Latest news with #JackGary
New York Post
11-06-2025
- General
- New York Post
US soldiers' remains found at historic Revolutionary War landmark are revealed to be from a completely different era
Archaeologists recently announced the discovery of skeletons at Colonial Williamsburg – but the skeletons weren't from the Revolutionary War. The remains were found while excavators searched around the grounds of a Revolutionary War-era gunpowder magazine, or storage facility, according to The Associated Press. Advertisement Near the building, archaeologists were taken aback when they uncovered the eye sockets of a human skull – and then four human skeletons, plus three amputated legs. Rather than dating back to colonial America, the four skeletons are from Civil War times. The soldiers died during the Battle of Williamsburg while fighting for the Confederacy in 1862, according to local historians. The skeletons were found with their arms crossed. Interestingly, they were not buried in their uniforms – rather, they were found in more comfortable clothes, and archaeologists uncovered buttons and a trouser buckle. 7 Archaeologists found human remains at Colonial Williamsburg, which surprisingly dated back to the Civil War rather than the Revolutionary War. AP Advertisement The graves were aligned east-west, with the head at the west end and the feet at the east end, a burial tradition commonly associated with Christianity. Since the discovery, historians have determined that a makeshift hospital once operated nearby to treat wounded Confederate soldiers. Although the remains were found in 2023, Colonial Williamsburg officials didn't announce the discovery until this month. 7 Staff members from the Colonial Williamsburg museum excavating the remains of Confederate soldiers from the Civil War in 2023. AP Advertisement 7 Archaeologist Jack Gary holds up a photo of a church that once stood beside the gunpowder magazine at Colonial Williamsburg in May. AP 7 Colonial Williamsburg Lab Assistant Evan Bell discusses using hospital lists, unit records and other documents to identify the remains of Civil War soldiers at the Colonial Williamsburg archaeology department in Williamsburg. AP Archaeologists are working to identify the soldiers — whose identities are unknown. 'Everyone deserves dignity in death. And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that.' Advertisement Researchers have narrowed down the possible identities of four men who served in regiments from Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia, but are withholding the names until they have confirmation. Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archeology, told the Associated Press that the discovery came together when they found lists of hospital patients in the archives. 7 Gary points to a photo showing where the graves of Civil War soldiers were found near the gunpowder magazine at Colonial Williamsburg. AP 7 'If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to [identify them],' Gary said. AP 7 A historical marker for The Battle of Williamsburg from the Civil War in Williamsburg is seen here. AP 'It is the key,' Gary noted. 'If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to [identify them].' Last week, the bodies were reinterred at a local burial ground where other Confederate soldiers were buried. Advertisement 'Everyone deserves dignity in death. And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that,' Gary said. Even though the Civil War has been thoroughly studied for over 160 years, new discoveries are still being made. Last spring, a Civil War-era cannonball was found in the backyard of a Virginia home. A few years earlier, a long-forgotten map that shed light on the aftermath of the bloody Battle of Antietam was uncovered.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Were Digging Up a Hospital—and Found the Skeletons of 4 Confederate Soldiers
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Archeologists working for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation discovered the remains of four Confederate soldiers. The crew was excavating a site that once stored gunpowder during the American Revolution when they came across the Civil War-era discovery. The four soldiers' remains were likely from when a makeshift hospital treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War's Battle of Williamsburg. Digging through an American Revolution gunpowder storage site resulted a discovery from a completely different war: the remains of four Confederate soldiers who likely died following a Civil War battle. As archaeologists with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation excavated a site in search of American Revolution history, the team instead first came across the eye sockets of a human skull, according to a report from the Associated Press, before uncovering four skeletons and three amputated legs the experts believe are from Civil War casualties. One skeleton has a Minié bullet—a common round of ammunition used in the Civil War—lodged in the spine, as does the foot of one of the amputated legs. With the available evidence, the experts deduced that the remains were likely from a makeshift hospital that functioned near the site during the Civil War, and they later dug through archives to find handwritten lists of soldiers that were admitted to the hospital following the Battle of Williamsburg. With the lists in hand, the research team was able to start the process of identifying the soldiers. 