Indelible Marks

Tattoos have become very popular these days.  Fifty years ago, you rarely saw them and usually only on a veteran or a biker.  They were typically placed somewhere you couldn't see them when the person was wearing a long sleeve shirt.  Now you see them everywhere--even on necks and faces.  There is a lot more writing now, also.  Modern tattoos feature lengthy statements or verses from the Bible.  You have to ask the person to stop moving so you can read the entire tattoo.  In the old days you wouldn't see much written in a tattoo except 'Mom' or 'Semper Fi.' 

 

I was recently surprised to discover that tattoos were once used by the military as a form of punishment.  A friend of mine loaned me a copy of some 4th Cavalry Regiment court martial proceedings that had taken place at Fort Concho, Texas in 1870.  Two of the soldiers had been given sentences that included being given "indelible marks" indicating the crime they had been found guilty of.  One soldier had been caught stealing government property.  He was sentenced to forfeit all pay and allowances, be dishonorably discharged, be drummed out of the service, and to be "indelibly marked on the left hip with the letter 'T'."  The 'T' apparently indicating that he was a thief.  Likewise, another soldier was found guilty of desertion and was to be marked with a 'D' on his hip. 

 

I later learned that the military often used these "indelible marks" to brand soldiers that had been found guilty of various infractions.  Other letters used included 'C' for cowardice, 'H D' for habitual drunk, 'W' for worthlessness, 'I' for insubordination, and 'M' for mutineer.   Sometimes the tattoos weren't put on the hip, but on the forehead or neck instead.  They also sometimes spelled out the entire word (just so no one would confuse a drunk with a deserter, I guess). Most frightening of all, though, is that sometimes they actually branded the soldier with a hot iron.  The "indelible mark" punishment was borrowed from the British military which ended the practice in 1871.  The US Army ended it a year later.   

I makes you wonder if discharged soldiers would modify their tattoos to indicate something less offensive.  Maybe a girl's name or maybe 'M' was turned into 'Mom' and maybe that is where that popular tattoo came from.  I also wonder if men had to drop their trousers when applying for a job to prove they hadn't been dishonorably discharged from the military. 

Things have obviously changed since the 19th century.  Getting a free tattoo would hardly be considered punishment nowadays.  It's too bad they don't use this punishment anymore.  I know a few people who could use a 'W' on their forehead.