The bedridden Widow Henry was killed by artillery fire in the chaos of First Manassas. The park now has her drop-leaf table that was struck by two bullets

Bullet damage along top of leaf and on pedestal (Manassas NBP) and ruins of home (Library of Congress)

The drums of war were beating in Washington, D.C., and the Confederacy’s Northern Virginia in late May 1861, when Hugh Fauntleroy Henry wrote home. His sister Ellen was living with their mother Judith at Spring Hill Farm at rural Manassas.

"Should troops be passing about the neighborhood, you and mother need not fear them, as your entire helplessness, I should think, would make you safe,” said the schoolteacher working in Alexandria, across the river from the capital.

He could not have been more wrong.

Two months later, the property was a maelstrom of ringing gunfire and accompanying bloodshed. The Civil War’s first great battle raged on Henry Hill, and Ellen and Judith were trapped in the middle.

Believing no civilians were inside, and firing upon Confederate sharpshooters, a Union artillery battery pulverized the home, fatally wounding Judith and wounding Ellen and Lucy Griffith, an enslaved girl. Judith Carter Henry, who was confined to bed, is considered the first civilian casualty of the war.

The 1870 rebuilt Henry House and the famous Henry Hill monument at Manassas (Picket photo)

Another casualty apparently was a drop-leaf table that belonged to the family.

“There are two bullets embedded in the table,” said Manassas National Battlefield Park museum specialist Jim Burgess. “One bullet bore a hole through the lower leaf and embedded in the central pedestal of the table while another bullet was stopped by the leaf but caused a crack in the entire length of the leaf along the grain."

The park was unaware of the table until last year, when a Vermont man reached out and asked whether it might be interested in purchasing the piece. Money was needed to pay for care for the table’s owner, said the friend, who had a power of attorney.

A typed note with the table provided details on its story. 

Park officials agreed to pay more than $10,000 for the antique.

 “It was a once in a lifetime acquisition,” added Burgess. “It certainly has plausibility.”

Sketch of Henry House by Capt. Leon Fremaux of the 8th Louisiana shortly after the battle

The curator hopes the desk will one day go on exhibit with expanded information on the poor widow Judith Henry, who was 84 or 85 when she was killed.

“We certainly want to put it on exhibit once we have room for it,” said Burgess, adding that would require renovation to the visitor center and museum.

The provenance of the table is a little fragmented.

Like many historic items that turn up years later, the furniture has made a circuitous journey, including ownership by a renowned surgeon.

Henry House was in constant line of fire that day

Warder & Catlett map of First Manassas, note Henry House at center left)

The table likely originally belonged to Elizabeth "Betsy" Carter, daughter of Landon Carter Jr. of Pittsylvania house, and sister of Judith Carter Henry. 

When Elizabeth died in 1822, her home, Spring Hill Farm, and the table passed to Judith. Officials have not analyzed the wood furniture, which may date to the late 18^th century.

Judith’s husband, Isaac, a surgeon who served with the U.S. Navy, died in 1829. A portrait, of Isaac now belonging to the park (right), hung in the home during the battle.

The afternoon of July 21, 1861, was pure chaos as Confederate and Union forces exchanged ground on Henry Hill. Union Capt. James B. Ricketts turned his guns on the home, trying to kill or chase off sharpshooters.

Legend has it that Judith had been carried earlier from the house on a mattress but brought back inside to the second floor to obtain some form of safety. It wasn’t enough

Amid a cascade of splinters, boards and shingles, Judith suffered a severe foot injury and other wounds from cannon fire. (For his part, Ricketts was wounded four times, captured and later exchanged.)

“The house was peppered by Confederate fire just as much as Union fire. We really don’t know for sure what” killed Judith, said Burgess.

According to a National Park Service archaeological report on the site, Pvt. Otho Scott Lee of the 1^st Virginia Cavalry recollected assisting in burying the dead and collecting abandoned equipment on the battlefield.

"I then rode over to the Henry house where Mrs. Henry had been killed during the battle. I saw her dead body in the bed where she had been killed, with her family around her,” Lee wrote.  “During the battle a grape shot pierced the house and passed through her body, killing her instantly.”

