Obituaries

[Thomas Alleman]

There was a thread on accounts of people who died and descriptions about what they wore and had on them, I think it was on the old AC or where can I find it?

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Obituaries

Are you thinking of the article on knapsack contents of deceased found at (I think) Gettysburg? I recall that, too... but I thought it was in "The Watchdog" or some other such publication about 5 or 10 years ago.

[markj]

Re: Obituaries

One of the quickest sources for information on this subject is to simply review period newspaper accounts, especially those published in sea- or river-port towns. Nameless corpses were regularly hauled out from the water, or found in the streets of those locales. Therefore, in an age when forensic science was unknown, newspapers often published detailed descriptions of clothes, personal effects, and even tattoos encountered on the bodies in hopes of identifying them. The same procedure was also used for living individuals who were either unable or unwilling to identify themselves as well.

I have attached a sample for your perusal and edification, which carries detailed descriptions of various unidentified victims of an 1860 maritime disaster. I have accumulated boat-loads (no pun intended) of these descriptions over the years. I am also attaching a list detailing the contents of a trunk, ID'd to one John Dement, which was recovered from the site of the S.S. Central America (sank 1857).

The "Gettysburg List" was discussed, as I recall, in the first edition of the Columbia Rifles Research Compendium. The author used the first list, compiled by contractor Samuel Weaver in 1863-1864 during the initial exhumations of Confederate and Federal dead for the new national cemetery. However, a subsequent list appeared in, I believe, 1867, which varies somewhat from the first. I did a detailed statistical survey using the second list some years ago, which provides some potential insight on what items were most commonly carried by troops. I'll have to dig that one up, but I can probably post it if there's sufficient interest.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Thomas Alleman]

Re: Obituaries

No there was a post on either crime or obituaries that contained information on people on the West coast, it was about civilians.