'It is the key,' Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archaeology, told the AP. 'If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to do this.' The list of the wounded was part of a private family's archival documents which, at some point, were given to nearby William & Mary University. The researchers went through the detailed documentation, which included everything from names and regiments to dates of deaths and amputation information, for over 60 soldiers. Using the thorough information from the list, experts believe the four soldiers came from regiments tied to Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Virginia. They even have some individual names in mind, keeping those close to the vest until they can work with possible descendants using DNA from the soldiers' teeth. Gary said the goal is to ensure an 'ironclad' identification. The Battle of Williamsburg occurred on May 5, 1862. Experts believe that the roughly 25,000 men who fought for the Union and Confederate armies included 2,283 Union soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing and 1,560 for the Confederates. The remains, which were initially discovered in 2023, were carefully buried with their arms crossed, indication they did not die during the battle, as those men were traditionally placed in trenches and then moved to a cemetery, Gary said. The four soldiers were out of uniform, as evidenced by buttons and a buckle, commonly found on more comfortable clothes, that the archaeologists also found. Archaeologist Eric Schweickart told the AP that one soldier had two $5 gold coins from 1852, and they also found a toothbrush made from animal bone and a snuff bottle. The AP reports that William & Mary's Institute for Historical Biology believes the youngest soldier was between 15 and 19 years old and the oldest could have been up to 55 years old. The remains were given a true burial, even as the investigation into their identity continues. 'Everyone deserves dignity in death,' Gary said. 'And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
CBS News
04-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Archaeologists unearthed the remains of 4 Confederate soldiers with their arms crossed. An effort is underway to identify them.
Archaeologists in Virginia were excavating the grounds of a building that stored gunpowder during the American Revolution when they uncovered the eye sockets of a human skull. The team carefully unearthed four skeletons, including one with a bullet in the spine, and three amputated legs. They quickly surmised the bones were actually from the Civil War, when a makeshift hospital operated nearby and treated gravely wounded Confederate soldiers. The archaeologists work at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a museum that owns the land and focuses on the city's 18th century history. They're now trying to identify human remains from the 19th century, a rare endeavor that will include searching for living descendants and requesting swabs of DNA. The museum has recovered enough genetic material from the men's teeth for possible matches. But the prospect of identifying them emerged only after the team located handwritten lists in an archive that name the soldiers in that hospital. "It is the key," said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archaeology. "If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to do this." The archaeologists have narrowed the possible identities to four men who served in regiments from Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia. The museum is withholding the names as the work continues. This 2023 photo provided by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation shows staff members from the Colonial Williamsburg museum excavating the remains of Confederate soldiers from the Civil War in Williamsburg, Va. