USO Canteen FReeper Style... Dog Tags... September 25, 2002

Dog Tags
Past, Present and Future

Arlington National Cemetary is not the only resting place for "Unknown Soldiers." Countless American soldiers have died defending our way of life throughout the history of this great nation; many of their graves are marked with a single word,"unknown."

The American Civil War (1861-1865) provided the first recorded incident of American soldiers making an effort to ensure that their identities would be known should they be killed on the battlefield. 42% of all Civil War dead remain unknown.

Their methods varied, and all were taken on by the soldier's own initiative. In 1863, before the battle of Mine's Run in northern Virginia, troops wrote their names and units on paper tags and pinned them to their clothing. Many soldiers took great care in marking all of their personal belongings. Some troops made their own id tags out of wood, boring a hole in an end so that they could be worn on a string.

The commercial sector saw the demand for an identificatuion method and provided products. Harpers Weekly Magazine advertised "Soldier's Pins" which could be mail ordered. Made of silver or gold, these pins were inscribed with an individual's name and unit designation. Private vendors who followed troops also offered id tags for sale just prior to battles. Soldiers also fashioned tags out of coins by scraping one side smooth and engaving or stamping name and unit.

A 18 x 35 mm German silver pin

Spanish-American War dog tag from 1898. It contained unit,
company and individual number.

An ID tag made from a coin

Despite the fact that fear of being listed amoung the unknowns was a real concern among the rank and file, no reference to an official issue of identification tags by the Federal Government exists from the Civil War.

The first official advocacy of issuing id tags took place in 1899. Chaplain Charles C. Pierce recommended that a "identity disc"be included in the standard combat field kit, though the first official introduction of one tag didn't happen until December of 1906.

The Army Regulations of 1913 made a identification tag mandatory. In July of 1916 a second tag was added, and by 1917 all combat troops wore aluminum discs on rope or chain. In February of 1918 the official introduction of Serial Numbers started.

An aluminum WWI set with Serial Number on back
Two-time winner of the Metal of Honor USMC SgtMaj Dan Daly's tag	WWI USMC Lt.Gen Holland Smith's brass tag
An example of the stamping set used on early tag sets.

Next in the evolution of dog tags came what is known as the Navy/Marine style of tag (as seen above) a more oblong shape with more uniform printing. First made of brass and then a "Monel" metal (a patented corrosion-resistant alloy of nickel and copper, melded with small amounts of iron and manganese ) proved to be more corrosion resistant. In October of 1938 the start of tests for a new identification tags started, and by 1940 it was adopted.

The M-1940 "notched" dog tag

By the early 70's the "notch" was removed to the present day tag.

The United States Armed Forces is currently developing and testing a new tag , which will hold 80% of a soldiers medical and dentail records on a mircochip known by several names: The Individually Carried Record, Meditag, The Tactical Medical Coordination System and Personal Information Carriers (PIC). It is not intended to replace the present tag, but rather to augment it as part of the "paperless battlefield" concept.

The yellow TacMedCS being tested by the Marines uses radio frequency technology, electronics and
global-positioning systems to pin-point wounded.

The black rubber encased PIC is currently under DoD testing.

Tags from Other Countries

A Czarist Russia, WWI tags aid to be found at the 1914 Tannenburg site.	A French WWI bracelet id tag	British WWI ,brass, Dog Tag
An Austrian WWI brass locket with paper information inside with the owner's name engraved on the outside

Dog Tag Chains

There have been several different types of chains used during the evolution of the U.S. dog tag, every thing from shoe laces to the current ball chain.

Early 1940's monofilament plastic with metal ends, yellowed with age.

simple rope

1943 issue cord

These two types solved the major problem with soft cord, metal chains will withstand fire, above is a reprint of a quartermaster manual showing the first of the metal chain set with what are referred to as sister hooks small clasps on the end of the chains.

This silver set was favored by officers

The Military has come a long way from
hanging pieces of wood around our necks.

1066 - Battle of Stampford Bridge English King Godwinson II beaten by his brother King Harold Hardrada of Norway

The Battle of Stamford Bridge
WHEN September 25 , 1066

WHERE Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire

WHO Saxons under Harold, King of England vs. Norwegians under Harald Hardrada and Earl Tostig

When Edward the Confessor died he left no direct heir, and the throne of England passed to Harold of Wessex. Harold's brother Tostig influenced the legendary Viking warrior, King Harald Hardrada of Norway to invade England.

While a second claimant to the throne of England, William of Normandy, labored to launch his own invasion fleet, the Norwegians sailed by way of the Orkneys and landed at Riccall, near York with a force probably numbering 10,000 men.

Harold had been well aware of the dual threats to his new kingdom, and he called out his levies. These were free men from the shires who owed two months of military service each year. By September the two months were up and rations were low, so Harold reluctantly released these irregular troops. This left him with a trained force of about 3000 mounted infantry known as house-carls. When the news came of the Norwegian landing, Harold quickly marched his men north by the old Roman road known as Watling Street.

