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Notes on Burying the Dead at Gettysburg

Burying the Dead at Gettysburg

  • Initial burial parties:
    • Sent out at dusk on July 4th, instructed to bury both Union and Confederate soldiers where they fell.
    • Worked through the night using lanterns. Some soldiers searched for comrades, even during thunderstorms.
    • First day, bodies were buried where they were found, regardless of side.
  • Organized Burials:
    • Parties of three: two stretcher bearers, one using a Pike Pole to move bodies.
    • Decomposed bodies were moved using fence posts.
    • Bodies were placed in trenches, either immediately or laid out in lines first.
    • Trenches were dug in front of the lines of corpses; dirt from the next trench covered the previous one.
    • Heads were aligned in the same direction; Union and Confederate soldiers were separated.

Scale and Conditions

  • Scale:
    • Dr. John Briton noted the orderliness, given the high number of dead (7,058) and daily hospital deaths (50-100).
    • Thomas H. Bache credited with organizing the effort.
    • Graves were shallow (12-18 inches deep) and trenches held 30-70 bodies, sometimes more.
  • Conditions:
    • Corpses may have been tied together for transport or to manage rigor mortis.
    • Soldiers described the work as a grim necessity of war, using laughter to cope with the horror.
    • Private Robert Carter described mass burials without ceremony, with up to ninety bodies per trench.
  • Emotional impact:
    • The reality of death profoundly affected soldiers, who focused on the act of burial.

Time Constraints and Disparities in Burial

  • Time was a critical factor due to health, sanitation, and ongoing war efforts.

    • Pioneer Brigades, infantry units, citizens, and prisoners of war were involved, but these groups were temporary.
    • The majority of Union soldiers were interred by July 11, 1863.
    • Confederate burials were slower due to the delayed start and higher decomposition levels.

  • Confederate Burials:

    • Confederates did not undertake large-scale burial efforts during their control (July 1-5).

    • Union forces primarily focused on burying their own, leading to mass trenches for Confederates.

    • Some Confederate bodies were piled into a valley around Little Round Top.

    • Confederate prisoners of war sometimes performed inadequate burials.

    • Over the first twelve days, 3,903 Confederate and 3,155 Union soldiers were buried.

    • The burial process was emotionally taxing and left lasting impressions on the soldiers.