Visitors to Manassas can see the small burial plot where Judith, Hugh and Ellen rest together. (NPS photo, left)

The mother’s headstone reads:

The Grave of Our Dear Mother

Judith Henry

Killed near this spot, by the explosion of shelling in her dwelling, during the Battle of the 21st of July, 1861. When killed she was in her 85th year and confined to her bed by the infirmities of age. She was the daughter of Landon Carter Sen., and was born within a mile of this place. Her husband, Dr. Isaac Henry, was a Surgeon in the United States Navy, on board the frigate Constellation, Commanded by Com. Truxton, one of the six Captains appointed by Washington in the organization of the Navy, 1794. Our Mother through her long life, thirty five years of which were spent at this place, was greatly loved and esteemed for her kind, gentle and Christian spirit."

Famous doctor took table in lieu of cash

 After Judith was killed and the Henry House suffered battle damage, the surviving members of the family found refuge at nearby Pageland. Their old homestead was picked over by souvenir hunters.

“The table and other valuables had to have been recovered from the house before it was completely destroyed the following winter,” said Burgess. “Hugh Henry and sister Ellen lived in a new house built in the 1870s on the site of the original Spring Hill house until their deaths in the 1890s.” Nephew Arthur Lee Henry then acquired the place.

Abdominal and gynecological surgeon Dr. Joseph Price at some point entered the picture. The Virginia native acquired the table prior to his death in 1911 as payment for services rendered on an unnamed member of the Henry family.

“It is uncertain whether he got the table from Hugh or from Arthur,” said Burgess.

Price, who was only 8 at the time of First Manassas, gained fame for his skills and advancement of surgical techniques. He later moved to the Philadelphia area. An article in the Buffalo Medical Journal after his death had this fascinating detail: (Price at right, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) 

“For two weeks Dr. Price had been ill and was confined to his bed most of the time. The day of his death he was informed that a girl patient whom he had previously cared for had been received at his hospital suffering with appendicitis. He rose from his sick bed and did an appendectomy on this patient. Within an hour after the completion of the operation he complained of pain and informed his assistants that he was suffering with acute appendicitis and that an immediate operation was imperative. He superintended the preparations for the work and in a short time was operated. A few hours later he died not having recovered from the shock of the operation.”

Price was 58 years old.

The dining table passed to his daughter, Anne, and eventually to her second husband, Eric Renwick. Ann died in 1984. Eric survived her by 10 years and at some time he typed up an undated note about the table for a niece or nephew. He signed it “Uncle Eric.”

He incorrectly called Judith and Betsy “Henry sisters” – only Judith had that married name. Renwick describes Joseph Price as his father-in-law, though it is unlikely they knew each other; Eric was only 5 when the doctor died.

Renwick said the doctor was raised near Harrisonburg and operated up and down the region. “On one occasion he operated on one of the Henry’s. By this time they were short of funds and gave Dr. Price the table in lieu of cash.” The table was transported to Whitford, Pa., where the surgeon lived. (Click photo above to enlarge, Manassas NBP)

Renwick based his note on information passed down by Price and Anne. “I do not know when the table was made or who made it but knowledgeable people have told me that it was an antique in 1861.”

Vermont collector had a passion for antiques

Eric Renwick died in 1994; Burgess believes the table went to the niece or nephew and then to a Barre, Vt., resident whose business interests included a ski area and fuel companies.

He was a flea market and garage sale enthusiast as well as a noted local historian, the man’s February 2026 obituary says.

Marker at Henry Hill, the center of the Manassas battlefield (Shane Oliver, HMdb.org)

The 84-year-old was a respected antique collector and dealer in Vermont and the Eastern United States. His friend told the Picket he does not know how the collector got the table.

Manassas National Battlefield Park received the desk in September 2025 and it remains in storage.

Eric Renwick concluded his note about the table with this line, which may one day come true:

“In several generations I feel that the table will be a museum piece.”

