TN Mass grave of Confederate soldiers at Shiloh Military Park

CSA Today

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Honored Fallen Comrade
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Location
Laurinburg NC
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From the NPS: http://www.shilohbattlefield.org/cemetery/conf.asp. Additional links to photographs af the mass and individual graves are included. Unfortunately, these soldiers received a lot better burial than a lot of their comrades and opponents did as the war progressed.

"As many as eleven or twelve mass graves exist, but the park commission that created the park could only locate five. Those five are now marked at Shiloh National Military Park. Of course, all the Confederates buried in the trenches are unknown, having been buried as a mass by the enemy who did not know their identity. Only three Confederates now lie in the Shiloh National Cemetery: F.A. Rasch of the Orleans Guard (who is in an unknown grave), Phillip Prosser of the 13th Louisiana, and R.E. Cook of the 18th Alabama."
 
With the lack of 'dog tags' in the Civil War era, it is lucky for any of the soldiers to have been identified unless they had something on their person to identify them as to who they were and or their unit.

Though this pamphlet is not for Shiloh, it does show that there were attempts to identify those persons who's remains were left on the battlefield. [Pamphlet owned by M. E. Weyraugh, permission given to post for educational purposes]

Names of Officers & Soldiers Battle of Wilderness & Spotsylvania 001.jpg


What impressed me, was the inclusion of Confederate Soldiers and there wasn't any distinguishing differences on how they were listed. All were listed in a professional manner as deceased, all 723 officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted.

I can't help but think, that when names were discovered, that each opposition army would pass names to their enemy so that there would be some form of closure, especially for the families. This booklet does not add those who died away from the battlefield from their mortal wounds.

M. E. Wolf
 
When I was there last spring(2012) for the 150th, the headstones were covered with rememberances. Buttons, coins, candy flags on all of the mass graves. I could understand the buttons, flags and coins. But I still don't understand the significance of the candy and food.
 
When I was there last spring(2012) for the 150th, the headstones were covered with rememberances. Buttons, coins, candy flags on all of the mass graves. I could understand the buttons, flags and coins. But I still don't understand the significance of the candy and food.
That sounds odd to me as well. Wonder how such a tradition (if it be a tradition) started?
 
Mass grave of Confederate unknown at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Frederick MD. 408 remains buried here in a deep shaft . The grave is not much wider then the marker shown below. These soldiers were killed nearby at Monocacy in 1864. I posted this because I always find the mass graves very moving & this one is closest to where I live. The final words inscribed on the stone describe exactly my sentiment while standing beside the grave of an unknown soldier. "Honor The Brave"

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... I could understand the buttons, flags and coins. But I still don't understand the significance of the candy and food.

That sounds odd to me as well. Wonder how such a tradition (if it be a tradition) started?

I'm surprised to hear of it here in the U.S., but I know that at least in Japan it's a common practice to annually visit the graves of family members and leave offerings, including sake and various food items.

Mass grave of Confederate unknown at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Frederick MD. 408 remains buried here in a deep shaft . The grave is not much wider then the marker shown below. These soldiers were killed nearby at Monocacy in 1864. I posted this because I always find the mass graves very moving & this one is closest to where I live...

I've seen this kind of burial you describe - it's called an ossuary and is for bones only, not entire bodies, which are often found so jumbled as to be impossible to sort as to original cadavers. One that immediately springs to mind is a famous one at Verdun containing the bones of likely thousands of German soldiers killed there; anyone who has ever read about the ghastly conditions under which that particular months-long "battle" of attrition occurred can easily understand how this happened! How these Confederates got in such a way is a little harder to understand though, especially as they were the victors and held the field at Monocacy.
 
I found the following description of the burial of dead at Shiloh by an unidentified Union soldier - it was published in The Hocking Sentinel (Logan, Ohio) June 4, 1903:

"A great many stories of soldiers' cruelty were told after Shiloh. One of them was to the effect that the boys had become so calloused, so inured to horrors, that burial parties were careless as to whether the fatally wounded were dead or not before throwing them in the trenches for burial. In one case, it was stated that the men of a burying squad, finding some of the wounded still living, instead of trying to revive the dying men, sat down and played cards until all were dead. This story had a basis of truth. A squad from our brigade had dug a long trench and placed in it, according to instructions, sixty of the dead, or rather, fifty-nine bodies had been placed in the row, and covered with blankets, preparatory to the throwing in of dirt, when one of our men in lifting the sixtieth body insisted that there was still life in it. Examination showed that the body was not stiff and cold like the others, and the boys sending for a surgeon, sat down, some of them to watch and others to play cards, while waiting for the doctor's report. The man was pronounced dead and the body was placed in the line with others, but the fact that some of the members of the burial party played cards at such a time was enlarged upon as evidence of barbarous 'instincts."
 
