American history isn't all about generals and Presidents, dates and battles. It's about telling stories too long untold, and identifying triumphs amid struggle. History is theway we remember the past, and the history I choose to remember is about individuals whose lives exemplified the progress that the American experiment is all about.

I look forward to Black History Month every year. I've done history as a more or less full time endeavor since I was a kid, and I learn more in these 28 days than I learn formost of the rest of the year.

Collecting is more than my profession, it's my life passion. When I acquired this object last month, I knew immediately it was one of the most important things I'd ever owned.It's a dog tag from the Civil War, depicting President Abraham Lincoln on its face. I've owned dozens of dog tags like this, hand inscribed with a soldier's name and unit, andoften with their battle record as well. They're usually not well worn, as they were used for just a few years of wartime and then saved as a keepsake. This one's wear tells astory of a lifetime spent dangling against a man's chest, decades of display of what it said and what it meant.

This dog tag was worn by Dennis Addison, an American from Alabama, and the date it records was the day the Emancipation Proclamation made him free.

Happy Black History Month, y'all. Go learn something.

To read the original post, see:
https://www.facebook.com/john.kraljevich/posts/10218758158404879

To read previous articles on the Newman Numismatic Portal, see:
John Kraljevich: Black History Month 2017(http://omeka.wustl.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/nnp-selections/blackhistorymonth2017)
John Kraljevich: Black History Month 2018(http://omeka.wustl.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/nnp-selections/blackhistorymonth2018)