History investigators: College class starting this week will focus on the stories of the enslaved people at Dawkins House in Union, S.C. The home to where the Civil War governor fled is being preserved

Shored-up house (Annie Smith/USC Union), 1850 Dawkins slave schedule; interior door (Picket photo)

A course debuting Tuesday (Aug. 18) at the University of South Carolina Union won’t be like the campus classes I attended back in the day. There will be no lecture hall, study sessions or a professor regurgitating set material.

Rather, “HIST 480-701 -- Internship in Public History” will turn students into investigators, digging up little-known facts about the Thomas and Mary Poulton Dawkins House in Union and the people – free and enslaved – who lived there before, during and after the Civil War.

The timing of the class is perfect. The once dilapidated home is slowly being rehabilitated into a new campus facility.

“Everything we are doing is bottom up,” said Andrew Kettler, assistant professor of history at the two-year campus (right). He will work with a small, but he believes mighty, group. So far, three students have signed up for the assignment, which includes building an archival history.

Kettler hopes a few students more will join the inaugural effort. He expects a bigger class in the spring once the work and documentation takes shape.

Union, which is south of Spartanburg, briefly served as the Civil War capital of the state after Columbia fell to Union forces in 1865 and Gov. Andrew Magrath fled to Union. From about Feb. 15, 1865, until early April, Magrath ran the state from the Dawkins House. He apparently worked in an informal library near the drawing room, which survives today.

According to histories and local legend, Magrath and his subordinates burned possibly incriminating documents and correspondence in the home’s fireplaces. (The building served as South Carolina's capitol while the city was briefly is capital.)

The 1850 federal slave schedule indicates Thomas Dawkins (left) enslaved about 20 persons, but there may have been more elsewhere. Some likely worked at other locations besides the home, which was called “The Shrubs.” (The project has not yet found an 1860 slave schedule)

Over the years, residents came and went from the Dawkins House, which is located on the small USC-Union campus. But there had been one constant: The deterioration of the building into near ruin.

Now the nonprofit Preservation South Carolina is working with the campus and local leaders to rehabilitate the house into an alumni and corporate center for the college. Raising money for the effort has taken time, but officials continue to make progress.

“This is the first time for PSC to have a class that is going on at the same time as one of its preservation projects,” said Kettler.

There’s a lot at stake. Supporters say it’s important the full history of the home and its occupants be told, warts and all. But they also want the building to be aimed at the future and bring new attention to USC Union, which has a growing enrollment. Currently, it has about 1,400 students; many are affiliated with the athletics programs.

Union County has a long segregation history and the area was known for Ku Klux Klan activity and postwar lynchings. There have been recent efforts, however, to acknowledge that history. Kettler said there is much more to learn.

2021 markers details part of the county's lynching history (Picket photo)

Annie Smith, director of development on the campus, said the course also will seek to identify those individuals who lived in the original structure between 1765 and the early 1800s, before Thomas Dawkins bought and expanded the residence.

The class research will include library, courthouse and genealogical records. Kettler previously told the Picket the aim is less about assigning blame for slavery than moving toward acknowledgement and reconciliation

“We don’t know what we are going to find. It just has to be an honest investigation,” said the professor.

So far, they have possible names for 2 enslaved

A large focus of the class is finding out about the enslaved persons, most of whose names are not know. Names were not included in old census records.

“Focusing searches on that specific population will also allow for uncovering connections to the later history of Black citizens in Union County,” says the class syllabus.

Kettler (right, Picket photo) and a couple students conducted some research over the summer, including at the South Caroliniana Library at the main University of South Carolina campus in Columbia. “We’re digging constantly,” he said.

Kettler, 42, said they have learned the possible names of two of the enslaved. He is not identifying them at this point until he can confirm accounts. One was mentioned in a postwar newspaper article saying the bride was a Dawkins servant (slave). The second may have been a lynching victim in the 1870s, said the professor.

He expects students will glean more names from county-by-county agricultural censuses.

“Tracing formerly enslaved people is very difficult because of name changes,” said Kettler. Others may have moved north decades later during the Great Migration.

The students, working like detectives, will dig up records from myriad sources, such as death schedules and wills. If they can find a Dawkins will, it may list enslaved persons and what they may have received upon Thomas’s death. That could help the effort to find out more about those individuals.

