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.