This identification tag of J. W. Lee, Co. B, 3rd Louisiana Infantry is made from a flattened .69 caliber lead musket ball, with “1861” inscribed on the back. The tag was lost by Lee during the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas in 1862, where he was captured. Exchanged on May 17, 1862, Lee was killed in the rifle pits at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on June 20, 1863.
Identification tags were not issued by either side during the Civil War; soldiers would make their own out of musket balls or other objects or purchase commercially available tags so they could be identified if killed and left on the field of battle. There are also instances in which soldiers would pin a piece of paper with their name and unit on the inside of their shirt or jacket.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30100
