- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
I was wondering about the gold or silver shield talked about below.
"In 1861, they had 60 State owned rifled muskets with accruements, 6 Colt revolvers and 8 noncommissioned officers swords. The rifle stocks were varnished, the locks and screws blued and the barrels burnished. Many men attached gold or silver shields on the rifle stocks; the shields were engraved with the men’s identification number. At the end of the company’s three months of active service, these personalized muskets were turned over to the Ordinance Department."
This company could not be the only militia company which put identification shields on their muskets, so what did these shields look like?
"In 1861, they had 60 State owned rifled muskets with accruements, 6 Colt revolvers and 8 noncommissioned officers swords. The rifle stocks were varnished, the locks and screws blued and the barrels burnished. Many men attached gold or silver shields on the rifle stocks; the shields were engraved with the men’s identification number. At the end of the company’s three months of active service, these personalized muskets were turned over to the Ordinance Department."
This company could not be the only militia company which put identification shields on their muskets, so what did these shields look like?