College hopes for an archives open to the public

The public history course outline includes this overview:

“Students will be engaging with archival documents to gain respect for the application and relevance of historical knowledge, as well as support the broader goals of the university and its environs. With the work in this course, USC Union students can begin to explore documents that are to be organized into a “Dawkins House Archive” that will be housed at the future Alumni and Corporate Sponsor Center in the Dawkins House. Our focus on the course will be on answering: What were the historical experiences of those who resided at the Dawkins House?”

Kettler envisions binders of documents at a location ”where people can see the actual letters.” (At left, part of 1867 correspondence by Thomas Dawkins)

Students will share extensive readings during the semester. Topics will include the Dawkins House, memory, the antebellum period, slavery, Reconstruction, “historic sites as powerful institutions,” contemporary Union and modern public history.

The class is half education on the topic and half working through the methods of public history. Students will analyze documents, said the professor. “They will do the work of the historian.”

Resources include census records, newspapers, the Union Country Museum, Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site, diaries and other papers. Kettler wants to see if the county clerk has deeds to property owned Thomas Dawkins. That might help the researchers go back to those who lived in the house way back in 1765.

One goal of the endeavor is to get local folks involved in uncovering the area’s history and make the Dawkins House a destination of sorts. Kettler, who believes a book may result from the project, is available to speak to groups about the Dawkins House as part of South Carolina Humanities’ speaker’s bureau.

For white citizens, a world turned upside down

When it comes to the Civil War period, recorded experiences have almost exclusively been of white people.

Mary Poulton Dawkins was many things in her 86 years, the majority of which were ensconced in the home that was dubbed “The Shrubs” in honor of a family estate by the same name in her native England.

Dawkins (right), who in 1845 married Thomas, a prominent South Carolina judge 14 years her senior, was described by relatives as headstrong and proud of her imported furniture and Queen Victoria.

There was another side of the Englishwoman, however, that doesn’t project well these days.

While of the “highest culture,” Mary had a tendency toward bigotry, an observer wrote, and a paternalistic view of slavery.

Enslaved people had become a majority in Union County during the 1840s.

Following the South’s loss in the Civil War, and the Dawkins’ fortune largely gone, Mary lamented Reconstruction and the brief political power accorded to Black people.

“The negroes on the plantation had really no ill feeling, but poor ignorant creatures, they were intoxicated with the idea of power and always fond of idleness; began to steal and destroy property, scarcely a night without a burning,” Mary wrote in a memoir penned late in life. “There was no redress, no law, and the ‘Ku Klux’ was formed to frighten the negroes, so sensational, supersti­tious.”

Group is raising more money for work on house

Some 120 years after Mary’s death, Preservation South Carolina is raising money for the next phase of the restoration of the residence.

Bill Comer, a Union native who is heading up the DawkinsHouse rehab project for PSC, previously said the refurbished site will provide lessons from the past once it reopens.

Early rendering of what the house will look like when completed (PSC)

The $300,000 state-funded Phase 1 of the work, which concluded more than a year ago, shored up the building. Phase 2 will be much more extensive and expensive.

PSC said they need at least $845,000 for the next phase of work. About $284,000 has been raised or been committed, including a $100,000 award from the Timken Foundation and a $25,000 grant from the SC Department of Archives and History, said Comer.

Donations to the project can be made here.

“We hope to finalize other significant funding arrangements within the next several weeks. Fundraising efforts will be ongoing until the house is fully renovated and ready for use,” Comer said in an email.

It is anticipated Bennett Preservation Engineering of Charleston will begin updating and preparing design specifications for Phase 2 in early October and that construction will begin in January 2027. “Phase 2 will take the building well beyond stabilization to the point that it is ready to accommodate the Final Phase of mechanical, electrical and plumbing construction,” Comer said.

USC Union offers associate degrees in arts and science and a bachelor's in nursing

After that, the house will be owned by the Union Laurens Commission for Higher Education.

“PSC will continue to work collaboratively with USC Union and the commission via a memorandum of understanding to help secure funding and to provide historical preservation counsel until it is completely finished,” Comer added.