The Earls of Northumbria and Mercia, Morcar and Edwin, advanced their men from York and met Harald Hardrada at Fulford on September 20. The experienced Norwegian commander completely routed the earls, depriving King Harold of valuable allies for the fatal battle with the Normans which lay ahead.

The Norsemen appointed Stamford Bridge as a meeting place for an exchange of hostages with the city of York. The confident victors of Fulford were relaxing in the meadows surrounding this crossroads 12 miles from York when to their shock they saw a fresh Saxon army streaming up from the South.

Well, perhaps "fresh" is too strong a word, for Harold had just pushed his men an amazing 180 miles in 4 days, and they were doubtless exhausted. The Norsemen were caught completely off-guard; most had discarded their mail shirts and helmets in the hot sun. They were soon to pay for their carelessness.

The Battle
A desperate delaying action by the Norwegian outposts kept the Saxons from crossing the Derwent while the main army frantically donned their gear and took up position. One anonymous Norwegian held the bridge alone until he was stabbed from beneath the planks of the bridge with a long spear.

The Norse formed a shield wall in the shape of a triangle, to present a narrow front. The Saxons battered at the wall in a fierce hand to hand fight that lasted all day, before the legendary Harald Hardrada was felled by a Saxon missile. Earl Tostig tried vainly to rally the demoralized men, but the Norse resistance crumbled and the battle became a rout.

The Vikings fled, to be pursued all the way back to their fleet at Riccall. Only 24 ships out of an initial 200 or more made the return to Norway. Tostig was buried in York, but the bones of Harald Hardrada lie somewhere beneath the fields of Stamford Bridge. Before the battle Harold swore that the Norse leader would get "only seven feet of English soil" for his invasion, and he kept the vow.

The Results
Stamford Bridge ended the long Viking threat to England. Although Stamford Bridge was a great triumph for Harold and the Saxons, their strength was sadly depleted by the fight. And now they faced an even greater foe as news arrived that Duke William of Normandy had landed in Sussex. The weary Saxons turned south once more and marched back as quickly as they had come. They met the Normans at the fateful Battle of Hastings.

1396 - Battle of Nicopolis: Sultan Bajezid I defeats Crusades armies

Battle of Nicopolis (1396 AD)
By Ken Blackley
In the late 14th century the eyes of Western Europe began to turn to the east as the old enemy began to reassert himself - the Turks. With a fervour that had not been seen for decades, the chivalry of western Europe responded by marching east to their greatest disaster ever.

Eastward marched an army of English, French, Germans, Italians and Knights Hospitallers under the leadership of John of Nevers, son of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. It joined a Hungarian army under King Sigismund of Hungary. marching along the Danube, capturing Bulgarian towns, and advancing deep into new Turkish territory. But their advance was halted at the town of Nicopolis, which resisted the Crusader siege for over two weeks.

With the Crusader's stalled, Ottoman Sultan Beyezid saw his chance. He marched to the town's rescue, choosing a defensive position straddling the road to the city with his flanks protected by ravines. Sigismund advised a cautious approach, but the western crusaders would have none of that. Instead, they charged straight at the Ottomans. They hurled back the Turkish light horse, and pursued straight into a wall of Janisseries protected by stakes. Finally. breaking their way through the infantry, the disordered crusaders were attacked and destroyed by the waiting Ottoman heavy cavalry.

Far to the rear, the Hungarians followed up, slaughtering the disorganized Ottoman infantry. It almost looked like the Hungarians might win the day until Beyzid's Serbian vassals emerged from ambush to overthrown Sigismund's banner and throw the whole Crusader army into rout.

It was a devastating loss. Sigismund escaped by ship, but John was captured and later ransomed. John's ransoming was the exception; Beyezid, enraged by his heavy losses, slaughtered most of his prisoners the next day. The few that survived were given to his victorious soldiers as slaves.

1396 - Jean de Vienne, French admiral/crusader, dies in battle
1396 - Odard de Chasseron, French knight/crusader, dies in battle
1396 - Philip of Bar, French knight/crusader, dies in battle
All died here? your guess is as good as mine.

The Emigna Of Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was different: a military hero for both sides in the same war. He began his career as an American Patriot in May 1775, when he and Ethan Allen led the brigade that captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Arnold's heroics continued in September, when he led an expedition of 1,150 riflemen against Quebec, the capital of British Canada. The American commander drove his men hard through the Maine wilderness, overcoming leaky boats, spoiled provisions, treacherous rivers, and near starvation to arrive at Quebec in November, his force reduced to 650 men.

These losses did not deter Arnold. Joined by General Richard Montgomery, who had arrived with 300 troops after capturing Montreal, Arnold's forces attacked the strongly fortified city, only to have the assault end in disaster. A hundred Americans were killed, including Montgomery; 400 were captured; and many were wounded, including Arnold, who fell as he stormed over a barricade, a ball through his leg.

Quebec was only the beginning. For the next five years Arnold served the Patriot side with distinction in one battle after another, including a dangerous assault against the center of the British line at Saratoga, where he was again wounded in the leg. No general was more imaginative than Arnold, no field officer more daring, no soldier more courageous.

