When soldiers enlisted they would be assigned a ‘number.’ As it relates to Companies such as E or F, this number corresponded to the person’s name, on the initial muster roll, alphabetically. An example would be Pvt. Aaron would be soldier 1 or Pvt. Zion would be soldier 105. Once the soldier was assigned this number, he would place it on his gear (really the Regiment’s gear, he is just using it) along with the Company Letter and Regimental Number. So, for Pvt. Aaron it would be 1 (soldier number), F (Company F), and 8 (Regimental Number). This process based on Union Regulations at the time, which apparently adopted by the Confederacy. On Page 6 there is a photo of where the markings would be placed and how it would look. This is for ‘hard’ equipment like leathers, knapsack and such. Rifle too. Blankets, etc. were marked with an inked stencil or sewn initials, etc. Nails (preferably square-cut or forged for that truly authentic experience) can be used to scratch or indent one's initials into canteens (those without covers or wood), cups, and utensils. "
I have a picture that I found on the internet, and can show how this was done. Just don't know how to add it to this forum.
JIMT