Have you ever visited a cemetery and wondered about the lives of those buried there. All we see are names and dates. Some headstones have an epitaph, but it doesn't tell us much. This is especially true of National Cemeteries, where each headstone is identical and set in regimental alignment. After researching for my book, My Dear Emma, and learning more of my husband's relative buried there, I became intrigued with the idea of learning about the others interred there during the same time frame.
So I began what has become an almost three year project... researching about 850 Civil War soldiers buried at the Richmond National Cemetery. After spending months researching and reviewing the data, I was intrigued with the stories that I discovered. So many soldiers' lives were impacted by the war, and so many of their family members they left behind as well. I was saddened to hear of the children of these soldiers and what became of them. Some families were dismantled due to the hardship of the mothers trying to raise a family on their own. One soldier never made it home due to missing discharge paperwork. He wallowed in pain in his hospital bed, and begged his wife to help him get home. Sadly, the paperwork never came in time and he perished.
There were two soldiers, from Iowa, who enlisted into different units and managed to survive the war but ended up dying in an unexpected way while marching home.
So many stories - so much sadness and yet, so much has been discovered that needs to be shared. The result is my newly published book, Stories Beneath the Stones: Richmond National Cemetery.
So I began what has become an almost three year project... researching about 850 Civil War soldiers buried at the Richmond National Cemetery. After spending months researching and reviewing the data, I was intrigued with the stories that I discovered. So many soldiers' lives were impacted by the war, and so many of their family members they left behind as well. I was saddened to hear of the children of these soldiers and what became of them. Some families were dismantled due to the hardship of the mothers trying to raise a family on their own. One soldier never made it home due to missing discharge paperwork. He wallowed in pain in his hospital bed, and begged his wife to help him get home. Sadly, the paperwork never came in time and he perished.
There were two soldiers, from Iowa, who enlisted into different units and managed to survive the war but ended up dying in an unexpected way while marching home.
So many stories - so much sadness and yet, so much has been discovered that needs to be shared. The result is my newly published book, Stories Beneath the Stones: Richmond National Cemetery.