- Jul 10, 2004
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A Civil War soldier's ring found outside of Fredericksburg, Va., has made its way back home to Pennsylvania, 148 years later.
The ring once belonged to Levi Schlegel of Reading, Pa., a Union Army soldier, who served two tours of duty under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and fought at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865.
It is believed the ring was lost while Union troops were marching back to Washington, D.C., after the war was over.
John Blue of Manassas, Va., a Civil War relics hunter, found the ring in 2005 at a construction site using a metal detector, and noticed that it bore the inscription, "Levi Schlegel, Co. G., 198th P.V.," meaning Company G, 198th Pennsylvania Volunteers Regiment.
Blue worked with a genealogist, who called the Reading Public Library in Berks County, where Company G soldiers were recruited in the Civil War, and asked if there were any living Schlegel relatives in the area.
Turns out, Ernie Schlegel, a 49-year-old retired businessman from Reading, Pa., is a distant cousin of Levi Schlegel and sits on the library's board of trustees.
Civil War Soldier's Ring Returned to Family 148 Years Later - ABC News
The ring once belonged to Levi Schlegel of Reading, Pa., a Union Army soldier, who served two tours of duty under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and fought at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865.
It is believed the ring was lost while Union troops were marching back to Washington, D.C., after the war was over.
John Blue of Manassas, Va., a Civil War relics hunter, found the ring in 2005 at a construction site using a metal detector, and noticed that it bore the inscription, "Levi Schlegel, Co. G., 198th P.V.," meaning Company G, 198th Pennsylvania Volunteers Regiment.
Blue worked with a genealogist, who called the Reading Public Library in Berks County, where Company G soldiers were recruited in the Civil War, and asked if there were any living Schlegel relatives in the area.
Turns out, Ernie Schlegel, a 49-year-old retired businessman from Reading, Pa., is a distant cousin of Levi Schlegel and sits on the library's board of trustees.
Civil War Soldier's Ring Returned to Family 148 Years Later - ABC News
