After the battle

[debwallsmith]

I'm interested in how the Union army accounted for the missing/dead after a battle? Was there a process that was used? How were the dead identified? Are there publications on this topic?

 

[EzraLewis]

I'm sure there's someone who can answer this better than me, but I believe a Union soldier was marked as missing if they failed to show for muster after the battle—dead only if their body was found. I'm not sure what process was used, but both armies scoured the field for wounded and dead both during and after the battle. The Union Army did not retroactively mark the mortally wounded as having been killed.

 

[captaindrew]

It started at the company level. The company 1st Sergeant AKA Orderly Sergeant was responsible for conducting roll calls of their company and filling out a daily roster report called a "morning report" to send up the chain of command.

 

[52ndFandS]

It started at the company level. The company 1st Sergeant AKA Orderly Sergeant was responsible for conducting roll calls of their company and filling out a daily roster report called a "morning report" to send up the chain of command.

Must have a sinking feeling when you get down to five or six in a company. A very lonely place if the only one left.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

Must have a sinking feeling when you get down to five or six in a company. A very lonely place if the only one left.

What makes you think things have changed any. Battlefield aren't an organized place. Things weren't always easy in Vietnam. I ran missions to extract the dead from crashed aircraft. Sometimes it was impossible to extract the corpse's because of the crash itself or enemy fire, sometimes they were totally unrecognizable so we had orders to remove portions of the body for identification purposes. You never forget the smell of burnt human flesh.

 

[52ndFandS]

What makes you think things have changed any. Battlefield aren't an organized place. Things weren't always easy in Vietnam. I ran missions to extract the dead from crashed aircraft. Sometimes it was impossible to extract the corpse's because of the crash itself or enemy fire, sometimes they were totally unrecognizable so we had orders to remove portions of the body for identification purposes. You never forget the smell of burnt human flesh.

I would never disrespect any veteran, nor was I in that statement. I've been around people who were in WW1, my grandfather was Merchant Marine in WW2, sunk twice, nearly killed by machine gun the second time in the Pacific. The I-27 was the boat that got them, I believe.

My maternal grandfather was in the Korean, my cousin was in the service during Vietnam and as a tattoo artist I've dealt with, on a short but very one on one time, with vets from Veitnam on.

I respect and thank you for your service. Just like I do any veteran I get can stop and shake hands with. When I say it must have been a lonely place I say it in the context of any war, for anyone. Just so happens we're taking ACW here.

And no, you never, ever forget the smell of burning flesh. I know the smell.

 

[captaindrew]

Must have a sinking feeling when you get down to five or six in a company. A very lonely place if the only one left.

Not an enviable job sometimes but had to be done pretty much daily, even in camp. Your numbers would constantly be changing, not just battle losses but you'd be losing guys to disease, injuries, guys out sick, guys on furlough, AWOL, guys being picked for detached duties such as guard duties, help at hospitals and such. And you have guys coming back in, returning wounded, replacements. It was always changing and needing accounting for.

 

[Old Soldier]

Accounting for cas is always done AFTER the battle. Roll call. The platoon commanders/sergeants know how few they have left, but they have no time for sentiment or memories with the bullets flying. This extends to the higher formation commanders who do not have direct contact with their men, company battalion or regimental commanders - you will have a hard time carrying out a company task with 50% casualties. Many companies were merged.

The roll call will probably reveal some information from the survivors - "X got one in the head"; "Y went back with blood coming out of his gut"; "Z? Dunno." Once roll call is done, then the quartermaster's first task will be to request replacements to bring the unit up to strength He can start looking for those missing from the roll, probably starting with the medical facilities noting wounds and locations. Once the battle is over, or during a truce, they can start looking at those left in the field - the dead and the severely wounded.

 

[DixieRifles]

I think there was a similar post not very long ago about how/when they performed the Toll Call after a battle.
I may be wrong, but this one seems focused on locating and identifying the bodies.

I started researching the 19 Louisiana Regiment, which one of my ancestors served.
After the 1st day of fighting at Shiloh, Colonel Gibson's brigade reformed and they had lost the 19th Louisiana Regiment. The whole regiment was lost. The next morning a general gave orders to the 19th and another orphaned regiment as to where to fall in line.

Speaking of modern wars, a co-worker's father served in WW2 in the Graves Registration Service. He kept a diary as well as a list of names and units of all soldiers he recovered, usually at night. I have both on my website.

Anzio Diary

 

[debwallsmith]

Based on answers so far, it appears that men could be reported as KIA when, in fact, they were taken prisoner. I have found a number of men listed as KIA in the Camp Lawton/Millen POW database. In most cases, they became POWs at Petersburg or Cold Harbor so it makes sense given the chaos.

 

[DixieRifles]

Based on answers so far, it appears that men could be reported as KIA when, in fact, they were taken prisoner.

That is what is confusing with Confederate Service Records. One muster roll will report them AWOL and then next report them at a Hospital. There are many examples where soldiers area listed as: Absent, AWOL. So many that, I tend to disregard that if the soldier appears on a later roll call.

Here is an example. I can't make sense of this.

Present or absent: Absent
Remarks: Absent without Leave in the Trans Miss Dept.


Sure sounds like he was transferred to a different department, either permanently or for temporary duty. He never returned to his regiment and therefore missed the 1865 battles around Mobile.

BTW, other documents in his file said he was sent to hospital. My resource mentions other officers were sent back to recruit. If they crossed the Mississippi River, that would put them in a different department.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

I'm interested in how the Union army accounted for the missing/dead after a battle? Was there a process that was used? How were the dead identified? Are there publications on this topic?

