Questions about Civil War remains to go unanswered

ARLINGTON, Va. — When Paul Davis heard this year that the complete remains of two Civil War soldiers had been uncovered at Manassas National Battlefield, mixed among severed limbs in a surgeon’s pit, he immediately wondered: Could they be those of his great-great uncle William, who died at the Second Battle of Bull Run but whose bones had been lost?

From what he knew of his ancestor’s death, it seemed possible. Davis had read letters that said William — a color sergeant in the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, part of the Union’s famed Iron Brigade — died after being taken by ambulance for treatment.

Unfortunately for Davis, he may never find out.

Army officials rejected requests from several families for DNA testing that might have identified the remains before reburying at Arlington National Cemetery.

In a statement, the Army said the cost of DNA testing and the passage of time made identification extremely unlikely.

Davis said he finds the Army’s stance insulting. “Don’t put someone in a box for eternity without their name if you have the ability to identify that person,” said Davis, 64, of Fort Myers, Florida.

Davis noted that the U.S. military has a department working to identify remains, but the agency only investigates cases going back to World War II.

“When a soldier makes the ultimate sacrifice in battle for his country, when does the commitment to bring him home end?” Davis said.

This discovery was unusual and accidental. Countless unidentified Civil War soldiers were buried where they fell. National Park Service policy is to leave their remains in place, with battlefields considered to be hallowed ground.

These bodies were discovered in 2014 when workers digging a pipeline uncovered human bones. Researchers found nearly a dozen severed limbs, along with two full sets of remains. They were able to conclude the soldiers were members of the Union Army, based on uniform buttons found in the pit and a bullet lodged in the one man’s femur, fired from a Confederate Enfield rifle.

Cliff Owen The Associated Press Members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment Caisson Platoon transport the remains of two Civil War Union soldiers to their graves Sept. 6 at Arlington National Cemetery.