Sullivan Ballou,sadness and desecration. (1 Viewer)

[Rob]

Having many times heard Sullivan Ballou's unbearably sad final letter to his wife Sarah read out in Ken Burns superb Civil War series,I was reading about his service and his mortal wound in action.I then read with Horror at how his body was dug up,decapitated and desecrated by probably soldiers of the 21st Georgia regt.I also read that his obviously much loved Sarah never remarried and was buried next to the few remains they could find of his body.

From the first word of the letter to the burying of his wife it is yet another heart wrenchingly sad episode of a heart wrenchingly sad conflict,what a terrible terrible war it was.I have often thought there are great similarities between the ACW and WW1 for hideous casualty rates,families,friends and communitys devastated by loss.

We still often hear about WW1 Soldiers being found to this day as they rise through the mud of the Somme or Ypres etc.I was wondering if soldiers of the ACW missing were still being recovered many years after the conflict?.And was there a high percentage of men missing in action?.I can imagine that wounded men may have crawled away from battlefields to die alone in bushes and trees to be discovered years later.I do hope the US authorities did all they could to recover these brave men that gave everything in sacrifice for their country in this awful conflict.

Rob

 

[Shiloh]

I know they still get unearthed south of Shiloh. Usually when some one plows up a pasture or excavating in the woods. Doesn't seem to happen as much as it once did though.

 

[DCN1898]

There were a lot of missing but unfortunately,There are quite a few mass graves in Tennessee and other western states. The only ones that I remember seeing are Confederate graves with a marker stating that "so many" Confederate Soldiers buried here. I believe that there are thousands that are "known only to God".
There were also desertions, and some of those took up new lives out west. Also there are still about 21 soldiers missing at The Little Big Horn and that was a relatively small battlefield and we have years to look.

 

[Shiloh]

After the battles both side buried there dead in trenches. Most confederate dead are still buried in trenches. The union troops were exhumed afterwards and moved to individual graves although a lot of them were listed as unknowns. It was almost impossible to identify Confederate soldiers unless it was by a person that knew them because of the lack of letters and other papers
A lot of the bodies found today are from wounded that died in route back to Corinth and buried along the line of retreat.

 

[Rob]

After the battles both side buried there dead in trenches. Most confederate dead are still buried in trenches. The union troops were exhumed afterwards and moved to individual graves although a lot of them were listed as unknowns. It was almost impossible to identify Confederate soldiers unless it was by a person that knew them because of the lack of letters and other papers
A lot of the bodies found today are from wounded that died in route back to Corinth and buried along the line of retreat.

Very interesting Shiloh,its amazing to think that 150yrs later the remains of these young men are still being found,at least they will get a proper burial.

Rob