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation via AP Meanwhile, the remains were reinterred Tuesday at a Williamsburg cemetery where Confederate soldiers from the same battle are buried. "Everyone deserves dignity in death," Gary said. "And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that." Last year, the cremated remains of 28 other Civil War veterans that languished in storage facilities at a funeral home in Seattle were finally laid to rest. "Shockingly costly for both sides" The soldiers fought in the Battle of Williamsburg, a bloody engagement on May 5, 1862. The fighting was part of the Peninsula Campaign, a major Union offensive that tried to end the war quickly. The campaign's failure that summer, stalling outside the Confederate capital of Richmond, informed President Abraham Lincoln's decision to end slavery. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln said he intended to reunite the nation with slavery intact in the Southern states, while halting its westward expansion, said Timothy Orr, a military historian and professor at Old Dominion University. But Lincoln realized after the campaign that he needed a more radical approach, Orr said. And while the president faced political pressure for emancipation, freeing people who were enslaved served as "another weapon to defeat the Confederacy." "He becomes convinced that slavery is feeding the Confederate war effort," Orr said. "It had to be taken away." Bigger and bloodier battles followed Williamsburg, Orr said, but it was "shockingly costly for both sides." Roughly 14,600 Union soldiers fought about 12,500 Confederates, Carol Kettenburg Dubbs wrote in her 2002 book, "Defend This Old Town." The number of Union killed, wounded, captured or missing was 2,283. The Confederate figure was 1,870. Both sides claimed victory but the battle is "considered by historians to have been indecisive and a tactical draw," according to the Williamsburg Battlefield Association. The fighting moved north, while a Union brigade occupied the southern city. Confederate soldiers too wounded for travel were placed in homes and a church, which was converted into a hospital. A surgeon from New York treated them, while local women visited the church, Dubbs wrote. One woman noted in her diary on May 26 that there were "only 18 out of 61 left." According to the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, seven medals of honor were earned during the battle and several soldiers earned their nicknames, including "Fighting" Joe Hooker and "The Gallant" John Pelham. Their arms were crossed When the remains were discovered in 2023, they were aligned east-west in the Christian tradition, said Gary, the archaeologist. Their arms were crossed. The careful burial indicates they were not dumped into a mass grave, Gary said. Those who died in the battle were almost immediately placed in trenches and later reinterred at a cemetery. The men were not in uniform, said Eric Schweickart, a staff archaeologist. Some were in more comfortable clothes, based on artifacts that included buttons and a trouser buckle. One soldier had two $5 gold coins from 1852. Another had a toothbrush made of animal bone and a snuff bottle, used for sniffing tobacco. Jack Gary holds a Union soldier's belt buckle from the collections in Williamsburg, Va., on May 29, 2025. Allen G. Breed / AP The bullet in the soldier's spine was a Minié ball, a common round of Civil War ammunition. The foot of one amputated leg also contained a Minié ball. Bones in a second severed leg were shattered. "We want it be ironclad" As the team researched the battle, they learned of the lists of hospitalized soldiers, said Evan Bell, an archaeological lab technician. The lists were likely copied from Union records by the women who visited the wounded. The documents were with a local family's papers at William & Mary, a university nearby. The lists became the project's Rosetta stone, providing names and regiments of more than 60 soldiers. They included dates of death and notes indicating amputations. The archaeologists eliminated soldiers on the lists who survived or lost an extremity. The four skeletons had all of their limbs. Death dates were key because three men were buried together, allowing the team to pinpoint three soldiers who died around the same time. William & Mary's Institute for Historical Biology examined the remains and estimated their ages. The youngest was between 15 and 19, the oldest between 35 and 55. The estimates helped match names to enlistment records, census data and Union prisoner of war documents. The soldiers' remains and the amputated limbs were buried in their own stainless steel boxes in a concrete vault, Gary said. If descendants are confirmed, they can move their ancestor to another burial site. The identification effort will continue for another several months at least and will include extensive genealogy work, Gary said. Using only DNA tests on remains from the 1800s can risk false positives because "you start becoming related to everyone." "We want it to be ironclad," he said.
