GRAPHIC Dead Confederate's?

The clarity on his uniform and its stiching was so superb I thought it was important to zoom in on them for the people who wanted to see and study them.

What I find amazing is that you can see the whip stitch in the hem of his trousers. Awesome pics in a good and bad way if that makes sense.
 
RNMCSA, sir;

You wrote:
In the picture in post #116 we again see evidence of the bodies being worked over, as 64th points out some items are missing if you click the picture and zoom in you can see some amazing detail. Look just under his elbow on a line with the point of the pocket that has been turned out so violently as to be ripped and you can see the button laying in the mud that had held the pocket shut. Also above his head is his haversack the strap of which has been cut and it is ripped open to get at the contents. Almost all of the pictures of the dead at Ft Mahone exhibit the same; pockets turned out, jackets ripped open and cut straps on gear that is still on the body. It has been said before that the reason the jackets are open on photos of Civil War dead was that the soldiers did this themselves, searching for the wound. This may be true to some extent but it is just as obviouse in these photos that it was done by someone looking for trophies and valuables.

In the earlier portion of this thread about the brogans missing their laces--this cutting of laces would promote a more rapid removal of them off the dead. But, as before--wanted to mention how well shod these men were. The neatness of their clothing despite the fighting conditions, e.g. mud, dirt.

I would also wish to add for consideration, this thought -- is it possible that buddies of the soldier might have, in haste per prior request -- strip the body of personal effects as to send them home? I certainly would honor that request as there were no dog tags but personal items, e.g. pocket watch, diary and or purse--often was embossed and or contents identified the owner. I would want my kin to know of my death and my possessions returned to them as keepsakes.

Just some thoughts.

M. E. Wolf
 
Thats an interesting point M.E. Wolf, I would think that the fighting there at the end was pretty desperate as seems to be evedenced in some of the photos and accounts of the battle report. Something else Ive been mulling over is i wonder how scroupelous (sp) the photographer and his assistant were. He did after all have his assistant pose as if dead and set up props. Im afraid we'll never know for sure. I have noticed in more and more pictures of the dead from both sides, the rifeling of the clothing extends beyond what a soldier would have done looking for a wound. i.e. the turned out pockets are common.
 
Kinda a lot of dead soldiers. I grow weary of looking at dead soldiers. That has been done and overdone.

They left their homes for their own reasons and many, if not much of them died. I don't really like to look at their pictures. That was not a simple time.
 
I'm slow coming in here, and only read the responses on page one, but here's what I see.

I see a body lying on it's left side. I see the upper shoulder that appears to be covered by debris as one continues on down the arm toward the hand. The torso appears to be mostly under debris, and then I see an outline of the right leg that's bent at the hip almost parallel with the arm. I may see a head, but it's very difficult to see, my guess is that it's particially, if not entirely, covered by debris, btw, the head would be near the feet of the above soldier.
Then again, I can see a lot of other possibilities as well, including just some wood lying around. :smile:
 
Closeup of the original image at full resolution:

02556a.jpg


Slightly different angle:

32924u.jpg


32918u.jpg
 
To return to the OP, I believe the photo shows a second corpse, only partially uncovered, in the foreground. The body is lying on its right side. The head, not visible, would be oriented to the lower left. The left upper arm, hip and left upper thigh are exposed. The original image is part of the stereo pair, that may make the content more clear.

PetersburgCorpse.JPG


PetersburgCorpse.gif
 
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What's the possibility of that being a head-log from the breastworks lying next to the covered body?
Would a direct hit from a artillery round have enough force to dislodge the head-log and cover the unfortunate soul with dirt?
 
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