There are many stories of soldiers making tokens for their sweethearts while they are away at war. These tokens are made not only as a way to pass the time but also to show their affection for their loved one. Sometimes these tokens are made of unusual materials such as a coin or other reused material.
However, until a recent visit to the Atlanta History Center's Civil War exhibit, I had not heard of a token made the way the one below was made.
The artifact is a piece of bone with the simple word Lizzie written on it. As the artifact signage says it was given to a nurse named Abigail Arline by a confederate soldier who had made it from his own leg bone. Unfortunately, the soldier died before he could either give this token to his sweetheart or let someone know how to get it to her.
While the name of the soldier may have been lost to the sands of time along with the full name of his sweetheart, it is neat to see that he loved his darling so much that he would take the time to give a part of himself to her.
It is stories like these that help to make people of the past real and relatable. Although we do not live in the same time period, love and the giving of tokens is still the same today.
May you have a wonderful week and find many interesting small stories of time gone by.