47 I N G Recruiting Medal

Permit me to present another research challenge. This medal has been a mystery to me since I bought it from the Shorewood Coin Shop in Shorewood Wisconsin about twenty years ago. It is a gold medal of multi-piece construction. The brooch is engraved with the word “RECRUITING” and in the center of the medal, engraved in the three lines is “47 // I // N.G.” I assume that the number 47 is a regimental number. I also assume that the N. G. stands for National Guard. Since the term national guard is used in my assumption that would probably date this piece after the civil war. If there was a recruiting drive going on, that could indicate Spanish-American War era. The kicker is the letter “I’ which I again assume is an abbreviation for the state. A state with 47 regiments at that time period would have to be a large population state. Illinois, Indiana and Iowa come to mind as being large enough to field that number of regiments but not Idaho. I sure hope that someone reading this can help pin this one down.