Remains protocol?

[archieclement]

I was watching battlefield recovery and they were recovering the body of a soldier they identified as probable unknown German.......they said the identification was important as it would decide if he went to a German or Russian Cemetery.

Off hand not aware of that being a big consideration here, some are are divided battlefield cemeteries, some joint cemeteries, and many private. Would there be a procedure if remains were discovered today in the US as to where the remains go?

 

[Georgia]

DNA testing could be done to determine the ancestry of the foreign soldier. But, in the case of the Civil War, as we are all mostly combinations of genetic information- it wouldn't be that helpful in determining if the soldier was fighting for the a Union or Confederate armies.

Perhaps there would be enough genetic information within the banks that could tell you more about the fallen soldier and attach him to a family. Then, it might be able to determine which Army of which he was a member.

( Is this what you meant in your question or are you talking hypothetically if a large battle of troops from all over had happened on US soil? )

 

[archieclement]

I'm asking if which side he fought for would even be important in where the remains go, as not aware of any protocol here that would call for a national cemetery to a side

If a sides identity was established, would imagine a veteran/heritage group of that side would step up to make arrangements, but even then, think resting place is up to them.

 

[Georgia]

I'm asking if which side he fought for would even be important in where the remains go, as not aware of any protocol here that would call for a national cemetery to a side

If a sides identity was established, would imagine a veteran/heritage group of that side would step up to make arrangements, but even then, think resting place is up to them.

Gotcha!

 

[Story]

In 2020 he would most likely be buried under an UNKNOWN tombstone, without further designation as to side.

From 2018 -
"The Army made the decision that the costs associated with obtaining, storing, and testing of the DNA from these two Unknown U.S. Soldiers was not justified due to the significant passage of time as the possibility of identifying comparator DNA is extremely unlikely," a statement from Army officials at the cemetery says.

No answers for family’s questions about Civil War unknowns

When Paul Davis heard earlier this year that the complete remains of two Civil War soldiers had been uncovered recently at Manassas National Battlefield, mixed among severed limbs in a surgeon’s pit, he immediately wondered: Could that be his great-great uncle William, who died at the Second...

www.armytimes.com

 

[Georgia]

In 2020 he would most likely be buried under an UNKNOWN tombstone, without further designation as to side.

From 2018 -
"The Army made the decision that the costs associated with obtaining, storing, and testing of the DNA from these two Unknown U.S. Soldiers was not justified due to the significant passage of time as the possibility of identifying comparator DNA is extremely unlikely," a statement from Army officials at the cemetery says.

No answers for family’s questions about Civil War unknowns

When Paul Davis heard earlier this year that the complete remains of two Civil War soldiers had been uncovered recently at Manassas National Battlefield, mixed among severed limbs in a surgeon’s pit, he immediately wondered: Could that be his great-great uncle William, who died at the Second...

www.armytimes.com

It would take extra work and finances- but, one would like to think the families who are waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones would be worth the extra testing. Especially since there's so much Greater a chance of existing dna in databases now than ever before- with all the ancestry and various options for genealogy on the market.

 

[Ole Miss]

The government attempts to ID which side the soldier was on by clothing, letters or other means. If they are Union they usually go the nearest National Cemetery and if Confederate they are moved to a Confederate one if possible.
Regards
David

 

[Story]

The government attempts to ID which side the soldier was on by clothing, letters or other means. If they are Union they usually go the nearest National Cemetery and if Confederate they are moved to a Confederate one if possible.
Regards
David

...and if there are no determiners, they get an UNKNOWN tombstone.

 

[rpkennedy]

The government attempts to ID which side the soldier was on by clothing, letters or other means. If they are Union they usually go the nearest National Cemetery and if Confederate they are moved to a Confederate one if possible.
Regards
David

That's what happened when the bodies were found at Antietam in the late 1980s. They were determined to be members of the Irish Brigade and were reinterred in the National Cemetery under "Unknown" tombstones. Figuring out which side they fought for and getting them to an appropriate cemetery is about the best that can be asked for.

Ryan

 

[Ole Miss]

The Federal Government's dedicated efforts to provide a dignified and honorable burial to our veterans has always impressed me. Both of my parents were WW II veternas and were intered with honor at Quantico National Military Cemetery. Ironically my GGGreatgrandfather, George Washington Litton who was a member of the 29th Virginia, is intered in Cypress Hills National Cemetery. He was a POW at Harts Island when he died in May of 1865.
Regards
David

 

[Rhea Cole]

A good example of what happens occurred in Franklin TN on the 14th of May, 2009. A road construction crew discovered a shallow grave. The individual was buried wearing a frock coat with a mix of eagle & I buttons. Because of the mixed buttons, there was some ambiguity about which side the soldier had belonged to. Reenactors held a vigil in a historic church. The remains were reinterred in Franklin's historic cemetery.

At Stones River National Cemetery there is a single stone that marks the grave of a jumble of soldiers from a trench burial. It was discovered by a crew digging a waterline for a house that had served as a hospital. There was no way to sort the remains into one side or the other, so they were collected & buried together in a single grave.