Yet Arnold has gone down in history not as a hero but as a villain, a military traitor who, as commander of the American fort at West Point, New York, in 1780, schemed to hand it over to the British.

Of his role in this conspiracy there is no doubt. His British contact, Major John Andre, was caught with incriminating documents in Arnold's handwriting, including routes of access to the fort. Arnold, fleeing down the Hudson River on a British ship, defended his treason in a letter to Washington, stating that "love to my country actuates my present conduct, however it may appear inconsistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of any man's actions."

But judge we must. Why did Arnold desert the cause for which he had fought so gallantly and twice been wounded? Was there any justification for his conduct?

When the fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, Arnold was thirty-four, an apothecary and minor merchant in New Haven, Connecticutobut also a militia captain and ardent Patriot. "Good God," he had exclaimed at the time of the Boston Massacre, "are the Americans all asleep and tamely giving up their Liberties"? Eager to support the rebellion, Arnold coerced the Town's selectmen into supplying powder and ball to his men and promptly marched them to Boston, which was under siege by the New England militia. On the way Arnold thought up the attack on Fort Ticonderoga (realizing that the fort's cannon could be used to force the British out of Boston) and persuaded the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to approve his plan and make him a colonel. That done, he raced to New York to take command so that the glory would be his and not go to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. The victory achieved, Arnold submitted an inflated claim for expenses (oe l,060 in Massachusetts currency, or about $60,000 today) and protested vehemently when the suspicious legislators closely examined each item.

These events illuminated Arnold's great strengths and fatal flaws and were prophetic of his ultimate fate. He was bold and creative, a man who sized up a situation and acted quickly. He was ambitious and extravagant, an egocentric man who craved power and the financial rewards that came with it. He was intrepid and ruthless, willing to risk his life "and the lives of others" to get what he wanted.

Such men often are resented as much as they are admired, and so it was with Arnold. At Quebec some New England officers accused him of arrogance and tried to withdraw from his command, but Congress rewarded the intrepid colonel by making him a brigadier general. When Arnold again distinguished himself in battle in early I 777 "having his horse shot out from under him" Congress promoted him to major general and gave him a new horse "as a token of their admiration of his gallant conduct." But then, in the middle of the struggle at Saratoga, General Horatio Gates, the American commander, relieved Arnold of his command, partly for insubordination and partly because Gates considered him a "pompous little fellow." Washington rewarded Arnold nonetheless, appointing him commandant at Philadelphia in July 1778, after the British evacuation of the city.

By then Arnold was an embittered man, disdainful of his fellow officers and resentful toward Congress for not promoting him more quickly and to even higher rank. A widower, he threw himself into the social life of the city, holding grand parties, courting and marrying Margaret Shippen, "a talented young woman of good family, who at nineteen, was half his age" and failing deeply into debt. Arnold's extravagance drew him into shady financial schemes and into disrepute with Congress, which investigated his accounts and recommended a court-martial. "Having ... become a cripple in the service of my country, I little expected to meet [such] ungrateful returns," he complained to Washington.

Faced with financial ruin, uncertain of future promotion, and disgusted with congressional politics, Arnold made a fateful decision: he would seek fortune and fame in the service of Great Britain. With cool calculation, he initiated correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander, promising to deliver West Point and its 3,000 defenders for 2O,OOO sterling (about $1 million today), a momentous act that he hoped would spark the collapse of the American cause. Persuading Washington to place the fort under his command, Arnold moved in September 1780 to execute his audacious plan, only to see it fail when Andre, was captured. As Andre, was executed as a spy, Arnold received ce 6,000 from the British government and appointment as a brigadier general.

Arnold served George III with the same skill and daring he had shown in the Patriot cause. In 1781 he led devastating strikes on Patriot supply depots: In Virginia he looted Richmond and destroyed munitions and grain intended for the American army opposing Lord Cornwallis; in Connecticut he burned ships, warehouses, and much of the town of New London, a major port for Patriot privateers.

In the end, Benedict Arnold's "moral failure lay not in his disenchantment with the American cause" for many other officers returned to civilian life disgusted with the decline in republican virtue and angry over their failure to win a guaranteed pension from Congress. Nor did his infamy stem from his transfer of allegiance to the British side, for other Patriots chose to become Loyalists, sometimes out of principle but just as often for personal gain. Arnold's perfidy lay in the abuse of his position of authority and trust: he would betray West Point and its garrison "and if necessary the entire American war effort" to secure his own success. His treason was not that of a principled man but that of a selfish one, and he never lived that down. Hated in America as a consort of "Beelzebub ... the Devil," Arnold was treated with coldness and even contempt in Britain. He died as he lived, a man without a country.

REPRINTED FROM James A. Henretta, Elliot Brownlee, David Brody, Susan Ware, and Marilynn Johnson, America's History, Third Edition, Worth Publishers Inc., 1997 Copyright: Worth Publishers Inc. (Available now: Call: 1-800-321-9299 for order; 1-800-446-8923 for desk copies). For Personal Use of Subscribers of Early American Review; for permission to reprint or duplicate, contact Jennifer Sutherland, Worth Pub. 1-212-475-6000 or jsutherland@worthpub.com

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