The Burial and Fate of Confederate Soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg

During the American Civil War, the fate of the fallen soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg offers a poignant and gruesome narrative. This essay delves into the meticulous process of burying these soldiers, contrasting the treatment of Union and Confederate dead over time.

Immediate Burials and Challenges

Immediately after the Battle of Gettysburg, the environment was chaotic and overwhelming. Civilians, both Union and Confederate, returned to their respective homes to find the grim reality of the battlefield in their backyards and fields. As a result, many bodies were hastily buried wherever possible, leading to a haphazard burial process.

A contemporary account by Daniel Chisholm, a sergeant in the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, paints a vivid picture: “The ground here is very hard, full of rocks and stones; the digging very laborious work and the dead are many. As the time is short, they got but very shallow graves. In fact, most of them were buried in trenches dug not over 18 inches deep and as near where they fell as was possible.”

According to Lt. George Washington Whitman of the 13th NY Militia, “The enemy had 60 rounds of cartridges each when they went into action and had used it nearly all. Our regiment went into the fight with about 650 men and as we lost about 100 in killed and wounded you may know that we had pretty hot work. . . .”

Union Dead Moved to the National Cemetery

By November 1863, with the Battle of Gettysburg already a month in the past, Union soldiers were re-buried within the Gettysburg National Cemetery, a site that would later host Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address. This move marked the beginning of more organized and collective burial practices. Significant events, such as Lincoln's speech, made the Gettysburg National Cemetery a symbol of the nation's commemoration of its war dead.

In the process, the souls of Union soldiers were reunited with the earth in what was now a central graveyard, meticulously tended and marked. However, the way Confederate soldiers were treated varied significantly. Many of their bodies were left in unmarked graves, sometimes in fields where they fell, or interned across the South in various cemeteries, though many were not moved at all.

Burial Details and Embalming Practices

Efforts to bury the dead were not without controversy. Some of the Confederate dead were initially rearranged to pose as Union soldiers for photographs, which were often staged. This practice, though unethical, served as a way for Northern photographers to capture imagery of the battlefield that resonated with the public.

Embalming, a relatively new practice in the Civil War era, was embraced by many. It allowed the preservation of bodies, thus enabling more widespread travel and burial in distant locations. Dr. Thomas Holmes received a commission to embalm the bodies of Union officers for return to their families. With the discovery of formaldehyde in 1867 by August Wilhelm von Hofmann, the process became increasingly accurate and widespread.

Long-Term Impact and Preservation

The aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg left a profound impact on the land and the spirit of the nation. The constant reburial and preservation efforts were not just physical; they were also cultural and historical. Today, numerous historical resources elucidate the stories of those buried, from the Union soldiers buried in the National Cemetery to the countless Confederate soldiers left in anonymous graves.

Begin your journey to understand this significant chapter in history by visiting the Gettysburg National Battlefield and accessing the Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary. Additionally, reading works like Debris of Battle: The Wounded of Gettysburg by Gerard Patterson delves into the detailed accounts of the burial process and the impact of these events on the Civil War.

Further Reading:

Burying the Dead: The Civil War's Tragic Lessons in Death and Preservation by Historical Society of Pennsylvania Fallen Soldiers by John Fickel Death at Gettysburg by George E. Compton and Evelyn Compton