Juggling myths and the real stories

The Dawkins House rehabilitation and the university course are coming at a fortuitous time in South Carolina.

Gov. Henry McMaster has championed commemoration, including the state’s importance in the American Revolution. That awareness includes the complex history of slavery and its legacy, said Kettler.

“The base of the Freedmen’s Bureau was in Beaufort, South Carolina,” he said, arguing that’s where emancipation really began.

There are a lot of stories about the Dawkins House, he argued. “School kids know about the myth of McGrath’s silver.”

Upon learning of Rebel Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox in early April 1865, Magrath and his staff raced away from Union as Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's Federal troops moved in. 

Magrath apparently hid a silver tea set at the Dawkins' home while he was based there. Mary Dawkins wrote the couple took the set to Mills House in Charleston after Magrath was released and they gave it to him.

The silver tea set story is covered in the book "South Carolina's English Lady," compiled and edited by the late Sarah Porter Carroll in the 1980s. You can read the text on Family Search (right).

Letters and accounts written by relatives of Mary Dawkins -- and included in Carroll's book -- suggest slaves at “The Shrubs” and any other land owned by Thomas were treated more kindly than at other plantations. But that view belies the fact the institution was inherently cruel and violent.

For Kettler and students, this will be in intense exercise in public history, a movement that marries academic with engagement in the community.

Kettler hopes uncovering the history of the house and 19^th century Union will better inform the community of its rich, complex history.

There is a  “mythic, shrouded history we are going to uncover.”

READ MORE:

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/04/as-fundraising-intensifies-to-fix-up.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/01/scs-civil-war-governor-slept-and-likely.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2025/09/craftsman-has-window-to-history-of-home.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2025/02/s-carolinas-governor-fled-to-this-house.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2024/07/south-carolina-community-gets-into-game.html

Tattooed sailors off Fort Fisher: Talk will focus on the history of the art, designs popular during the Civil War and where ink was placed on the body (even there!)

19th century tattoo designs (Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Tattoo Pattern Books)

Ah, sailors and tattoos. They go so well together, and have for hundreds of years.

Whether through images of sweethearts, whales or ships, countless generations of sailors have worn tattoos to show social identity, ethnic heritage or simply for identification should they be killed in battle.

Becky Sawyer, historian at Fort Fisher State Historic Site in North Carolina, has conducted about five years of research on those who in participated in the battles for the Confederate sentinel near Wilmington and had some ink on their bodies.

Sawyer (left) will share the fruits of her work on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 19, at Pleasure Island Library in Carolina Beach. The talk is entitled “Red, Blue & Black: Tattoos Among Sailors at Fort Fisher.”

“Through images and stories, explore this fascinating and sometimes gritty aspect of maritime history. Not for the faint of heart,” the program advertises.

The Picket asked Sawyer to describe the topic and the resources she used. Her responses have been edited for brevity.

Wait for it: The last question below gets to the “faint of heart.”

Q. What will be the main thrust of your message? Why do you find this a particularly relevant topic?

A. Tattoos have always been a tradition of naval history. Tattoos tell a story of the sailors who fought at Fort Fisher, whether they they were in the maritime service for years prior to the Civil War or joined the U.S. Navy to serve their country. They also tell the story of traditions such as the Kanacha tattoos among the Polynesian sailors with the fleet. Tattoos identified men in a time when there were no dog tags. Several of the men on my list were killed in the Battles of Fort Fisher. Some were sent home north to be buried, like Abel Cole of the USS Brooklyn, who had a blue star between right thumb and index finger. He would be buried in his home state of Maine. William Baker of the USS Sassacus is buried at the Wilmington National Cemetery – he had his initials tattooed on his left forearm

Naval rendezvous record describes fancy artwork for one Civil War seafarer

Q. Is this all or almost all about Federal sailors? Which campaign(s) against the fort did they participate in?

A. My focus is on the U.S. sailors who served onboard vessels both as part of the blockade off Wilmington/Fort Fisher in 1863-64 and then also the battles of Fort Fisher. There are also former Confederates who joined the U.S. Navy during the exchange in late 1863 and into 1864 who have tattoos which they may have received while in a prisoner of war camps such as Camp Douglas and Fort Delaware.