Washington Post
04-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
A Virginia museum found 4 Confederate soldiers' remains. It's trying to identify them
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Archaeologists in Virginia were excavating the grounds of a building that stored gunpowder during the American Revolution when they uncovered the eye sockets of a human skull. The team carefully unearthed four skeletons, including one with a bullet in the spine, and three amputated legs. They quickly surmised the bones were actually from the Civil War, when a makeshift hospital operated nearby and treated gravely wounded Confederate soldiers. The archaeologists work at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a museum that owns the land and focuses on the city's 18th century history. They're now trying to identify human remains from the 19th century, a rare endeavor that will include searching for living descendants and requesting swabs of DNA. The museum has recovered enough genetic material from the men's teeth for possible matches. But the prospect of identifying them emerged only after the team located handwritten lists in an archive that name the soldiers in that hospital. 'It is the key,' said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archaeology. 'If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to do this.' The archaeologists have narrowed the possible identities to four men who served in regiments from Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia. The museum is withholding the names as the work continues. Meanwhile, the remains were reinterred Tuesday at a Williamsburg cemetery where Confederate soldiers from the same battle are buried. 'Everyone deserves dignity in death,' Gary said. 'And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that.' The soldiers fought in the Battle of Williamsburg, a bloody engagement on May 5, 1862. The fighting was part of the Peninsula Campaign, a major Union offensive that tried to end the war quickly. The campaign's failure that summer, stalling outside the Confederate capital of Richmond, informed President Abraham Lincoln's decision to end slavery. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln said he intended to reunite the nation with slavery intact in the Southern states, while halting its westward expansion, said Timothy Orr, a military historian and professor at Old Dominion University. But Lincoln realized after the campaign that he needed a more radical approach, Orr said. And while the president faced political pressure for emancipation, freeing people who were enslaved served as 'another weapon to defeat the Confederacy.' 'He becomes convinced that slavery is feeding the Confederate war effort,' Orr said. 'It had to be taken away.' Bigger and bloodier battles followed Williamsburg, Orr said, but it was 'shockingly costly for both sides.' Roughly 14,600 Union soldiers fought about 12,500 Confederates, Carol Kettenburg Dubbs wrote in her 2002 book, 'Defend This Old Town.' The number of Union killed, wounded, captured or missing was 2,283. The Confederate figure was 1,870. The fighting moved north, while a Union brigade occupied the southern city. Confederate soldiers too wounded for travel were placed in homes and a church, which was converted into a hospital. A surgeon from New York treated them, while local women visited the church, Dubbs wrote. One woman noted in her diary on May 26 that there were 'only 18 out of 61 left.' When the remains were discovered in 2023, they were aligned east-west in the Christian tradition, said Gary, the archaeologist. Their arms were crossed. The careful burial indicates they were not dumped into a mass grave, Gary said. Those who died in the battle were almost immediately placed in trenches and later reinterred at a cemetery. The men were not in uniform, said Eric Schweickart, a staff archaeologist. Some were in more comfortable clothes, based on artifacts that included buttons and a trouser buckle. One soldier had two $5 gold coins from 1852. Another had a toothbrush made of animal bone and a snuff bottle, used for sniffing tobacco. The bullet in the soldier's spine was a Minié ball, a common round of Civil War ammunition. The foot of one amputated leg also contained a Minié ball. Bones in a second severed leg were shattered. As the team researched the battle, they learned of the lists of hospitalized soldiers, said Evan Bell, an archaeological lab technician. The lists were likely copied from Union records by the women who visited the wounded. The documents were with a local family's papers at William & Mary, a university nearby. The lists became the project's Rosetta stone, providing names and regiments of more than 60 soldiers. They included dates of death and notes indicating amputations. The archaeologists eliminated soldiers on the lists who survived or lost an extremity. The four skeletons had all of their limbs. Death dates were key because three men were buried together, allowing the team to pinpoint three soldiers who died around the same time. William & Mary's Institute for Historical Biology examined the remains and estimated their ages. The youngest was between 15 and 19, the oldest between 35 and 55. The estimates helped match names to enlistment records, census data and Union prisoner of war documents. The soldiers' remains and the amputated limbs were buried in their own stainless steel boxes in a concrete vault, Gary said. If descendants are confirmed, they can move their ancestor to another burial site. The identification effort will continue for another several months at least and will include extensive genealogy work, Gary said. Using only DNA tests on remains from the 1800s can risk false positives because 'you start becoming related to everyone.' 'We want it to be ironclad,' he said.