This is not an answer, but it IS relevant as an examplt. Edward Porter Alexander, in his book, "Fighting for the Confederacy," tells of a situation during the battle of Chancellorsville, where in early evening he came across a Union Soldier lying by the roadside crying out loudly, "Water, Water, Water!" Alexander went to him and noticed the Union Soldier had been shot in the forehead and his brain was protruding. Alexander asked what state the Union soldier was from, and the soldier began shouting "New York, New York, New York," incessantly, as long as Alexander could hear as he rode away.
We must assume that this particular Union soldier died, but it would be likely that he was at least initially reported "missing."

 

[Old Soldier]

So, clearing the battlefield. Did the soldiers have ID on them? Something like a disk or a paybook? If not, it would have been a dire job trying to identify those killed. It would have had to be the corporals and the sergeants job to identify them - they knew their guys. Many would have been disfigured. Clearing the injured would have been just as bad for the bandsmen - acting as stretcherbearers. i suspect most would have been beyond help, barely alive after losing so much blood and so long after the 'victory'. The dead were left until the next day. I suspect there was little identification of dead after a battle.

Then you have the enemy dead. There was no Geneva Convention about them, especially in a civil war of any nation. Weapons would have been collected and stored - especially if they were better than the ones you had, but I suspect that was about it. There will have been some 'looting' - searching the bodies for valubles. Then dig some deep holes - they had to be deep since wild hogs LOVE an easy meal - or find some old trenches. It was often the local civilians who did that - often against their will if the army was still there. More often, the army moved on leaving the civvies to clear up.

Even dead bodies have their uses. Apparently after Waterloo (1815), the dead were buried in mass graves, but recent excavations have not found many complete skeletons. The current theory is that the locals dug up the bones and ground them to be processed for fertilizer!
Try: https://www.britannica.com/video/195083/Overview-engagements-Battle-of-Gettysburg-American-Civil

 

[bankerpapaw]

I'm sure there's someone who can answer this better than me, but I believe a Union soldier was marked as missing if they failed to show for muster after the battle—dead only if their body was found. I'm not sure what process was used, but both armies scoured the field for wounded and dead both during and after the battle. The Union Army did not retroactively mark the mortally wounded as having been killed.

Not being at roll call afterward.

 

[huskerblitz]

Further complicating issues were if many of the officers were killed in the same engagement.

 

[Old Soldier]

Further complicating issues were if many of the officers were killed in the same engagement.

Not really. The NCOs knew the men, the officers generally didn't. The officers mess would list the missing officers.

 

[huskerblitz]

Not really. The NCOs knew the men, the officers generally didn't. The officers mess would list the missing officers.

I'm not so sure. At least given some of my regimental research.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

So, clearing the battlefield. Did the soldiers have ID on them? Something like a disk or a paybook? If not, it would have been a dire job trying to identify those killed. It would have had to be the corporals and the sergeants job to identify them - they knew their guys. Many would have been disfigured. Clearing the injured would have been just as bad for the bandsmen - acting as stretcherbearers. i suspect most would have been beyond help, barely alive after losing so much blood and so long after the 'victory'. The dead were left until the next day. I suspect there was little identification of dead after a battle.

Then you have the enemy dead. There was no Geneva Convention about them, especially in a civil war of any nation. Weapons would have been collected and stored - especially if they were better than the ones you had, but I suspect that was about it. There will have been some 'looting' - searching the bodies for valubles. Then dig some deep holes - they had to be deep since wild hogs LOVE an easy meal - or find some old trenches. It was often the local civilians who did that - often against their will if the army was still there. More often, the army moved on leaving the civvies to clear up.

Even dead bodies have their uses. Apparently after Waterloo (1815), the dead were buried in mass graves, but recent excavations have not found many complete skeletons. The current theory is that the locals dug up the bones and ground them to be processed for fertilizer!
Try: https://www.britannica.com/video/195083/Overview-engagements-Battle-of-Gettysburg-American-Civil

It's a little bit simpler even than that…For infantry at least back then, unless you enlisted in a unit raised in an urban area or in the regular army, you most likely knew, or knew of, many of the guys in your own company. By midway through the war for many units you're talking about 30-40 guys that you spend every day with, line up next to at every roll call, meal, mail call, etc. These guys were brothers in arms in the truest sense of the word.

 

[gc45]

What makes you think things have changed any. Battlefield aren't an organized place. Things weren't always easy in Vietnam. I ran missions to extract the dead from crashed aircraft. Sometimes it was impossible to extract the corpse's because of the crash itself or enemy fire, sometimes they were totally unrecognizable so we had orders to remove portions of the body for identification purposes. You never forget the smell of burnt human flesh.

Amen Brother. Welcome home!

 

[Old Soldier]

It's a little bit simpler even than that…For infantry at least back then, unless you enlisted in a unit raised in an urban area or in the regular army, you most likely knew, or knew of, many of the guys in your own company. By midway through the war for many units you're talking about 30-40 guys that you spend every day with, line up next to at every roll call, meal, mail call, etc. These guys were brothers in arms in the truest sense of the word.

And what if they were all killed or wounded? A company would be about 50 men - 'about' because they did not always operate at thet strength. Disease and injuries would always remove a few, sometimes a lot. What you said would apply to a unit before their first action - after that, they would be moved around, added to to bring it up to strength.
Some may not have been able to recall names - or didn't want to - battle fatigue/ADHD. It would bring back too many memories for that 'Band of Brothers'. It was the job of the First Sergeant to call the roll. All sergeants were often less than a 'brother' and more a 'father', otherwise they would not keep their stripes.
Any soldier who has seen action would tell you that, but most keep their mouths shut for that very reason. Memories.