The Bone Ring

ColoWhen Colonel William Leonard died in 1901, among his effects was found a lovely jewelry box containing a simple ring carved of cow bone and engraved with his birthdate and the year of his imprisonment in Libby Prison. This humble memento, so carefully preserved, was made for him by his men and fellow prisoners to mark his 46th birthday when they were prisoners of war in the notorious Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Also among his effects was his journal, which begins when he...
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ColoWhen Colonel William Leonard died in 1901, among his effects was found a lovely jewelry box containing a simple ring carved of cow bone and engraved with his birthdate and the year of his imprisonment in Libby Prison. This humble memento, so carefully preserved, was made for him by his men and fellow prisoners to mark his 46th birthday when they were prisoners of war in the notorious Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Also among his effects was his journal, which begins when he was colonel in Purnell's Legion Infantry, which was charged with protecting telegraph and rail lines in Maryland and Virginia, and ends after he was paroled from Libby Prison and returned to Maryland. Leonard's great-granddaughter, Gari Carter, inherited these and other family artifacts, along with a treasure trove of family stories and a love of history. Now she has transcribed her great-grandfather's journal, which she presents here, richly annotated and supplemented with family lore and local history.