What do we know about the Civil War soldier whose remains were found at Antietam?
Remains of Civil War Soldier Returned Home SHARPSBURG, Md. – The remains of a Union Civil War Soldier found nearly a year ago here at the Antietam National Battlefield were transferred, Sept. 15, from the Antietam National Cemetery Lodge to his home state of New York. The Soldier will be interred tomorrow at the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y., with full military honors. The New York National Guard accepted the transfer of remains of the Soldier from the Maryland National Guard, which also conducted the honors ceremony at Antietam. The remains were escorted by the Patriot Guard Riders Association for the 330-mile trip to the New York State Military Museum, where they lie in repose today with a military honor guard. “It is right and fitting that today’s citizen-soldiers from New York state bring home this unknown New York volunteer of the Civil War,” said Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, the New York adjutant general. “The Soldier’s Creed reminds all Ameri
A piece of history has been unearthed at Antietam National Battlefield in Washington County — the remains of a soldier who died in that Civil War battle, almost 150 years ago. Archeologists are now working to find out as much as they can about that soldier, and give him a proper burial. The Battle of Antietam on September 17th, 1862 remains the bloodiest day in American history. On that one day, more than 23,000 men were killed, wounded or captured. The bodies of hundreds of soldiers were buried on the field. Years later, the Army moved many of the Union dead to the Antietam National Cemetery. Confederates were moved to cemeteries in Hagerstown or Frederick. But some bodies were missed. And this past October, a man walking through the battlefield came upon what he thought were human remains, and he was right. Part of what he found was a human tooth. ‘Actually it was an impacted wisdom tooth was what it was,’ said John Howard, superintendent of the Antietam National Battlefield. The Na
The soldier’s remains were discovered last October by a hiker at Antietam, generating nationwide interest, especially among Civil War enthusiasts. Uniform buttons identify him as being from New York, and skeletal data places him at from 17 to 19 years old. Otherwise, there is little known information about him. “This boy who’s coming home is everybody’s anonymous son, brother and husband,” said Steve Trimm, president of Friends of Grant’s Cottage historic site in Wilton. “He shouldn’t be forgotten.” Sources: http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/17/news/doc4ab1ad9267ba7453665190.