I paraphrase from my notes on Iuka from the 4th MN VI. "One of the Sergeants took a detail onto the field in front of us to offer succor to the wounded. One man of the detail relived the dead of their boots and distributed them to the quartermaster while another gathered canteens and passed them to the wounded. When the Sgt bayoneted a wounded man we were near to hanging him for murder but those in the detail spoke up that the man had begged for a release from his pain having been shot in the bowels. We never did see the promised surgeons ply the field and the wounded were still there when we were ordered from that spot."
 
I've seen this kind of burial you describe - it's called an ossuary and is for bones only, not entire bodies, which are often found so jumbled as to be impossible to sort as to original cadavers. One that immediately springs to mind is a famous one at Verdun containing the bones of likely thousands of German soldiers killed there; anyone who has ever read about the ghastly conditions under which that particular months-long "battle" of attrition occurred can easily understand how this happened! How these Confederates got in such a way is a little harder to understand though, especially as they were the victors and held the field at Monocacy.

I believe these Confederate dead were reinterred after the war. This would probably explain the type of "ossuary" burial. Early was quickly on the move toward DC, which was really a race against VI Corps coming up from Virginia. He had little time to wait on Monocacy Battlefield & properly bury the dead. No doubt they were buried at first in shallow graves near where they fell. Mount Olivet is a couple miles from the battlefield & by wars end already had the graves of nearly 300 Confederate soldiers who had died in local hospitals. The cite below is pretty cool as it attempts to research & document the history of these know soldiers. It's not complete but I like it & would love to see more of such sites.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mjhiggins/Confederate-Graves-at-Mount-Olivet.html
 
This may be of interest:

Southern Historical Society Papers.
Volume XII. July-August-September. Nos. 7, 8, 9.
Diary of Rev. J.G. Law.

ADVANCE INTO KENTUCKY.
August 13, 1862. -- General Preston Smith's brigade left Knoxville at 5 o'clock this morning. We marched thirteen miles and halted for the night at 2 o'clock P.M. We rested about one hour during the march. The heat was intense and the dust almost suffocating. Harry Cowperthwaite, of the Maynards, was overcome by the intense heat and fainted under the scorching rays of the noonday sun. My knapsack was a heavy burden, but the anticipation of clean clothes helped me to endure the extra weight. Many of the boys left their knapsacks at Knoxville and will probably never see them again. The baggage of the officers is limited and my chessboard was left behind in Major Dawson's box. General Preston Smith has ordered brigade guard tonight and I am the unfortunate individual that represents the "Maynard Rifles" in that grand farce. But the drum beats and the guard must obey.
[extensive excerpt as it is not germane to 'candy.'
August 22. -- Returned to Barboursville this morning. Breakfasted on beef, a la solitaire. About 11 o'clock Colonel Fitzgerald halted the regiment by the side of a cornfield and we were turned in to graze like a herd of cattle. We roasted several ears of corn, rested an hour or so and then marched into Barboursville with flying colors. Another one of Captain DeGraffenreid's men was shot on picket last night. The result of our expedition is two men wounded. Beef and bushwackers were scarce. Sixty wagonloads of captured provisions came in this evening, including flour, bacon, coffee, &c. The Yankees are overwhelming us with kindness, and their hospitality seems to know no bounds. One day's rations of flour was issued to the hungry "Rebs," and biscuit are again in sight. We expect to march on Manchester tomorrow, twenty four miles distant.

August 23. -- Marched fourteen miles and halted at sunset. We have no base of supplies and are dependent upon the forced hospitality of the Yankees and the produce of the country. Ten days' rations of salt were issued before we left Barboursville. My baggage consists of my gun and accoutrements, blanket, canteen, and two haversacks, one for self and the other for my Bible, notebook, and chessmen. There is a grim significance in the ten days' ration of salt. It evidently means that we are expected to whip the Yankees within that time and draw rations from the Federal Government; or it may be that we are expected to salt the carcasses of those who fall in the wilderness before we get to the promised land. We have had a hard time marching today through a drenching rain and over muddy, slippery roads. The eager soldiers seemed to take about as many steps backward as forward, and the wonder is that we made any progress at all, but in the afternoon the rain ceased to fall, the sun broke through the clouds, and our struggling column of grey moved cheerily forward in the direction of the commissary department. Coffee and bacon were issued.

Sunday, August 24. -- Manchester. We reached this place about noon and captured a large stock of crackers, cheese, tobacco, candy, &c., which had been left for our bodily comfort by the thoughtful Federals. As we advance into Kentucky we meet with more sympathy and the Southern sentiment begins to be more strongly developed. The dreaded bushwackers fired into the ranks of the old One Hundred and Fifty fourth this morning, but fortunately no harm was done, and we moved on with closed ranks.

