Robin Lesjovitch
Sergeant
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2018
I have never been concerned about what happened to Garnett's remains after he was killed at Gettysburg...until now.
It has been assumed he was buried in a mass grave at the battlefield, then reburied in Virginia later, but unidentified.. The reason usually cited is he was unidentifiable due to battle action.
His sword was discovered by George H. Steurt ("Maryland Steurt") in a Baltimore pawn shop (or second hand store) 3 decades later. That suggests that at least some of Garnett's personal items changed hands after the battle.
This: http://www.gdg.org/research/SHSP/shgarnet.html got me thinking about what really happened on 3 July with Garnett.
A witness in Garnett's command during the fight said this:
"General Garnett wore a uniform coat, almost new, with a general's star and wreath on the collar, and top boots, with trousers inside, and spurs. It is, therefore, inexplicable that his remains were not identified."
What got my attention was "a general's star". The soldier might have been referring to a large star between two smaller ones, or, literally a single star.
The fact the rank insignia was described might have meant it was, like the coat, rather new and possibly attractive to someone looking for souvenirs.
The fact is, the coat itself might have "disappeared". There was no mention of lower sleeve "knots" on the coat that would also have given away that the coat was on a general. One would think those "knots" were there. In addition the coat's button arrangement should have indicated a general.
It would seem unlikely that action would have caused Garnett's coat to become fully unidentifiable as a general's. That is, if his coat was more or less regulation.
Did Garnett's coat have only one star on the collar? If so, that might explain Federals reckoning him as a major (ignoring the wreath) and maybe not worth extra trouble.
Or, did Garnett's coat and other personal items "disappear", making identification unlikely?
I'm sure others know more than I about such things, how much more is there?
It has been assumed he was buried in a mass grave at the battlefield, then reburied in Virginia later, but unidentified.. The reason usually cited is he was unidentifiable due to battle action.
His sword was discovered by George H. Steurt ("Maryland Steurt") in a Baltimore pawn shop (or second hand store) 3 decades later. That suggests that at least some of Garnett's personal items changed hands after the battle.
This: http://www.gdg.org/research/SHSP/shgarnet.html got me thinking about what really happened on 3 July with Garnett.
A witness in Garnett's command during the fight said this:
"General Garnett wore a uniform coat, almost new, with a general's star and wreath on the collar, and top boots, with trousers inside, and spurs. It is, therefore, inexplicable that his remains were not identified."
What got my attention was "a general's star". The soldier might have been referring to a large star between two smaller ones, or, literally a single star.
The fact the rank insignia was described might have meant it was, like the coat, rather new and possibly attractive to someone looking for souvenirs.
The fact is, the coat itself might have "disappeared". There was no mention of lower sleeve "knots" on the coat that would also have given away that the coat was on a general. One would think those "knots" were there. In addition the coat's button arrangement should have indicated a general.
It would seem unlikely that action would have caused Garnett's coat to become fully unidentifiable as a general's. That is, if his coat was more or less regulation.
Did Garnett's coat have only one star on the collar? If so, that might explain Federals reckoning him as a major (ignoring the wreath) and maybe not worth extra trouble.
Or, did Garnett's coat and other personal items "disappear", making identification unlikely?
I'm sure others know more than I about such things, how much more is there?