Q.  How did you learn about these tattoos? Can you describe the themes? Were tattoos well-known among sailors before the Civil War?

A. Researching the muster rolls for the various ships that participated in the battles of Fort Fisher and then cross-referencing them with the Naval Rendezvous Enlistment records along with pension records of those who served in the battles. As for themes – I have broken it down into 11 categories such as names & initials; things of the sea (mermaids, anchors, ships), religious symbols, patriotic symbols, memorials, bracelets, etc. Tattoos are well-known among sailors prior to the Civil War. 

Artist at work (Library of Congress) and two tattoo designs (Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Tattoo Pattern Books)

Q. I know you have researched this for a while and have made previous presentations. When did you begin this research and what piqued your interest? 

A. I began researching this about five years ago or so. At first, it was on foreign-born sailors and then realized the former Confederates who served with the Navy and finding tattoos among the prisoners when they enlisted, and it just snowballed into the research that I have today.

Q. Are there specific sailors you will mention? If so, can you please provide a couple examples?

A. Simon Duggan of the USS Fort Donelson (former Confederate POW) had a cross between his shoulder blades (naval record, below). He was from Ireland. John Love of the USS Wabash had the phrase “Where Liberty Dwells There is My Home” tattooed on his breast. Leander Spaulding (tattoo artist on the USS Tristam Shandy) had a snake and “don’t tread on me” tattooed on his right forearm. Charles Haldgate of the USS Tuscarora had “Dieu Et Mon Droit” (God and my right) tattooed on his right forearm – he was a mariner by trade from Liverpool.

Q. One promotion for your speech says it "is not for the faint of heart." Can you explain why?

A. I found at least two sailors with tattoos on their manhood and then there are tattoos found on the buttocks as well.

Becky Sawyer’s presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. at Pleasure Island Library, 1401 N. Lake Blvd #72, Carolina Beach, N.C. Call 910-798-6300 or 910-251-7351 for more information.

Sign about tattooed sailors research at Fort Fisher in 2023

Manassas National Battlefield Park announces 'unanticipated' discovery of third body at 1862 field hospital limb pit. The young soldier, who wore New York infantry jacket, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Marker at the battlefield includes sketch showing Dogan house, where wounded were treated (Devry Jones, HMdb.org)

A young man apparently buried in a New York infantry jacket is the third Federal soldier whose body was discovered by archaeologists in a surgeon's limb pit near a field hospital associated with the Second Battle of Manassas.

The National Park Service on Thursday said like the other two, this soldier found in March 2024 at the site in Northern Virginia will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The agency has not released details on the man -- who apparently died from a neck wound -- until now.

Documents indicate the remarkable discovery of the third soldier was “unanticipated.” Archaeologists found six brass New York State Excelsior coat buttons and seven brass cuff buttons.

"Every soldier who fought on this battlefield has a story, even if we may never know their name," said Manassas National Battlefield Park Superintendent Kristofer Butcher (left) in a news release. "It has been our privilege and responsibility to care for these remains with dignity, guided by science, respect, and our commitment to preserving America's history. We are honored that this soldier will now receive a final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery." 

No date for that burial has been announced.

Asked by the Picket whether there has been an attempt to identify the soldier via DNA, the NPS on Friday said extensive archaeological and osteological analysis was done. "Professional archaeological evaluations concluded that additional analysis was unlikely to yield significant new information. Throughout this process, our focus has remained on treating the soldier with dignity and respect while following professional standards and applicable preservation laws."

NPS documents indicate the 2024 excavation yielded four new surgically amputated limbs and the body of the soldier. “Found in direct association with this soldier's interment was a rubber pocket comb,” the agency said. The Army has requested personal effects, including the comb, for burial.

The limb pit was discovered in 2014 during excavations associated with water pipe maintenance at the park. Two burials and seven (possibly eight) amputated limbs were removed in 2015. Excavations continued in 2024.