The Independent
04-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
A Virginia museum found 4 Confederate soldiers' remains. It's trying to identify them
Archaeologists in Virginia were excavating the grounds of a building that stored gunpowder during the American Revolution when they uncovered the eye sockets of a human skull. The team carefully unearthed four skeletons, including one with a bullet in the spine, and three amputated legs. They quickly surmised the bones were actually from the Civil War, when a makeshift hospital operated nearby and treated gravely wounded Confederate soldiers. The archaeologists work at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a museum that owns the land and focuses on the city's 18th century history. They're now trying to identify human remains from the 19th century, a rare endeavor that will include searching for living descendants and requesting swabs of DNA. The museum has recovered enough genetic material from the men's teeth for possible matches. But the prospect of identifying them emerged only after the team located handwritten lists in an archive that name the soldiers in that hospital. 'It is the key,' said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archaeology. 'If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to do this.' The archaeologists have narrowed the possible identities to four men who served in regiments from Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia. The museum is withholding the names as the work continues. Meanwhile, the remains were reinterred Tuesday at a Williamsburg cemetery where Confederate soldiers from the same battle are buried. 'Everyone deserves dignity in death,' Gary said. 'And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that.' 'Shockingly costly for both sides' The soldiers fought in the Battle of Williamsburg, a bloody engagement on May 5, 1862. The fighting was part of the Peninsula Campaign, a major Union offensive that tried to end the war quickly. The campaign's failure that summer, stalling outside the Confederate capital of Richmond, informed President Abraham Lincoln's decision to end slavery. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln said he intended to reunite the nation with slavery intact in the Southern states, while halting its westward expansion, said Timothy Orr, a military historian and professor at Old Dominion University. But Lincoln realized after the campaign that he needed a more radical approach, Orr said. And while the president faced political pressure for emancipation, freeing people who were enslaved served as 'another weapon to defeat the Confederacy.' 'He becomes convinced that slavery is feeding the Confederate war effort,' Orr said. 'It had to be taken away.' Bigger and bloodier battles followed Williamsburg, Orr said, but it was 'shockingly costly for both sides." Roughly 14,600 Union soldiers fought about 12,500 Confederates, Carol Kettenburg Dubbs wrote in her 2002 book, 'Defend This Old Town.' The number of Union killed, wounded, captured or missing was 2,283. The Confederate figure was 1,870. The fighting moved north, while a Union brigade occupied the southern city. Confederate soldiers too wounded for travel were placed in homes and a church, which was converted into a hospital. A surgeon from New York treated them, while local women visited the church, Dubbs wrote. One woman noted in her diary on May 26 that there were 'only 18 out of 61 left.' Their arms were crossed When the remains were discovered in 2023, they were aligned east-west in the Christian tradition, said Gary, the archaeologist. Their arms were crossed. The careful burial indicates they were not dumped into a mass grave, Gary said. Those who died in the battle were almost immediately placed in trenches and later reinterred at a cemetery. The men were not in uniform, said Eric Schweickart, a staff archaeologist. Some were in more comfortable clothes, based on artifacts that included buttons and a trouser buckle. One soldier had two $5 gold coins from 1852. Another had a toothbrush made of animal bone and a snuff bottle, used for sniffing tobacco. The bullet in the soldier's spine was a Minié ball, a common round of Civil War ammunition. The foot of one amputated leg also contained a Minié ball. Bones in a second severed leg were shattered. 'We want it be ironclad' As the team researched the battle, they learned of the lists of hospitalized soldiers, said Evan Bell, an archaeological lab technician. The lists were likely copied from Union records by the women who visited the wounded. The documents were with a local family's papers at William & Mary, a university nearby. The lists became the project's Rosetta stone, providing names and regiments of more than 60 soldiers. They included dates of death and notes indicating amputations. The archaeologists eliminated soldiers on the lists who survived or lost an extremity. The four skeletons had all of their limbs. Death dates were key because three men were buried together, allowing the team to pinpoint three soldiers who died around the same time. William & Mary's Institute for Historical Biology examined the remains and estimated their ages. The youngest was between 15 and 19, the oldest between 35 and 55. The estimates helped match names to enlistment records, census data and Union prisoner of war documents. The soldiers' remains and the amputated limbs were buried in their own stainless steel boxes in a concrete vault, Gary said. If descendants are confirmed, they can move their ancestor to another burial site. The identification effort will continue for another several months at least and will include extensive genealogy work, Gary said. Using only DNA tests on remains from the 1800s can risk false positives because 'you start becoming related to everyone.' 'We want it to be ironclad,' he said.
