Battlefield Burial

rebalgray · #1 03-21-2006, 12:23 AM

- Battlefield Burial -
In August 1996, GAI Consultants, Inc. completed a field investigation involving the archeological recovery of a Civil War-period burial identified along the south bank of "the railroad cut" in the northern portion of the park. Fieldwork followed the accidental discovery of eroded skeletal remains by a Park tourist in March 1996. Ben Resnick (GAI), Sue Frankenberg (University of Tennessee) and Kristen Stevens (National Park Service) served as principal investigators; Karen Orrence served as field director. Goals of the project included, in part, the recovery of additional skeletal remains associated with the eroded bone; a determination of the individual's age, sex, race, cause of death, and military affiliation; and ascertaining the presence or absence of any additional associated skeletal remains in the area (trench burial?).
A total of four test units were investigated over a five-day period resulting in the recovery of additional human skeletal remains from a grave identified in the upper portion of the slope and from downslope talus deposits. Intact portions of the burial were encountered at the interface of the historic plowzone and B/C horizon, and extended into the subsoil, resting within a natural crevice in the bedrock, approximately one foot below ground surface. It is possible that the pit in which the burial was identified may represent a disturbed trench burial. Based on the condition and position of the bone, it appears that the body may have been pushed or rolled into the shallow pit, rather than being carefully interred.
Human skeletal elements recovered from the excavation include skull, mandible and teeth, clavicle, vertebra, scapula, pelvic and rib fragments, several long bones (including the right humerus, right and left radius and ulna, possible right fibula) and parts of the right? foot, in addition to numerous small unidentifiable fragments. In combination with bone previously collected in this area, approximately 60 to 70 percent of the body is represented by these fragments.
Osteological analysis conducted by Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution and Sue Frankenberg indicates that the individual was a physically active, young adult, Caucasian male between the ages of 20 and 25. Based on burial location and context, suspected cause of death, bone condition, lack of a coffin, presence of an associated nineteenth-century glass button, and historic cartographic evidence, the interment represents a Civil War battlefield burial. Based on the analysis of recovered skull fragments, it appears that the individual was killed as a result of a bullet wound (i.e., minie ball) to the back of the head. This is partially reflected in the X-rays of cranial fragments indicating the presence of minute amounts of lead. The individual was interred in a flexed position on his right side, with the left arm crossed over the right arm. These elements and portions of the right foot represent the only articulations present within the burial and suggest that soft tissue was present in these areas at the time of interment. The overall poor preservation of the skeleton is probably related to several factors, including the presence of possible battle-related wounds to the chest, rapid decomposition of the body due to extended postmortem exposure, and/or other post-depositional factors.
The general lack of artifacts associated with the interment makes identification by army, division, company, or by name, nearly impossible. The location of the burial site along the south bank of "the railroad cut" does suggest, however, that the individual probably was killed during intense fighting in this area on July 1, 1863. The location and orientation of the burial is consistent with renderings of Confederate graves on the Elliot Map which depicts a number of interments laid out perpendicular to "the railroad cut" in this general location. The recovery of what is thought to be Confederate "buck & ball" ammunition in similar context to the burial also lends to the theory that this may be a Confederate soldier. It is speculated that this soldier may have been a member of General Davis's 2nd Mississippi or 55th North Carolina Regiments who were retreating to "the railroad cut" late in the morning of July 1, 1863. This is a tentative interpretation as to the identity of this individual and is not meant to be taken as a definitive explanation in this matter. One must note, for example, that nearly 150 men of the 6th Wisconsin Regiment were also killed in the field on this day. A draft technical report and popular report have been submitted to the Denver Service Center, National Park Service and Gettysburg National Military Park.

lrd89 · #2 03-21-2006, 02:04 AM

Very interesting post. Thanks. I wonder if we'll ever know who he was?

whitworth · #3 03-21-2006, 08:18 AM

Confederates were buried in many places. An officer who died after the battle was buried in Chambersburg. I recently saw a picture of a grave marker of a Confederate soldier buried in a Harrisburg cemetery.

One wonders the number of unknown Confederate soldiers wounded at Gettysburg, who died on the retreat south, and whose bodies were left to a farmer to bury. How many unknown graves dot the path of Lee's retreat back to Virginia?