers was “the nameless grave,” the fear that loved ones might not recover their remains or learn what had become of them. John would have paid to have a jeweler hand etch this beautiful tag.
I found John's identification tag today while metal detecting a corn field. I will never know how it ended up in the middle of a field hours away from where John lived, but I am thrilled that I recovered it and got to learn about this American hero.

Dang! That’s a wonderful find and kudos on your research.
What a story to find he lived though that awful experience.

 

[igloo777]

Have you tried researching the property on which it was found, to see if there's some crossover between who owned the property and John Salsich? Amazing find.

 

[metalman2024]

John C. Salsich was born in 1838 in Western New York. In 1861, at 23 years of age, John traveled to Rochester, NY and enlisted in the Union army. He was assigned to Company K, 13th regiment of the New York State Volunteers.
Rising to the rank of sergeant, John served until May of 1863, and then settled in South Bristol, NY.
He died in 1926 and is buried in Rose Ridge Cemetary, Naples, NY.

The American Civil War may well have been the first major conflict in which soldiers felt the need to wear some sort of a personal identification badge in the event that they were killed or wounded in battle. A great apprehension among soldiers was “the nameless grave,” the fear that loved ones might not recover their remains or learn what had become of them. John would have paid to have a jeweler hand etch this beautiful tag.
I found John's identification tag today while metal detecting a corn field. I will never know how it ended up in the middle of a field hours away from where John lived, but I am thrilled that I recovered it and got to learn about this American hero.

Your find is better than any coin! A guy you can trace back in history, that's utterly amazing. Did you GPS the coordinates of the badge by any chance?

 

[metalman2024]

Your find is better than any coin! A guy you can trace back in history, that's utterly amazing. Did you GPS the coordinates of the badge by any chance?

I just checked also, he's mentioned here too: https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/mil_pension/?name=_Solcich

 

[USCGD]

Have you tried researching the property on which it was found, to see if there's some crossover between who owned the property and John Salsich? Amazing find.

I have been very curious, but don't know of any way to look into that. The map I found the home site on is from 1855, and none of the names in the vicinity are Salsich.