[end of excerpt]
-----------------
Southern Historical Society Papers.
Vol. XXVI. Richmond, Va., January-December. 1898.
War Diary Of Capt. Robert Emory Park.
Twelfth Alabama Regiment.
JANUARY 28th, 1863--JANUARY 27th, 1864.
Accounts of the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Jeffersonton, Bristow Station, Locust Grove, Mine Run, the March into Maryland and Pennsylvania, with Reminiscences of the Battle of Seven Pines.
[The Editor has pleasure in preserving in these pages the following graphic record. Captain Park has proven himself in maturer years, as progressive, public spirited, and successful as a citizen as he was gallant and faithful as a soldier.]
[extensive excerpt - not germane to candy]

ADVANCE INTO MARYLAND AND PENNSYLVANIA.

June 19. Crossed Potomac by wading at Williamsport, Md., and marched through Hagerstown. A majority of the people seem to be Unionists, though there are some delightful exceptions. Bivouacked at Funkstown. Dined at Mr. Syester's, a good Southerner. Gave 75 cents in Confederate money for a pound of stick candy.

June 20. Gave $2.12 1/2 for a black hat. With Captain Hewlett and Lieutenant Oscar Smith, of 3d Ala. Called on Misses Mary Jane and Lizzie Kellar, young ladies just from a Pennsylvania Female College, and heard them sing and play Southern songs.

une 21. Attended divine services at M. E. Church in Hagerstown. At tea met Miss Rose Shafer, and found her to be a brave Belle Boyd in her words and acts.

June 22. Took up line of march to Pennsylvania. Passed through Hagerstown in columns of companies. Crossed Pennsylvania line near Middleburg, and camped at Greencastle.

June 23. Quiet in camp. Lieut. J. W. Wright's resignation accepted, and Sergeant G. W. Wright elected in his stead. I appointed Tom Clower first sergeant, and Corporal Bob Stafford a sergeant.

June 24. Marched towards Harrisburg, and passed through Marion and Chambersburg. We see many women and children, but few men. General Lee has issued orders prohibiting all misconduct or lawlessness, and urging utmost forbearance and kindness to all.

[end of excerpt]

M. E. Wolf



 
I found the following description of the burial of dead at Shiloh by an unidentified Union soldier - it was published in The Hocking Sentinel (Logan, Ohio) June 4, 1903:

"A great many stories of soldiers' cruelty were told after Shiloh. One of them was to the effect that the boys had become so calloused, so inured to horrors, that burial parties were careless as to whether the fatally wounded were dead or not before throwing them in the trenches for burial. In one case, it was stated that the men of a burying squad, finding some of the wounded still living, instead of trying to revive the dying men, sat down and played cards until all were dead. This story had a basis of truth. A squad from our brigade had dug a long trench and placed in it, according to instructions, sixty of the dead, or rather, fifty-nine bodies had been placed in the row, and covered with blankets, preparatory to the throwing in of dirt, when one of our men in lifting the sixtieth body insisted that there was still life in it. Examination showed that the body was not stiff and cold like the others, and the boys sending for a surgeon, sat down, some of them to watch and others to play cards, while waiting for the doctor's report. The man was pronounced dead and the body was placed in the line with others, but the fact that some of the members of the burial party played cards at such a time was enlarged upon as evidence of barbarous 'instincts."

Burial detail had to be the worse job a soldier would have to take, other then actual combat itself. Some men no doubt needed to dull their senses a bit to carry out this duty & got drunk first. It may appear callous to play cards along a burial trench, but the mind needs some normalcy. Otherwise men would probably break amid horror & psychological trauma of war, IMHO. Maybe a card game would be just the trick to divert men's attention from the grime carnage that surrounded them. Sounds perfectly natural to me.

Now throwing bodies down a well is very callous. As happened at South Mountain. But I believe such incidents were the exception & not the rule.
 
It's awful reading all this, but you kind of HAVE to, if we're to understand what these men endured, for real. As I scrolled through, was agreeing with what Mdiesel left as a kin of epitaph- it would have been the single way to remain functional, to numb oneself to what was occuring in front of your eyes. I've frequently been horrified, the orders the men recieved, like the army was one, big robot- march 30 miles, fight, do not sleep or eat, march another 15, fight again, get yelled at for falling over, and while you're here, bury all these things laying in he road which used to be men. Crazy. At Bull Run, no provisions had been made for wounded by the army- none. The men were expected to help each other off the field, then- what? There was an extreme callousness towards the troops displayed from the top down, tough to wrap your head around.

Thanks for these photos. Gosh, doesn't seem like a large enough area for SO many, many men, what a crushing thought. Then when you think about the likely explanation, as JamesN said, which made us no better than what occured in Germany, pretty sobering. Not the fault of the troops, again, it was this crazy, crazy perspective on the part of' whoever' ' up high', that there was simply no other recourse than this. Please nobody point out what on earth could have been done, I don't know either- just something better than this.
 
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