Thank you for clearing that up...I knew when I read that that a civil war ancestor had dog tags it wasn't correct, but before I could make a statement like that I needed more to go on...thanks so much for stating this fact! Perhaps if they had had dog tags during the civil war, there would have been less unidentified men on the battle ground...Rhonda Houston IL-CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com wrote: > It would be something...my g-g-gf was in the 88th Illinois and his descendants pitched most everything. Trivia: the Army did not issue formal "dog tags" until 1913. The soldiers in the CW would pay for them to be made by sutlers or friends. Dave Winship

Also, some men would write their names on pieces of paper and either pin or sew them to the backs of their uniforms in the hopes someone would read it and identify the remains.. I have heard of the burial details' going through the pockets of the fallen with long iron hooks..looking for anything..a letter, a note anything...to find an ID of some sort. It was a dreadfully sad time.