In total, three sets of human remains and 16 amputated limbs were excavated and removed from the property. (At right, femur with lodged bullet, Kate D. Sherwood, Smithsonian Institution)

The field hospital was established at the John Dogan farm, not far from the Deep Cut section of the battlefield. The property was known as Rosefield at the time.

Union soldiers occupied this property on August 29, 1862, first using it as an artillery placement site, and later as a field hospital after surgeons “took control of the house” for the remainder of the three-day battle, the NPS said.

Second Manassas was a decisive victory for the Confederacy..

Park officials say they have not been able to identify the soldier, his New York unit or exactly where he was wounded. 

Excelsior Brigade was in fierce fighting

The NPS provided details of the initial find in 2018, saying it was the first time a surgeon’s “limb pit” from the conflict has been excavated and studied.

Brandon Bies, then park superintendent, told NPR that the men were likely wounded during a charge up Deep Cut, held by thousands of Confederates. “As (Union soldiers) start to get closer, within 300, 400 yards, they start to receive rifle fire and musket fire," he says. "Men are dropping left and right." 

The Excelsior Brigade, made up of several New York regiments and a veteran of multiple campaigns, fought near the Dogan farm and Deep Cut. Daniel Sickles organized the brigade, but it was led by Col. Nelson Taylor (right) in this battle.

Analysis of the third soldier indicates he was approximately 16 to 19 years old and standing between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3 inches.

Soil conditions, historic plowing and backhoe excavation during the water line project led to the remains being in poor condition, according to the NPS.

Roughly 40% of the human remains were intact, and “no complete long bones were present. Historic plowing of the area crushed and relocated the skull (minus an occipital bone) and right arm” documents show. “The knees may also have been affected by the backhoe during waterline excavation. Fragments of assorted bones and teeth were found in soil within the excavated area. Little of the pelvis remained.”

Other items found with the individual include a jacket clothing hook and the hard rubber comb. A report concludes that “A lead artillery case shot ball recovered from the neck area of the remains could indicate cause of death, although this remains inconclusive.”

The soldier may or may not have been in the Excelsior Brigade or wounded near Deep Cut. It's possible he was wounded the evening of Aug. 29 in the fight at Groveton.

Examination of bones showed severity of wounds

A glance of photographs of the amputated limbs of the soldiers found in 2015 shows the bleak realities of war. Surgeons sawed them off with precision because the bullets caused so much damage and soldiers needed an opportunity to ward off deadly infection.

As casualties piled into tents not far from the fighting, Civil War surgeons had to make quick decisions on who might have a chance of going home – without an arm or leg – and who was too seriously hurt to be operated on.

That appeared to be the case with the two soldiers.

The first was in his 20s and died of injuries from an Enfield bullet striking his upper leg.

“Surprisingly, the bullet was still lodged in the femur bone, likely because it slowed as it passed through the man’s cartridge box, the National Park Service said at the time

The second skeleton was that of a man estimated to be between 30 and 34 years old. (At left, Brandon Bies assists in 2015 dig / Kate D. Sherwood, Smithsonian Institution)

He died as a result of a buck and ball shot to the upper arm, pelvis and leg.

The bones were found in a shallow pit, indicating they likely were buried in haste. According to Smithsonian Institution experts, the surgeons were allowed by Confederates to conduct the hasty operations after the battle, when the wounded had been in the sun and rain for days. They may not have had chloroform at their disposal.

The entire pit was not excavated in 2015, apparently because of time and funding limitations. While archaeologists believed there were more partial remains, they did not expect a whole set to be found when they returned in 2024. Officials have been tightlipped about the project for more than two years.

The remains of the first two unknown soldiers were buried in a new section of Arlington National Cemetery in September 2018 (At far right in Picket photo, above).

At the time, Bies said analysis of isotopes in the bones, which looked at what had been in drinking water the men consumed, indicated they are likely from New York or New England, according to CNN.

The NPS news article did not include photos, but the agency said it was reviewing them for possible release. "Any materials that are shared publicly will be carefully reviewed to ensure they protect sensitive archaeological information and maintain respect for the soldier's remains."

The public can see the related documents on this page.