Some More On Private Levi Schlegel's Ring

From the April 10, 2013 Reading (Pa) Eagle "Berks & Beyond."

The ring was found by relic-hunter John Blue.  Over his thirty years of digging, he has found a lot of items, but this 2005 find was the first time he was able to track down the original owner's family. 

He found it while looking at a Virginia construction site.  "When you have a metal detector in your car, and you pass a construction site, you stop,' he said.  Thankfully he did or the ring would most likely have been lost forever.

The ring read on the outside "Levi Schlegel, Co. G, 198th  P.V.".  The P.V. stood for Pennsylvania Volunteers.

A Virginia geneaologist helped him find Ernie Schlegel, descendant and library trustee at the Reading Library.

Levi Schlegel was a carpenter by trade.

Some Almost Lost History.  Thanks Mr. Blue.  --Old Secesh

Civil War Ring Returned: Private Schlegel's Ring-- Part 3: Identifying Yourself

By the time Private Schlegel's new regiment got to the front lines, it was a time of trench warfare.

Identity rings like his were one of several ways soldiers used to identify themselves in case they were killed.  Their name, company and regiment would be etched on the outside and was probably worn on the pinky finger.  Soldiers could also wear identity discs around their necks, much more like today's dogtags.

Private Schlegel's appears to be made of silver.

Some soldiers simply wrote their names on a piece of paper that they pinned to their uniforms.

Considering the large numbers of unidentified soldiers buried on both sides, especially after battles, identification was a major issue during the war.

Old Secesh

Mystery of Who is in Grave No. 4824 Solved: It Is Sgt. Ivy Ritchie of the 14th N.C.

Let's just say the South finally won one. 

The Feb. 14th Petersburg Progress-Index reported on the outcome of a mock-trial held at the historic Dinwiddie Court House. 

For the last several years there has been controversy as to whether the occupant of Grave # 4824 was Union Sgt. J. Richie of Co. H, 14th NY, US, or Sgt. Ivy Ritchie of Co. H, 14th NC, CS.

The Ivy Ritchie Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp in North Carolina, claimed that he was incorrectly buried among the 4,110 boys in blue at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery because of a clerical error. They wanted his body moved out of there but that was refused. Instead, a marker will be placed at the grave indication who he actually was.

The SCV camp, the largest in NC, produced records showing Ivy Ritchie actually existed and that he fought at Appomattox Courthouse where the body was found, and that he was the last soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia to lose his life. 

His brother Marvel Ritchie identified his older brother's body. However, in Marvel's writing, the "I"s and "J"s look alike. Also, there wasn't even a Co. H in the 14th NY. Both sides pleaded their cases before a panel of three judges who ruled with the SCV. 

But Now, He Still Has to Be With the Yankees. You'd Figure 143 years Was Enough. --The Old Blockade-Runner